Don't Be Scared of the Data

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Don't Be Scared of the Data

Beyond traditional sources of data lie valuable alternative sources. Bringing these various data sources together to develop a hypothesis for an investigation may seem intimidating at first, but in her session at the 30th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference titled, “Leveraging Traditional and Alternative Data in Investigations,” Lacey Keller, data science managing director at Gryphon Strategies, demonstrated a common-sense approach to gathering and shaping data. The goal of doing so is to create a narrative that those outside of an investigation can easily understand.

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Heard in the Halls: Fraud Is Evolving

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Heard in the Halls: Fraud Is Evolving

“In this day and age, if anybody’s serious about this profession, this is a minimal requirement to stay one step ahead of a fraudster. Because things are changing so rapidly, that if you try to do your job in auditing or accounting…you’re so out of date. Unless you come to hear from the experts on emerging trends, you’re not going to be effective.” - Laura McInerney, CFE, Turn Key Office

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Theranos Whistleblower Risked His Relationship with His Family to Expose Fraud

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Theranos Whistleblower Risked His Relationship with His Family to Expose Fraud

In October 2015, Inc. magazine featured a young, blonde woman wearing a black turtleneck on its cover. Her name was Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of a company called Theranos, and they declared she was “the next Steve Jobs.” Theranos promised to revolutionize blood testing as the world knew it — and investors couldn’t throw money into the company fast enough.

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The Future of Anti-Fraud Technology

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The Future of Anti-Fraud Technology

Technological advancements present opportunities for both fraud perpetrators and those trying to stop them. As criminals find new ways to exploit technology to commit their schemes and target new potential victims, anti-fraud professionals must ensure they are likewise adopting new technologies that are the most effective in navigating the evolving threat landscape.

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Panama Papers’ Reporter Lauds Fraud Examiners for ‘Holding the Powerful Accountable’

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Panama Papers’ Reporter Lauds Fraud Examiners for ‘Holding the Powerful Accountable’

Grueling. Exhausting. Exciting. Satisfying. Bastian Obermayer, the recipient of the ACFE Guardian Award, and the deputy head of the investigative unit of the Munich-based newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, experienced all those emotions as he and his partner, Frederik Obermaier, reported on the Panama Papers. The documents, which an anonymous source emailed to Obermayer, contained personal financial information about wealthy individuals and public officials, and showed that they were using some shell corporations — incorporated via the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca — for illegal purposes, including tax fraud, tax evasion and evading international sanctions.

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Keynote Speaker: Bastian Obermayer

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Keynote Speaker: Bastian Obermayer

“The reason why I’m not in Austin now is that we had to bring down another government,” said Bastian Obermayer during the Tuesday morning session. Obermayer is a Pulitzer Prize-winning German investigative journalist with the Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the reporter who received the Panama Papers from an anonymous source. He’s the recipient of the ACFE’s Guardian Award. Obermayer continued to tell attendees about his work reporting on a former Austrian politician’s alleged collusion with a rich niece of a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin. 

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