At the Intersection of Filmmaking and Fraud Investigations

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At the Intersection of Filmmaking and Fraud Investigations

Brian Lazarte and James Lee Hernandez are storytellers by trade. But these filmmakers, directors and producers of the HBO docuseries “McMillion$” and the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Big Conn” align their styles closely with that of a fraud examiner. In front of a packed crowd at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, the Emmy-nominated pair discussed their process of “investigating an investigation,” conducting effective interviews with both criminals and their victims, and truly understanding the long-term impacts of fraud.

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Strength Through Numbers: Building Up an Army of Fraud Fighters

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Strength Through Numbers: Building Up an Army of Fraud Fighters

To prevent fraud within your organization, you will need to build an army of fraud fighters. This was the general message Mary Breslin, CFE, CIA, ACA conveyed in her educational session at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, titled “Fraud Awareness 2.0: An Army of Fraud Fighters.” 

So, why does an army need to be established? According to Breslin, most people are not 100% clear on what fraud is and those people need some help learning about fraud through examples. Many people don’t know how to differentiate waste and abuse from fraud, so that’s where we can come in and provide a little nudge.

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Strategies for Tackling Elder Fraud

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Strategies for Tackling Elder Fraud

Amy Nofziger, CFE, director of victim support for AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, led a lively – and sometimes sobering  – conversation with attendees during her roundtable discussion of elder fraud on Wednesday, the last day of the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference. During the session, attendees put their heads together to strategize ways to help people realize when they’ve been victimized by a romance scam, erase the stigma of being a victim of fraud, contemplate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on consumer fraud and how to talk to loved ones about fraud.

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Can a Ghost be Revived? The Case Study of a Missing Nonprofit 

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Can a Ghost be Revived? The Case Study of a Missing Nonprofit 

At the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference Michael Booher, CFE, CPA at the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury scared his audience with a fraud ghost story during his session “Ghost Story: A Case Study of a Nonprofit That Disappeared.” The subject company of the investigation, Phases, Inc., was a nonprofit dedicated to helping women with substance abuse issues in Tennessee. Phases, Inc. was a recipient of a grant from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS), when MHSAS noticed a red flag and a tip was reported to the Comptroller of the Treasury.  

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Keys to Successful Sanctions Compliance 

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Keys to Successful Sanctions Compliance 

During their final session on Tuesday afternoon at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, Enterprise Content Manager Rabihah Butler, Esq., and Jacob Denman, product marketing manager of risk, compliance and governance at Thomson Reuters discussed the nature of major sanctions trends and advocated for proper screening and controls when it comes to sanctions compliance. 

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