2021 Conference Speakers
The Dallas Chapter has once again gathered an exceptional group of anti-fraud professionals in a variety of fields and specialties. See the Conference Agenda page for times and locations for each presenter.
Nicholas J. Ganjei
Acting United States Attorney
Nicholas Ganjei was named the Acting United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas on January 20, 2021. As Acting United States Attorney, Mr. Ganjei serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district, which includes 43 counties, four million people, and stretches across 35,000 square miles from the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Ganjei oversees a staff of approximately 120 prosecutors, civil litigators, and support personnel across six division offices and is responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in the district. Mr. Ganjei is the first person of color to serve as the U.S. Attorney (acting or otherwise) in the district’s 164-year history.
Mr. Ganjei is a career federal prosecutor who has dedicated his professional life to public service. Mr. Ganjei joined the Department of Justice in 2008 as an Assistant United States Attorney and, until recently, investigated and prosecuted fraud, public corruption, and other white collar matters. Prior to this, Mr. Ganjei prosecuted organized crime, narcotics, and human trafficking cases.
Before joining the Department, Mr. Ganjei clerked for the Honorable Richard Allen Griffin of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Ralph R. Erickson of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (previously of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota). Mr. Ganjei has also taught on the subjects of civil, criminal, and constitutional law, at both the collegiate and law school level. Mr. Ganjei is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Ross Perot Saga: How the billionaire’s avoidance of an audit of his EDS company led to “the biggest divorce in corporate history.”
Dave Lieber
Dallas Morning News “Watchdog” columnist
Dave Lieber is a national-award winning investigative columnist for The Dallas Morning News known as “The Watchdog.” He fights for people and exposes wrongdoing in business and government. He’s also the author of nine books and two popular plays. He’s married with three adult children and brags that he cooks a mean batch of lasagna.
Description
On this day, when a new theatrical production and companion book – both created by speaker Dave Lieber – enjoys their world premiere tonight, the Dallas Morning News Watchdog columnist revives the forgotten story of Ross Perot Sr.’s gargantuan battle with General Motors over an audit. GM bought Perot’s EDS to revolutionize the car industry with computerization, but from the start there was a culture clash between the two companies. Ultimately there was a breakup that gave Perot $750 million to go away. But most people don’t remember that the true cause was Perot’s adamant refusal to allow an audit of EDS’ books. What’s the story behind this?
Objectives
- Learn the story about the audit that never took place and led to a massive golden parachute
- Show why the audit was necessary and speculate what Perot was trying to hide
- Reiterate the importance of corporate audits, especially when a company is sold and the parent company is in search of much-needed financial information.
Eduardo A. Chávez
Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Field Division, US DEA
Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Eduardo A. Chávez leads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, overseeing daily operations of offices in the North Texas region to include Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Tyler, as well as the entire state of Oklahoma, with offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and McAlester.
SAC Chávez began his career with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the San Francisco Field Division in 2000 as a Special Agent assigned to the Bakersfield, California, Resident Office. During this period in the Central Valley of California, SAC Chávez conducted numerous complex conspiracy and undercover operations where his fluent Spanish and upbringing along the U.S.-México border allowed him to infiltrate several Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs).
In 2005, SAC Chávez was assigned to the DEA México City Country Office where he was responsible for creating and implementing a bi-national methamphetamine strategy which encompassed joint-investigations, intelligence building, training, and public awareness. SAC Chávez was the main liaison between the DEA and the Mexican judicial agencies when matters of methamphetamine, clandestine laboratories, or precursor chemicals arose. In December 2008, SAC Chávez was promoted to a Group Supervisor in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, District Office where his enforcement group split its time between investigating Mexican heroin and methamphetamine trafficking organizations as well as confronting the emerging synthetic cannabinoid trade in Albuquerque.
In June of 2015, SAC Chávez was assigned to DEA Headquarters, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, where he handled national media inquiries and interviews on a variety of topics as a DEA spokesperson. In October of that same year, SAC Chávez was promoted to the position of Section Chief of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) section which oversaw a multi-million dollar OCDETF budget, DEA’s management of the Attorney General’s Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) list, and DEA’s participation in the OCDETF Strike Forces. In December 2016, SAC Chávez transferred to the Dallas Field Division and supervised over 55 special agents and task force officers from five enforcement groups, including command of the North Texas Strike Force, who are responsible for investigating North Texas’ most complex and violent TCOs.
In December 2019, SAC Chávez was reassigned to his position as the Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division, responsible for North Texas and Oklahoma.
SAC Chávez is originally from Southwestern New Mexico and holds a Bachelor’s of Science in International Politics from the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Fraud Prevention from the Perspective of an Individual that Embezzled $13.5 Million
Vernon Beck
Are you concerned with fraud prevention? How can you tell if fraud may be occurring on a project? Are you like those that think it could never happen in your company? Learn what to look for. Learn how to prevent fraud from occurring before it even begins.
Listen to how Vernon Beck, a former U.S. Air Force fighter and bomber pilot, devised a scheme to commit fraud and embezzle almost $14 million from the company where he worked for 17+ years. Corporate fraud has evolved – “...it’s not just something you look for in the accounting department or finance office.” Fraud is the number one culprit affecting the profit margins of many companies today. But here’s the key – it can be detected or even eliminated – if you know what to look for!
Vernon is an expert conference speaker, and has been a speaker for various different speaker’s bureaus, on detecting and preventing fraud in corporate America. Come listen to him explain how he was able to fool auditors for more than 7 years.
Investigating Military Phonies
Glenna Whitley
Co-author of Stolen Valor
An award-winning investigative reporter, Glenna Whitley specializes in writing about crime and the legal system. She’s been a staff writer for the Dallas Observer, executive editor and senior writer for D Magazine, and a feature writer for the Dallas Morning News. Whitley’s freelance work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Texas Monthly, Penthouse, Glamour, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, More, New York Times, Town & Country, and many more.
She is co-author with B. G. Burkett of the non-fiction book Stolen Valor about the Vietnam War, published in 1998. The subject of three segments for “20/20,” including one that won a CINE Award, Stolen Valor received the 2000 William E. Colby Award for writing on military affairs at Norwich University.
Description
Military imposters often portray themselves as heroic warriors--they were SEALs or Green Berets on classified missions--and their stories can be very convincing, especially to people who have never been in the military. Many just tell their tales on barstools. But some use their phony stories in sweetheart swindles, to obtain fraudulent benefits, to run for office or to fool investors. How to spot them?
Objectives
- Recognize tip-offs to phony or exaggerated military claims.
- Learn how to obtain military records and verify medals and decorations.
- Learn to find military experts to help you understand those records.
Deanna Sullivan
CPA, CGMA, CIA, CFE, CRMA
An internationally-recognized speaker, author and trainer, Deanna Sullivan has made it her mission to ensure education is effective as well as fun. Her goal for every session is to educate, entertain and motivate the participants to achieve their personal and professional goals.
Deanna is a frequent and highly-rated speaker for conferences and events around the globe, including the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) International Conference. In the past few years, Deanna spoke at IIA events in Australia, Shanghai, Geneva, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo, in addition to events throughout the US. Deanna conducts programs for both technical and management development. Her most popular topics are in the areas of fraud, ethics, leadership and communications.
Deanna has a diverse background ranging from auditing and accounting to consulting and training. She serves as Chairman of the Houston Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) annual conference which attracts 1,200 participants and was Chairman of the IIA’s highly-rated 2006 International Conference with 2500 attendees from around the globe.
Deanna is certified to teach ethics for Texas CPAs and regularly receives comments such as, “The best ethics course I’ve ever attended!” Deanna is certified as a Ziglar Legacy Trainer; Zig Ziglar was her hero so she is delighted to be able to help carry his message around the world. Speaking is part of Deanna’s life and when not traveling she teaches a Bible Study class and is on the Speakers Committee for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Conversation with the Former Chief Risk Officer, SEC
Gabriel Benincasa |
Catherine Rowsey
Associate, Holland & Knight
Catherine Rowsey focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, government investigations and enforcement actions, and corporate governance and internal investigations. She has represented clients in multiple industries, including energy and healthcare, in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, including substantial experience in cases involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate governance, breach of contract, antitrust, misappropriation of trade secrets and trust and estate disputes.
Case Study: Disappearing Printer Ink
Brian Molloy |
Keith Salas is an assistant city auditor for the City of Austin and spent several years leading and supervising fraud, waste, and abuse investigations as a member of the City Auditor’s Integrity Unit.
Michael Yamma
Senior Investigator for the Office of the City Auditor, City of Austin
Michael Yamma was the lead investigator on this $1.5 million fraud case, and is experienced in fraud investigation as well as public health and utility audits.
Description
For close to a decade an Austin Public Library employee took advantage of his position with the City, his access to City credit cards, and the lack of oversight from his bosses. He ultimately stole approximately $1.5 million in printer toner and personal electronics. This webinar will present a case study of the fraud and waste investigation we conducted to identify what this employee stole, how he stole it, and who should have discovered this scheme. Attendees will learn useful investigative steps for asset misappropriation cases. In addition, we will cover proactive steps any organization can take to detect and prevent asset misappropriation.
Objectives
- Learn how to identify methods of employee theft
- Discover mistakes in uncovering the fraud scheme
- Learn proactive steps any organization can take to detect and prevent asset misappropriation
Best Practices for Depositions
E.J. Janek, CPA, CFF, CFE
Principal, Ryan Fraud and Forensics Recovery
EJ Janik, is President of the Firm, a certified public accounting and consulting firm. EJ is a CPA, CFF and CFE. Mr. Janik's more than 40 years of professional experience includes but is not limited to: financial audits, compilations and reviews, consulting / commercial litigation / antitrust matters, engineering and construction matters, real estate, and bankruptcy / business reorganizations for Fortune 500 companies, public, and private entities in a variety of industries. He holds a Master of Science in Accounting from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Commerce from Rice University. Mr. Janik is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Clinical Laboratory Investigations
David Webb and Kelly Tobin
UnitedHealthcare
Description
Description: In the past few years, laboratory fraud has evolved from the liquid gold, high dollar urine drug screenings, to billion-dollar rural hospital pass through billing schemes, to exploitation of the national public health emergency, and COVID-19 testing. Become familiar with visual and data indicators which are used to prevent, detect, and correct this drain on public and private resources.
Objectives
- Become familiar with federal and state laboratory accreditation.
- Learn how to leverage data to identify patterns of fraud, waste, and abuse.
- Learn proactive steps to detect and protect your organization against fraud, waste, and abuse.
Past Speakers
 BRUCE DORRIS ACFE President & CEO |
 RUSTY HARDIN Civil & Criminal Trial Attorney |
 WESTON SMITH Former CFO of HealthSouth Convicted Fraudster |
.jpg) ERIC O'NEILL Cyber-security expert Former FBI operative |
 ANDREW FASTOW Former Enron CFO Convicted Fraudster |
 GREGORY COLEMAN Former FBI Special Agent |
 TOM GOLDEN Former ACFE Regent |
 JIM RATLEY Former ACFE President |
 CYNTHIA HEATHERINGTON ACFE Speaker of the Year |
DEANNA SULLIVAN Ethics Expert |
 JOHN CASSARA Author, Trade-Based Money Laundering |
 WALT MANNING Investigations Futurist |
Interested in speaking at this year's conference? Contact info@dallasacfe.org.