March Lunch & Learn Session
Enterprise Fraud Investigations: Leveraging the Power of Data Analytics to Deconstruct the Myth of Complexity and Achieve Refined Analysis
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Session Synopsis
Enterprise fraud investigations are oftentimes viewed as behemoths – an impossible task no one dares endeavor; however, with the continually evolving use of Data Analytics and machine learning, the ability for their use as a force multiplier early in these investigations to mine for investigative patterns, and revisiting throughout to refine targeting and inform investigative strategy is a modern tool to move swiftly.
During the 2020 COVID Pandemic, a third-party lending processing company named Blueacorn processed more PPP applications than any other service provider. They were everywhere – and the size of their enterprise is what initially attracted federal attention. A Senate subcommittee determined at least $1 billion of Blueacorn’s $4.7 billion in processed loans were either questionable or outright fraudulent – not due to some technical program deficiency, but because a high number of applications contained false information. The subsequent 2022 investigation culminated in late 2025 by successfully bringing to resolution a multi-agency, multi-district enterprise fraud scheme, ultimately convicting and sentencing Blueacorn’s married Co-Founders Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge each to 10 years in prison, with $66 million and $63 million in restitution ordered, respectively; with several additional co-conspirators pending sentencing across further legs of the vast nationwide network totaling over $200 million, with estimates ranging into $600 million.
Presenter
Kristofer Pasquale, Special Agent with the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), and President of the Northwest Inspectors General Council (NWIGC)
Presenter Bio
Kristofer Pasquale is a former Staff Attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and has served 22 years as a Special Agent beginning in the Foreign Service with the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, where he protected personnel, facilities, and information, as well as the conduct of U.S. foreign policy interests at U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide. Kris then transitioned to the civil service and served at the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Internal Affairs Division, and subsequently served in the Department of the Interior, where served as the Chief of Policy and later the Special Agent in Charge of Internal Affairs.
In 2018, Kris moved to the Pacific Northwest as the Assistant Operations Officer overseeing 6 Special Agent in Charge Offices with the Department of Defense, with over 100 personnel, before making his way to the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General where he leads multi-agency investigative and prosecution teams on COVID Fraud Task Forces across the Western Region and a portfolio of investigations totaling over $2.6 Billion in fraud against the U.S. Government.
Kris is a Licensed Attorney and Certified Fraud Examiner (ACFE), and graduate of several leadership training programs at the Foreign Service Institute and the Department of the Interior University, and a Partnership for Public Service, Samuel J. Heyman Service to America 2025 Medal Honoree
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