2020 Training Events

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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty regarding public gatherings for the foreseeable future, we have switched our Chapter trainings to an online model (Zoom) until further notice. 

In addition, we have started offering monthly training sessions, each worth 1 hour CPE.  There will be an optional hour of networking following each training session.   To be eligible for CPE, attendees will be required to pre-register and participate in online polling.  CFEs must respond to at least 75% of polling questions to have their training count toward CPE.

Dates and times of monthly trainings may vary, but are typically held sometime during the third week of each month.  We will post all date and time information below.

In addition to our regular monthly trainings during Q4 2020, we have also entered into a special training partnership with the ACFE's South Florida Chapter.  This is an opportunity to earn additional CPE's from a variety of speakers and topics.  Their training is interspersed below with our own Pacific Northwest Chapter Training.  Please pay attention to the sponsor when registering for the training.  You'll see links for our own PNW Chapter Training.  And after paying, please remember to complete the training form so we know which event you are paying for!

UPCOMING TRAINING SESSIONS

Wednesday October 21, 2020 - Pacific NW Chapter Training

Topic: Casino Evidence to Fight Fraud

Training Seminar: 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Optional Networking: 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Speaker:  Gina St. George, CFE, CPA

Fraud investigation experience includes detecting schemes related to disbursements, revenue, fraudulent asset transfers, and contract compliance.  Activities include quantifying the financial loss to the client through detail testing of transactions using both manual and automated techniques; interviews with the suspect(s), witnesses, and the victim(s); personal computer data mining, and obtaining evidence from outside parties.  Gina also has experience working with law enforcement including conducting evidences searches of suspect’s office.  Finally, her experience includes working with the client’s attorney in analyzing evidence and providing accounting expertise.  Gina has presented on many topics over the years to include Fraud Prevention and Detection, Casino Accounting, and Title 31 Compliance.

Attend this presentation to learn what types of evidence is created when a fraudster conducts financial transactions at a casino and how this information will be useful to your case. She will give detailed insight tapping into her experience from both sides: Internal casino operations and as an external examiner of evidence. 

Speaker Bio:  Gina St. George, CFE, CPA, Director of Financing and Accounting at ilani casino in Ridgefield WA, has over 30 years of combined public accounting, hospitality, and gaming industry experience. Gina is currently the Director of Finance & Accounting for a large tribal casino. Gina started her public accounting career in 2001 where she was first introduced the gaming industry. In addition to auditing, her services included forensic accounting and fraud investigations, control system improvement, and operational assessment projects.

Note: This meeting will be held online via Zoom. Meeting login instructions will be emailed after registration, approximately 1 day before the training.

CPE:
The training includes 1 hour of CPE.  

Cost:
Those Chapter members who have paid for annual training along with their membership ("Dues and Seminars Package") will be able to attend without additional payments. The fees for Chapter members who have not paid for the annual training with their membership will be $10.00, and non-Chapter member fees will be $15.00. Payment will be through PayPal at the link below.

Registration Info:
Registration by Credit Card via PayPal using the link below; or pay by cash, check, credit card. Chapter Training Seminar Chapter Member $10.00 USD Non-Chapter Member $15.00 USD Full Name 

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Tuesday November 13, 2020 - Special Program

PART 2 OF OUR SPECIAL TRAINING PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER 

Training Seminar: 9:00am - 2:00pm PST

Speaker: Bruce Dorris, ACFE President and CFO
Presentation Title: "Global Fraud Studies in a Pandemic"

In this session, we’ll explore the latest ACFE research into how fraud is perpetrated, how it is detected, and who the perpetrators are in a COVID-19 world. We’ll also discuss trends in what organizations are doing to protect themselves from would-be fraudsters, including how they employ various anti-fraud technologies and what anti-fraud controls have the greatest impact.

Speakers: Alberto Orozco (PwC Partner), Jose Tanguma (PwC Director) and Viri Foster (PwC Senior Manager)

Presentation Title: "Corruption in Latin America: Opportunities, Challenges and Risks"

Understand three main areas: (1) Latin America’s fight against corruption, including local Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption (ABAC) laws enacted and enforcement, (2) corruption schemes followed in LATAM related cases highlighted by the regulators for the last 20 years, and (3) the use of technology on compliance efforts.

Speaker: Joseph Palmer, Palmer Forensics CEO
Presentation Title: "The Business TSA: A Case for Knowing Your Vendor"

Participants will learn: to differentiate fact from fiction with respect to vendor management, recognize the latest vendor vetting processes and services available, and identify the technical limitations impacting investigations of vendor fraud.

Speaker: Peter Grupe, Protiviti Director
Presentation Title: "Financial Crimes Through the Years - Trends and Lessons Learned"

An examination of financial crimes over the last thirty years, with a view from both the government and private sector. Financial crimes have evolved through the years in both methodology, sophistication and losses and exposure. We will explore white-collar crime trends and investigative techniques through case studies and lessons learned.

CPE:
The training includes up to 5 hours of CPE.  

Cost:
$85 Members of PNW Chapter / $100 Non-Member

Registration Info:
Please note that this training falls outside of our "Dues and Seminars Package", meaning that all attendees will be required to pay the registration fee.

Click HERE to register for the November 13th training.  

IMPORTANT: For current PNW Chapter members, please choose the "ACFE Local Members" option when you go to register. Also, please be sure to select the WA PNW Chapter in the Chapter Affiliation drop down box when entering registration information.
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Thursday November 19, 2020 - Pacific NW Chapter Training

Channel Stuffing:  An SEC Investigative Case Study in the Face of an Economic Slump

Training Seminar: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Optional Networking : 3:00pm - 4:00 pm

Speaker:  Joshua Sullivan, CFE, FTI Consulting -

FTI Forensic Accountant Joshua Sullivan will discuss how the economic uncertainty caused by the current pandemic may lead to an increase in revenue manipulation regulatory investigations and lawsuits. He will discuss one such revenue manipulation method, channel stuffing, and will present a case study based on a recent SEC settlement.

Speaker Bio:  Joshua Sullivan provides forensic accounting services for fraud investigations and damages calculations. Much of his work is related to regulatory inquiries, post-merger and acquisition disputes, and litigation and arbitration.  

Mr. Sullivan has experience in fraud investigations related to Department of Justice inquiries, Securities and Exchange Commission investigations, whistleblower allegations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance, and company-initiated investigations. He has investigated allegations of corruption, bribery, revenue manipulation schemes, cash larceny, kick-backs, and fraudulent financial reporting. He also provides forensic accounting services in high stakes commercial litigation and arbitration related to fraud allegations, merger and acquisition disputes, damages calculations, stolen trade secrets, and insurance disputes.

Note: This meeting will be held online via Zoom. Meeting login instructions will be emailed after registration, approximately 1 day before the training.

CPE:
The training includes 1 hour of CPE.  

Cost:
Those Chapter members who have paid for annual training along with their membership ("Dues and Seminars Package") will be able to attend without additional payments. The fees for Chapter members who have not paid for the annual training with their membership will be $10.00, and non-Chapter member fees will be $15.00. Payment will be through PayPal at the link below.

Registration Info:  Register below using the form below the payment button.  This will ensure we know which event(s) you are registering for.  Thank you!

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Thursday December 3, 2020 - Special Program

PART 3 OF OUR SPECIAL TRAINING PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER

Training Seminar: 9:00am - 1:00pm PST

Speaker: Michael Bret Hood, Founder 21st Century Learning & Consulting

Presentation Title: "The Brendan Dassey Confession: Lessons for Interviewers"

In the Netflix series, Making A Murderer, 16-year-old Brendan Dassey confessed to participating in a murder, but there are many opinions regarding the validity and accuracy of the confession. Using snippets and statements from the actual confession, participants will dissect the interviewer's role critiquing what went right/wrong while also discussing how to utilize these findings to perform better interviews in the future. (2 hours) 

After this block of instruction, the participants will be able to:

• Given a scenario, evaluate an interview for effectiveness.

• Develop an interview style designed to best elicit information from the interviewee.

• Compare/contrast minimization/maximization techniques.

• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of leading questions.

• Explain the importance of listening in interviews.

• Develop methods to limit the interviewer’s percentage of talking during an interview.

• Explain the importance of periodically re-charging System 2 in the interview process.

• Implement the moral equilibrium concept to promote truthfulness.

• Devise methods to avoid false confessions.

Speaker: Michael Bret Hood, Founder 21st Century Learning & Consulting
Presentation Title: "The HealthSouth Financial Statement Fraud: How Did it Go So Wrong?"

Learning from an FBI Agent who was involved in this investigation, participants will discuss the events that occurred as well as the mistakes that were made. Based on the audience, this class can be tailored for board members, executives, or internal audit groups. (2 hours)

After this block of instruction, the participants will be able to:

• Evaluate the board’s role in the fraud.

• Evaluate the executive’s role in the fraud.

• Evaluate the internal audit function in relation to the fraud.

• Define indirect blindness.

• Explain how indirect blindness led to the fraud.

• Develop best practices to mitigate the psychological processes that enable ethical deviations in business decisions.

CPE:
The training includes up to 4 hours of CPE.  

Cost:
$70 Members of PNW Chapter / $90 Non-Member

Registration Info:
Please note that this training falls outside of our "Dues and Seminars Package", meaning that all attendees will be required to pay the registration fee.

Click HERE to register for the December 3rd training.  

IMPORTANT: For current PNW Chapter members, please choose the "ACFE Local Members" option when you go to register. Also, please be sure to select the WA PNW Chapter in the Chapter Affiliation drop down box when entering registration information.
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Wednesday December 16, 2020 - Pacific NW Chapter Training

We have two sessions on this date.  We hope you can make it for both training events!  Look for the speaker bios after the event listings.

Topic 1: Genetic Testing & COVID-19 Fraud Schemes

Speaker - Kyle Mitchum, CFE; ASAC, HHS-OIG

Training Seminar: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

ASAC Kyle Mitchum will briefly cover HHS-OIG’s role in Health Care Fraud Investigations and Exclusions throughout the United States. Kyle will be discussing schemes that are being investigated currently throughout the country and highlight some current trends in the Pacific Northwest. 

Topic 2: Not Immune: Fraud in the Charter Schools

Speaker - Brian Carpenter

Training Seminar: 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Optional Networking: 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Charter schools first appeared in the public education sector in 1992. Since then, they have proliferated as state-sponsored initiatives across the US, now numbering around 7,000 schools. In many instances, charter schools have provided unprecedented opportunities for children who would have otherwise been trapped in inner-city chronically failing schools. Such successes not withstanding, however, charter schools have also been the victims of fraud, ranging from trivial pilfering of PTO funds to massive enrollment scams north of $80 million. Bottom line: Just because most people are in charters for the sake of children, they are not immune from fraud.

SPEAKER BIOS:

Speaker: Kyle Mitchum, CFE; ASAC, HHS-OIG - Kyle T. Mitchum is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Seattle Field Office for the United States Department of Health & Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  In this role he has supervised agents and investigations in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska since 2015.  Kyle began his federal career as a Special  Agent in the Columbus Field Office in the Southern District of Ohio where he conducted a broad range of health care fraud and drug diversion investigations involving pain management clinics, dermatology, medical transportation, medical identity theft and physician fraud schemes.  Prior to moving to the Pacific Northwest, Kyle served as Operations Officer in Washington, DC where he provided oversight responsibility for all of OIG’s Medicaid investigations nationally and  was responsible for the review and approval of undercover and consensual monitoring operations in accordance with the Department of Justice and Attorney General Guidelines.

Kyle began his career in law enforcement over 18 years ago as a law enforcement officer with the State of South Carolina where he worked as a police officer and state criminal investigator for the Attorney General of South Carolina in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). 

Kyle is the recipient of the 2016 & 2020 Inspector General’s Bronze Medal for Outstanding Employee of the Year and a 2003 South Carolina Police Officer of the Year. Kyle has been a Certified Fraud Examiner since 2006 and holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina.

Speaker:  Brian L. Carpenter

Former US Marine turned educator Brian L. Carpenter has been consulting in the charter school space since 2005. As CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute at Central Michigan University (2005-2009), Brian was among the first to stress the importance of a competent governing board as essential to building a successful school. His first book, Charter School Board University (2008, 2nd ed.) is widely regarded as the industry standard. Although he is semi-retired, he continues working with individual schools, writing, and speaking at conferences to this day. He lives in Eatonville about eight months out of the year and in Phoenix during the winter.

Note: This meeting will be held online via Zoom. Meeting login instructions will be emailed after registration, approximately 1 day before the training.

CPE:
Each training event includes 1 hour of CPE.  If attending both training events, you will receive 2 hours of CPE.

Cost:
Those Chapter members who have paid for annual training along with their membership ("Dues and Seminars Package") will be able to attend without additional payments. The fees for Chapter members who have not paid for the annual training with their membership will be $10.00 for one event and $20.00 for both.  Non-Chapter member fees will be $15.00 for one or $30.00 for two. Payment will be through PayPal at the link below.

Registration Info:
Register below using the form below the payment button.  This will ensure we know which event(s) you are registering for.  Thank you!
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Wednesday January 20, 2020 - Pacific NW Chapter Training

Topic: The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) - The correlation between Fraud investigations and the BSA SAR and CTR filings.

Training Seminar: 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Optional Networking: 4:00pm - 5:00pm

How do bankers, fraud investigators and law enforcement all work together to help fight against money laundering, human trafficking and other financial crimes? 

Speaker: Kimberly Johnson

Speaker Bio: I majored in Law Enforcement (Criminal Justice) in college but life made some changes to my plan and I ended up in banking instead.  I was a reserve officer at a small Police Department in the early 90’s on nights and weekends but still remained working full time at the bank.  I became involved in the Fraud aspect of banking in 2005 and became a CFE in 2018.  I was involved in the Kitsap County Fraud Group for 13 yrs. During that time period I also spoke in the community on Fraud, ID Theft and Elder Abuse prevention and awareness.  In November 2019 I got an opportunity to move to Gulfport, MS to become a Bank Secrecy Specialist.  I started my new position on January 2, 2020 and have recently received my NAFCU Certified Bank Secrecy Officer status. 

Note: This meeting will be held online via Zoom. Meeting login instructions will be emailed after registration, approximately 1 day before the training.

CPE:
This training includes 1 hour of CPE.  

Cost:
Those Chapter members who have paid for annual training along with their membership ("Dues and Seminars Package") will be able to attend without additional payments. The fees for Chapter members who have not paid for the annual training with their membership will be $10.00, and non-Chapter member fees will be $15.00. Payment will be through PayPal at the link below.

Registration Info:
Registration information coming soon!