Brenda Buetow, CFE, is currently the vice president of internal operations at Financial Center, an Indiana-based credit union. She has decades of experience navigating regulatory compliance. She specializes in FCPA and anti-bribery anti-corruption regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering/terrorist financing remediation and investigation, and BSA/AML remediation. When she’s not investigating fraud, she enjoys camping with her family.

My first experience fighting fraud was when I worked in the health care industry as a director of reimbursement.

My employer, a long-term health care facility, fell victim to an employee of the local Medicaid office who was embezzling state Medicaid funds using the unsuspecting families of residents of the health care facility. I assisted the FBI in documenting transactions that led to the case going to trial. From that point forward, I knew fighting fraud was my calling.

After 18 years as a financial crimes and forensic services consultant, I accomplished all of the professional goals and milestones I had set for myself. My list included managing investigations from allegation to prosecution, testifying as an expert witness, working alongside multiple law enforcement agencies, serving international clients, writing articles for several professional publications, being the keynote speaker at a fraud and corruption conference in Africa, assisting with the ACFE’s Financial Institution Fraud course and presenting at an ACFE annual conference.

But I wanted more.

It was time to use my skill set at a financial institution, full time, to guide them through the process of creating their own fraud management program. That’s when I started at Financial Center.

One of the most unique challenges I faced as a consultant was working with a foreign bank.

The engagement’s initial purpose was to confirm regulatory compliance with respect to international wires. Once the engagement began, we quickly realized there was more than just a concern regarding compliance. We were seeing numerous red flags supporting several fraud schemes including shell companies, masked beneficial ownership, patterns of activity supporting money laundering, fraudulent property transfers and conflicts of interest. As the unexpected suspicious and fraudulent transactions were exposed, balancing the expectations of the regulators as well as the client proved to be both challenging and rewarding.

I think the biggest misconception is that business activity, including regulatory compliance, occurs in a silo.

In most cases, regardless of the industry or type of engagement team I serve, activities are interlaced with each other. For example, fraud can be the result of “working” regulations to the advantage of the business and crossing the line of ethical behavior.

My most memorable case was an engagement focused on an allegation of potential fraud within a retirement fund. This was a high-profile case that afforded me the opportunity to use forensic investigation techniques that I had never used before, including the use of protective gloves when pulling checks ultimately used as evidence. In addition to performing the investigation, we also provided specific guidance to ensure this kind of fraud didn’t happen again. The team identified three separate fraudulent schemes — each which made it to trial which rarely happens. The result, and what I am most proud of, was I helped many people from my home state get justice in what so often is wrongly called a victimless crime.

Being a CFE has provided me with an internationally recognized credential and the continued education and teaching opportunities to thrive in a career I love.

I really like the online ACFE Community. I think it is a great way to not only have your questions answered, but also gives you a chance to share your unique experiences and knowledge in a way that can help fellow CFEs.

ACFE membership is open to individuals of all job functions, industries and levels of experience who are interested in the prevention, detection and deterrence of fraud. Our mission is to support you by providing access to the knowledge, resources and training you need to do your job now and at every stage of your career. If you want to level up your anti-fraud career, we can help.

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