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.

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.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist David Barboza Named 2016 ACFE Guardian Award Winner

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

James D. Ratley, CFE
ACFE President and CEO

Fraud examiners have many friends in other professions. Our activities and skills, for example, overlap with investigative journalists. We both use interviewing and data analysis tools. Sometimes we can help each other in discovering evidence. And we both try to objectively seek the truth.

We instituted the Guardian Award because fraud examiners and reporters often reach for common goals. We present it every year to a journalist whose determination, perseverance and commitment to the truth has contributed significantly to the fight against fraud. We select nominees based on their contributions in exposing specific acts of fraud and white-collar crime or through helping to shine a spotlight on issues central to fraud and the worldwide effort to prevent and detect it. Sounds like most fraud examiners, doesn't it?

David Barboza, a business correspondent for The New York Times, is the 2016 Guardian Award recipient because he exposed corruption at high levels of the Chinese government, including billions in secret wealth owned by the prime minister's relatives. He received a 2013 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his series of articles on the corruption.

In the cover article, Barboza says he began work on a series about what had been dubbed "state capitalism" with an envisioned final article about "princelings" — the sons and daughters of the political elites.  "And it was during the research on that piece that I began to discover that in China I could get access to corporate records, records of private companies, and records that listed current and former shareholders.

"I initially intended to look at the sons and daughters of Politburo members and write a little about their business deals. But then I found records related to the family of then prime minister, Wen Jiabao," he says. "I could hardly believe that within months of searching through government records and corporate filings of listed companies that there were indications the family might have a huge stake in Ping An, one of China's biggest insurance companies. I soon found that the family's wealth could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Eventually, we documented about $2.7 billion. But that was hardly all of it. I later found even more."

Read more about Barboza in this month's Fraud Magazine article, "Uncovering hidden billions in China." Also, Barboza will deliver a keynote message and receive the Guardian Award in person at the 27th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, June 12-17 in Las Vegas.

David Barboza Exposes the Billions Hidden by China's Prime Minister

GUEST BLOGGER

Emily Primeaux
Assistant Editor, Fraud Magazine

David Barboza has been a correspondent for The New York Times based in Shanghai, China, since November 2004 and has served as the paper’s Shanghai bureau chief since 2008. 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.”
 
At the 2014 ACFE Asia-Pacific Conference in Hong Kong, China, Barboza spoke with attendees about his exposure of Wen Jiabao, the prime minister of China.

Barboza started by explaining that early on, during dinners with people in finance and banking, he heard "rumors" that interesting things were happening with the sons and daughters of high-ranking families. He heard that they held secret shares in major companies, even listed companies.
 
With this information, Barboza decided he wanted to look into the most powerful men in China. In 2010, one major rumor was that Jiabao's family held secret shares in the world's largest insurance company and that his wife controlled the diamond industry. It was known that his son had co-founded one of the biggest private equity firms, and it was rumored that state department memos mentioned that children of the elite controlled each of these different businesses.
 
Jiabao's family just so happened to also hold shares in a listed company that had a public prospectus. On the prospectus, listed with major companies like Goldman Sachs and HSBC, were many Chinese companies he'd never heard of. Barboza told attendees, "I asked myself: Who are these companies? Who are the shareholders behind these Chinese-listed companies?"

After extensive research — which included a trip to the cemetery to confirm a relative's name and the names of her kin, all listed on the tombstone — Barboza discovered that hidden behind fake names and layers of partnerships and investment vehicles, many relatives of Jiabao's became extraordinarily wealthy during his leadership. They controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion. Barboza uncovered a detailed look at how politically connected people profited from an intersection of government and business.

"I wonder to this day why it took so long for me, or someone else, to find out this kind of thing. It's sitting in public records," Barboza told attendees. "And while it did take me over a year to do this project, I'm amazed at how much is out there in the public domain. Just within three months, we knew we had a story, just by seeing relationships."

"So, to me, I think one of the big lessons is, often it's sitting right in front of you," said Barboza. "And you've got to make the connections."

Read David Barboza's full New York Times report here.

A Look Inside: ACFE Asia-Pacific Conference offers speakers with stories you could only imagine

AUTHOR’S POST

Mandy Moody, CFE
ACFE Social Media Specialist

I am not going to lie; I often like to think of my life as a long, dramatic Hollywood movie (key word: think). At times, it feels like a drama (thanks to my two-year old). Other times it feels like a comedy (I am known to tell a few jokes at the expense of my friends and family). And, on the rare occasion, it feels like an incredible tragedy (a missed promotion, the loss of a friend, the realization that I cannot be “Mom of the Year” all of the time). But, for me these genres are just examples of the way my life feels; not how it is. For Michael Woodford, former Olympus CEO and whistleblower, his life over the past five years actually is like (and will soon be) a blockbuster movie. His story of exposing a $1.7 billion fraud with rumored connections to the Japanese mafia sounds like a Hollywood thriller, a thriller he will share during his keynote address at the upcoming 2014 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference in Hong Kong, November 16-18. Hear a clip below from Woodford speaking at the ACFE Global Fraud Conference in 2012.

Woodford, however, will not be the only speaker giving an inside look at his life. Below is the full list of speakers telling their stories:

• Michael Woodford, Olympus Whistleblower, UK
  After 30 years with Olympus, Woodford confronted its Board of Directors on multiple occasions asking for answers to financial discrepancies and even delivered a commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers investigation report. He was abruptly fired Oct. 14, 2011, by the company’s executive board because of what the board cited as a “management culture clash.” Just one month later, Olympus officials publicly admitted to the U.S. FBI and UK Serious Fraud Office to having paid fraudulent advisory fees in a decade-long cover up valuing $1.7 billion. 
• Albert Hui, CISA, CISM GCFA, GCFE, Principal Consultant, Security Ronin, Hong Kong
  Having spent years breaking and protecting information technology systems for investment banks and government and national critical infrastructures, Hui is an expert on high-sensitivity mission-critical systems security.
• David Barboza, Correspondent, The New York Times, China
  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.”
• Paul Chung, Deputy Head of the Financial Investigations Division of Narcotics Bureau, Hong Kong Police, Hong Kong
  Chung is an AML expert with more than 15 years of experience on financial investigation and financial intelligence handling. He also has experience in handling complex fraud investigation, including boiler room fraud, franchise fraud, LC fraud, instalment fraud and insurance fraud.
• D. Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA, CVA, Vice President and Program Director, ACFE
  Dorris is the Vice President and Program Director for the ACFE. As an Assistant District Attorney for the Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office in Shreveport, La., Dorris created and was the Director of its Financial Crimes Screening Section. He has testified numerous times before legislative committees and was a frequent lecturer with prosecutor and accountant training associations.

You can find more information about the 2014 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference at ACFE.com/AsiaPac. Early registration ends tomorrow!