Fraud Fighters to Hear From Actor Richard Dreyfuss, U.S. District Judge and More

GUEST BLOGGER

Sarah Hofmann
ACFE Public Relations Specialist

Academy Award-Winning Actor Richard Dreyfuss, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, New York Times investigative journalist David Barboza and other experts will address more than 3,000 anti-fraud professionals gathering for the 27th Annual Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Global Fraud Conference in Las Vegas, June 12-17.

Most recently acclaimed for his portrayal of notorious fraudster Bernie Madoff in ABC’s miniseries Madoff, Dreyfuss immersed himself in the role. On portraying the ringleader of the $18 billion Ponzi scheme that would bankrupt hundreds of people and organizations, he said, “I’ve never played such a vivid and living legend of monstrosity … His ability to inflict pain on others was unbelievable.” Dreyfuss is not only known for his acting, but for his political and social activism as well.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff, U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of New York, has made a name for himself rejecting Securities and Exchange Commission settlements with big banks and fighting for the Department of Justice to crack down on fraud, specifically suggesting individual executives should be held accountable in lieu of the corporation as a whole. In an interview with Fraud Magazine, he explained, “While the government never approved fraud per se, it helped create some of the conditions that invited fraud.”

Other keynote speakers include New York Times investigative journalist and author David Barboza, body language expert Steve van Aperen and Halliburton whistleblower Anthony Menendez, CFE, CPA. Convicted fraudster Roomy Khan, who was involved in the Galleon Group insider trading scandal, will also address attendees. She will speak without receiving compensation from the ACFE.

The conference is the world’s largest gathering of fraud fighters and will feature more than 80 educational sessions presented by top experts in the anti-fraud field. Educational sessions will focus on subjects including cyberfraud and cybersecurity, white-collar crime, anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices, risk management, and fraud detection and prevention.

Don’t miss your chance to hear from experts on today’s most pressing fraud and corruption issues. Visit FraudConference.com for more information, video clips, articles and live updates from the conference.

Why No Top Execs Prosecuted After the Great Recession?

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

James D. Ratley, CFE
ACFE President

In the last 30 years, we've seen top executives prosecuted during the S&L debacle, the junk bond scandal, Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and other monumental crimes. However, we never saw prosecutions of any high-level execs after the recent Great Recession. Why?

Jed S. Rakoff, U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York, says in Fraud Magazine's most recent cover article that the reasons for the government's lack of prosecutions ranged "from the diversion of FBI agents to other priorities to prosecutors' increasing unfamiliarity with how to pursue such cases."

But two primary reasons stand out, he says. "First, beginning in the late 1990s, the Department of Justice became increasingly enamored with the vague — and in my view misguided — notion that prosecuting corporations instead of individuals would affect a change in ‘corporate culture' that would make companies more law-abiding," says Rakoff, a keynoter at the upcoming 27th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, June 12-17 in Las Vegas.

"Second, and probably most important, prosecuting companies is easy — because companies ultimately have to settle or face potential ruin — and enables prosecutors to trumpet quick successes without employing substantial resources or courting defeat," he says.

In a November 2011 ruling, Rakoff tossed out a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Citigroup that allowed the firm, without admitting guilt, to pay a $285 million fine for allegedly selling a billion-dollar fund filled with toxic mortgage debt. On June 4, 2011, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Citigroup ruling. But Rakoff was able to say his piece.

In his opinion, he wrote, "The SEC's long-standing policy — hallowed by history, but not by reason — of allowing defendants to enter into consent judgments without admitting or denying the underlying allegations, deprives the court of even the most minimal assurance that the substantial injunctive relief it is being asked to impose has any basis in fact. …

"In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth," Rakoff wrote.

Read Rakoff's full interview on Fraud-Magazine.com.

The ACFE, during the 27th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, will present Rakoff with the Cressey Award.

Wall Street Jed(i) to Keynote ACFE Global Fraud Conference

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody, CFE
ACFE Media Manager

The man “waging a one-man war on bank-friendly SEC settlements.”

“The judge known for holding Wall Street to account.”

“He has the courage of his convictions.”

These flattering descriptions tell me a few things about upcoming conference keynote speaker Judge Jed S. Rakoff, the U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of New York. First, there actually is someone out there who is trying to hold Wall Street’s wanderers accountable. Second, the media is capable of paying compliments. And, lastly, that he has a few things in common with many of the attendees I have met at the ACFE Global Fraud Conference over the past few years.

More than 3,000 fraud fighters from the around the world will all come together to network, learn and share war stories exactly like the ones Rakoff has fought at the 27th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, June 12-17, 2016, in Las Vegas.

But, the agenda doesn’t just stop with Rakoff. He will be joined by other keynote speakers including:

• Steve van Aperen, Body Language Expert
  Van Aperen has appeared on CNN, Access Hollywood, The News Room and many other programs and is affectionately referred to as the “The Human Lie Detector”. He is known as an expert in the field of behavioral interviewing, reading body language, detecting deception and changing behaviors through rapid induction hypnosis. He has conducted behavioral interviews on 68 homicide and two serial killer investigations and consults his services to Fortune 500 companies, police departments, intelligence agencies and government departments throughout the world on how to read body language and detect deception by analyzing verbal, nonverbal and paralinguistic behaviors.
• David Barboza, Investigative Journalist, The New York Times, Pulitzer Prize Winner
  Barboza has been a correspondent for The New York Times based in Shanghai, China, since November 2004. In 2013, Barboza was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting “for his striking exposure of corruption at high levels of the Chinese government, including billions in secret wealth owned by relatives of the prime minister, well documented work published in the face of heavy pressure from the Chinese officials.” He was also part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. In 2002, he was part of a team that was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Enron scandal.
• Tony Menendez, the "Accountant who Beat Halliburton"
  Menendez is widely recognized for his decade long legal battle with Halliburton as a corporate whistleblower under Sarbanes-Oxley. Despite having no formal legal training, as a pro-se litigant during the appeals process, he ultimately prevailed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. An in-depth profile of Menendez published by ProPublica provides insight into what motivated him to stand up against a corporate behemoth while shedding light on the difficult journey so many whistleblowers experience after coming forward.

Along with the keynotes listed above, the ACFE Global Fraud Conference will pack in more than 70 educational sessions, three Pre-Conferences, three Post-Conferences and an unlimited amount of networking into five days. I look forward to seeing you, and hearing even more stories about your individual fight against fraud, at the conference in June. Register by March 28 to reserve your spot and receive the latest savings.