Asking the Tough Questions: Ethics Investigations 

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Asking the Tough Questions: Ethics Investigations 

“The bank robber expects to be arrested, it's an occupational hazard. The bank teller who embezzled does not; they think they are smarter than everyone else.” Wendy Evans, CFE, ACFE Regent and senior manager of ethics core programs and services at Lockheed Martin opened her session at the 34th ACFE Global Fraud Conference explaining that she originally had hesitancy when she first began investigating fraud, thinking it would just consist of boring cases, but as evidenced by her quote, she quickly realized that white-collar crime was vastly different from her experience with typical police work. In her session “Ethics and the Investigative Process, From Intake to Outcome,” Wendy walked attendees through internal ethics investigations, best practices when conducting them and common mistakes made.  

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Heard in the Halls: Education for Every Experience Level

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Heard in the Halls: Education for Every Experience Level

“This is our first ACFE conference, and it is great. The check-in was smooth, and I am looking forward to the Crypto Panel discussion and the “How to Satisfy the Objectives of Your Investigative Interview.” It is very prevalent in my job, so I am really looking forward to that.”

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Guardian Award Winner Takes Corruption Fight to Highest Levels

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Guardian Award Winner Takes Corruption Fight to Highest Levels

When Miranda Patrucic first started out as an investigative journalist, her editor Drew Sullivan would tell her, “Go get me a miracle.” Patrucic never quite understood but she was soon to discover what he meant after being assigned to do a profile of Milo Dukanovic, the longstanding leader of the small Balkan nation Montenegro.

“I didn’t know anything about Montenegro, and [here I was] deciding to go investigate a prime minister, the most powerful person in the country,” recalled Patrucic to another packed opening session at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Seattle on Tuesday.

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Building Your Knowledge of Construction Fraud

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Building Your Knowledge of Construction Fraud

Everyone’s had some experience with construction, whether it’s making repairs around the home, hanging a picture or assembling a Lego set. But just because you’ve picked up a saw or hammered a nail into a wall, you aren’t an expert on construction, Wayne Kalayjian, CFE, PE, told attendees in his early Tuesday morning session, “The Money Pit: Tales of Construction Fraud and How to Prevent It.” As Kalayjian explained throughout his session, construction is a complex field. A fraud examiner without the requisite construction knowledge might as well visit a building site without a hard hat.

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How a $12.5 Million Indictment Turned Out to be a $3 Million Loss

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How a $12.5 Million Indictment Turned Out to be a $3 Million Loss

A $12.5 million indictment turned out to be a $3 million loss. How did this happen? During her session at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, CEO and Founder of Acuity Forensics Tiffany Couch, CFE, CPA/CFF, walked attendees through a case study in which her determination to find accurate information revealed a 78.07% overstatement that, once uncovered, decreased the number of counts charged and incarceration time for her client.

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72 Hours to Get it Right: The Clock is Ticking on Your Investigation

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72 Hours to Get it Right: The Clock is Ticking on Your Investigation

You have probably heard the phrase, “Proper planning prevents poor performance.” That is how one of the session panelists introduced the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference session, “72 Hours to Get it Right, Sponsored by FORVIS,” which focused on the role of timeliness when it comes to fraud investigations. FORVIS forensics and valuation services professionals Erik Lioy, CFE, CPA/CFF, Zachary Powers, and Pat Hoan, CFE, CPA, wanted to prove that the actions taken by fraud investigations in the first three days after a potential fraud is uncovered play a crucial role in the direction of the investigation.

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Cultural and Bias Awareness Improve the Quality of Investigations 

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Cultural and Bias Awareness Improve the Quality of Investigations 

A common notion is that certain tell-tale signs, such as not making eye contact, can be used as sure indicators that a person is lying. However, forensic investigator Ruben Naiker, CFE, points out that there may be other reasons, such as culture or personality, for why an individual might exhibit certain behaviors besides dishonesty. Understanding cultural differences and being aware of one’s personal biases during interviews are crucial for achieving accuracy in investigations, said Naiker during a presentation on the topic at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference. 

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