Member Spotlight: Elizabeth Branney-Gant, CFE, Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship Recipient

ACFE STAFF

Elizabeth Branney-Gant, CFE, is an IT Auditor-Advanced for the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services. In 2017, Branney-Gant was selected to receive a scholarship from the ACFE’s Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship Program. Each year the ACFE awards scholarships to students who display academic achievement in accounting, finance, business administration or criminal justice, and who also desire to pursue a career in the anti-fraud profession. Since being awarded the scholarship, Branney-Gant has gone on to lead a fascinating career, and outside of her fraud-fighting responsibilities, Branney-Gant and her husband just welcomed their third child into the family.

How did you hear about the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship and what made you decide to apply?

I read about the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship in Fraud Magazine. Another CFE encouraged me to apply because she thought I would make a competitive applicant. It took me awhile to work up the courage to apply. At the time, I was working a full-time job, a part-time job, attending graduate school full-time and raising two children, so the scholarship enabled me to quit my part-time job to focus more on school and family. 

How did you become passionate about fighting fraud?

From an early age, I had an innate sense about right and wrong. In fact, one of my earliest childhood memories further solidified my passion for fighting fraud. I clearly remember my father, who was a truck driver, being unable to work because he broke his leg. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. Consequently, my parents set their pride aside and applied for public assistance. My heart aches when I remember my mom coming back to the car crying and confused. She couldn’t understand how they could be denied benefits because “she made too much income” when she had no income or employment, but it turns out she was a victim of identity theft. It took years for her to get the damage resolved. From then on, I knew I wanted to help people avoid becoming victims and help victims get justice. 

What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned since becoming a CFE?

Success is relationship driven. For example, a few years ago I received a phone call from a federal agent requesting documentation to support an investigation he was conducting involving identity theft. I quickly realized that the subject of the investigation was also using the identity to obtain duplicate public assistance benefits and unemployment insurance benefits from the State of Wisconsin. I was able to explain to the special agent how the duplicate public assistance benefits and unemployment insurance benefits had a federal nexus through wire fraud and other federal statutes. The agent and I partnered up to incorporate the public assistance and unemployment insurance benefits into his investigation. The subject was successfully prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The subject also repaid a substantial portion of the losses to the State of Wisconsin. 

What steps led you to your current role?

I started my fraud fighting career with Kohl’s department stores in loss prevention. I was my district’s internal investigations captain. I led my district to be ranked No. 1 in the company for internal investigations on the company score card by leveraging data to drive investigations, developing myself and others, and capitalizing on my ability to build rapport in admission-seeking interviews.  

In 2014, I obtained my first role with the State of Wisconsin as a regulatory specialist-fraud investigator at the Department of Workforce Development in a newly formed major cases unit. Three former law enforcement officers and I were hired to deal with complex cases of unemployment insurance fraud. For example, a gang from Florida had stolen more than a thousand identities to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in multiple states. I used my data and fraud skills to help the other investigators prevent and detect complex cases of fraud like this one.  

In 2015, I obtained a role at the State of Wisconsin, Department of Health Services DHS, Office of the Inspector General (OIG). In the new role, I investigated public assistance fraud and provided technical assistance to the county investigators in the southern region of Wisconsin. I also drafted a white paper that resulted in changes being made to the software DHS uses to provide public assistance benefits to Wisconsinites. While in this particular unit, I was trained in the Reid technique of interviewing and obtained specialized training in digital forensics from Madison Area Technical College. I also received financial crimes investigations training from the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigations.

Then, after earning an MBA from the University of Wisconsin Madison, I received a promotion to internal auditor-advanced at DHS OIG in the internal audit section (IAS). I helped the unit implement the use of computer-aided auditing techniques to conduct audits that span our agency’s 6,500 employees and an annual budget of $11.5 billion dollars. In 2018, I transitioned to an IT internal auditor-advanced role in IAS.

How has earning the CFE credential impacted your career?

The CFE credential has had a profound impact on my career by giving me both depth and breadth of fraud-fighting knowledge. I have used this knowledge to establish my creditability and drive results in every role in my career.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in applying for the scholarship?

I would advise students looking to apply for the scholarship to use candor while revealing details about themselves and their ambitions in their scholarship applications. The scholarship committee wants to get to know the students they are awarding scholarships to. Students should tell their story with confidence.

Through the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship, the ACFE Foundation supports the education of students who have an interest in pursuing a career in fraud examination. The scholarship provides an opportunity for students to advance their education and anti-fraud career paths. Many of these outstanding and deserving students go on to become Certified Fraud Examiners. The 2020-2021 scholarship committee is currently accepting applications.