In America today we face a devastating threat to our economy. This threat has injured millions of people and hundreds of thousands of businesses, and it affects the price points of almost everything we buy. It has both civil and criminal components, and it can lead to the destruction of families, companies, cities, and government subdivisions. The threat is fraud.
Fraud is the intentional, systematic process of deceit or misrepresentation that deprives a person, company, or government of something of value to which they had a legal right — usually U.S. currency or property. It can take the form of a Ponzi scheme, identity theft, cyber fraud, street fraud, intellectual property theft, financial fraud, construction fraud, and many other variants.
Lesley Kim of Fight Fraud in America puts it plainly: "Fraud is a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry in America." About 33 years ago, I became a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. That training proved invaluable during my tenure as a New York City Detective and later as owner of APB Investigations Inc., the largest private detective agency in Staten Island, New York.
The Role of ACFE
ACFE brings together investigators, accountants (CPAs), and lawyers in the private and public sectors whose sole purpose is to fight fraud. Workshops, training, networking, and good communication are tools in their arsenal. In NYC, as president of the Society of Professional Investigators, I worked with ACFE to combat this growing epidemic.
In the era of DOS-based computers with floppy drives and dot-matrix printers, I came across a fraud book called The Electronic Criminal by Robert Farr. It explained different types of fraud — from stolen bank shares to credit card fraud — and motivated me to investigate economic crime as a specialty.
Florida — The Economic Crime Unit
After retiring from NYPD as a Detective and selling the New York PI company, I was hired by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office in Florida. The Sheriff eventually asked me to head the Economic Crime Unit. After researching FCSO history, I found there had been only a handful of fraud-related arrests and convictions — partly because fraud schemes are complex and layered, which causes some agencies and prosecutors to deprioritize them.
In the first year, we arrested and convicted three major fraudsters in the construction industry for stealing over $2.5 million from the elderly, immigrants, and other home buyers. The unit also averaged 25 cents on the dollar in successfully recovered funds for victims and their estates.
Selected Cases
Criminal convictions were used by private attorneys to obtain restitution for over 100 victims. Notable cases include Gregory Still Bleyl, arrested for grand theft in excess of $700,000 and six counts of forgery, and Daniel George Quinn, charged with aggravated white-collar crime and a scheme to defraud as first-degree felonies.
Closing
Fraud must be fought on many levels — both criminal and civil. In the civil arena, fraud is often pursued to obtain restitution and provide aid to victims. A skilled fraud investigator can identify schemes, locate fraudsters, and trace assets that were taken. These crimes require attention to detail and an understanding of the fraudster's mindset.
After retiring from the Sheriff's Office, I continue this work in the private sector as owner of All Florida Investigations & Forensic Services.