CFE’s Knowledge, Persistence Exonerated Innocent Woman

MEMBER PROFILE

Cliff Coutcher, CFE
Fraud Investigator (retired), Rhode Island State Police

“It was a classic case of when bad things happen to innocent people,” Cliff Coutcher, CFE, said about a particularly memorable case “It’s scary.”

Coutcher, a former fraud investigator for the Rhode Island State Police, helped free an innocent woman who had been arrested, transported across several states, and held in custody for 11 days for a fraud she didn’t commit. Coutcher helped uncover a case of identity theft by an 18-year-old Rhode Island man that had turned the woman’s life into a nightmare.

“The incident was an example of something that can go perversely wrong in the system… if people don’t have the knowledge or the training to uncover what really happened,” Coutcher said. The case involved internet fraud – and Coutcher successfully traced the criminal activity to a Rhode Island man who had stolen the woman’s personal information to set up a purchasing scheme. The suspect’s subsequent confession to Coutcher exonerated the Tennessee woman.

Now retired, Coutcher looks back on the identity theft episode as one of many significant accomplishments in a decades-long career of fighting fraud. He investigated cases including millions of missing dollars from a loan and investment firm, the collapse of the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corp., the corruption case of a former governor, and the fraud investigation of a former state senator.

Coutcher said his CFE certification and access to membership resources helped provide the tools he needed to stay on the cutting edge of fighting fraud in an ever-changing industry.

“The training and networking have been excellent, and the ACFE always keeps me up-to-date on current (fraud) issues,” Coutcher said.

An ACFE Life Member since 1991, Coutcher was named 2005 CFE of the Year. He was awarded at the 16th Annual ACFE Fraud Conference and Exhibition for his commitment to fighting fraud.

A woman in Tennessee can attest to his dedication. For her, Coutcher is a personal hero.

The Most Powerful Investigative Resource You Probably Overlook

GUEST BLOGGER

Brian Willingham, CFE
President, Diligentia Group Inc.
Brewster, N.Y.

As an investigator, my job is to collect information and gather facts. There is never enough information. The more, the better. But in my own experience, one of the most powerful sources of information for a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) frequently gets overlooked. Everyone has access to it, and most of what is housed in it can be accessed from the comfort of your computer. Oh yeah, and the information found there is completely free. What am I talking about? Public records.

I have been a private investigator for more than 10 years. In the work that I do, I rarely have access to financial statements, internal documents, emails or employee files. No one is obligated to talk to me, release key documents or hand over their computer. Obtaining a stack of bank records, telephone records or a hard drive of information is the kind of information that I can only dream about.

I spend most my time scouring for bits of information through public records, court records, divorce filings, probate records, state criminal repositories, property records, files in assessors’ offices, news articles, blogs, regulatory filings, court clerk records, social networks, message boards, UCC filings, corporate documents and genealogy records. I’ve been known to spend countless hours in government offices, basements of libraries and the darkest corners of courthouses. I’ve also been known to stare at creepy message boards for days on end.

What I have come to learn is that many people take public records for granted. Because they are “public,” people assume that they can’t be all that valuable. (I bet if we called them “secret records,” everyone would be clamoring for them.) Our vast system of public records in the U.S. is one of the most unique investigative assets we have. When it comes to public records, we are hands down the most open country in the world. Just the other day, an investigator in Spain told me that you cannot verify that a doctor in Spain has a license or has not been sanctioned—incredible as that may seem. Meanwhile, anyone in the U.S. can do that, but I doubt many people have.

Most people don’t realize how public records can serve as resources to help connect the dots; develop a complete picture; fill in the blanks; and find supporting documentation, hidden clues or just plain old dirt.

As an investigator, your job is to collect information and facts. And if part of collecting information doesn’t include using the vast resources found in public records, you are definitely missing out.

I will address this topic at the upcoming 24th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, where I will share my tips and techniques to mining vast databases of public records in my session, “How to Utilize Open Sources/Public Records for Investigation in the United States.” I will share my “go-to” sources as well as provide real-life examples of scenarios in which accessing public records could have saved the day.

Brian Willingham is a New York private investigator and president of Diligentia Group.

CFE Works With Technology, Not Around It

MEMBER PROFILE

Jeffrey Meyer, CFE
Vice President, Internal Audit, CBS Corporation
New York, N.Y.

Mining data doesn’t just mean going through boxes of paperwork anymore. Much of an investigation’s evidence is collected online via data that could be hidden away on a hard drive or in plain sight on Excel spreadsheets. Jeffrey Meyer, CFE and VP of Internal Audit at CBS, knows the value of making technology work for him. “One of the challenges I see is embracing technology so that we are working through and with it, rather than around it,” Meyer said. “I spend a lot of time with data mining software so that I’m working with the full population, looking for anomalies that might lead me to answers, as well as more questions to be answered.”

What made you decide to become a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)?

In 2009, I attended the ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Las Vegas at the last minute after the only CFE was transferred out of our department. While I was initially skeptical of a fraud conference in Las Vegas, I was impressed by the seminars I attended and the people with whom I networked, so I decided to get my CFE credential and fill the gap in our department.

What ACFE training has benefited you most in your role?

While the benefits have been many, I have specifically benefited from interviewing skills training, which has broader implications beyond just fraud investigations. When I’m wearing my “auditor hat,” I spend a lot of time talking to others and gathering information. If I’m better at interviewing, I can spend less time and get better results.

What were some of the more challenging tasks you’ve personally faced as a CFE?

I’ve had several investigations where local finance and management has tried to do some investigating, including interviewing the suspected fraudster. These cases are challenging in that the “first bite of the apple” has already been taken and therefore removed any element of surprise we might have had. We’re working with our divisions to get us involved at the first signs of suspicion, and that’s reaping benefits for us.

What are some of the benefits/advantages to a company or government agency employing CFEs on its staff?

CFEs bring a different skill set and mindset to an internal investigation that can be critical to a successful outcome. You wouldn’t go to a tax accountant for your annual audit or to a dermatologist if you needed anesthesia for a surgery. These fields, while tangentially related, are not the experts in your true need, so why wouldn’t a company or agency choose the expert in the investigation field?

Please describe your most memorable case and its resolution (to-date if it’s a fresh case). Feel free to use pseudonyms for suspects if the case is ongoing and no judgment has yet been made.

My most memorable case wasn’t glamorous or high profile, but to me it was memorable because the business process worked as it should in identifying a potential fraud. While we prepared for a normal audit of one of our local markets, we got a call from the market’s credit manager, whom I’ll name “Bonnie.” As part of her normal controls, Bonnie was reviewing the accounts receivable aging and making telephone calls to follow up on delinquent accounts. With one small, local business account, the owner told Bonnie that he had paid the invoice, and he even had his cancelled check. Bonnie apologized for the mistake and asked if the owner wouldn’t mind faxing a copy of both sides of the cancelled check so she could correct the error. When she looked at the check, she called for our assistance. The sales person on this account, Henry, had added his name to the payee line of the check, had endorsed it and deposited in his bank account.

Working with our Security Department, I began investigating Henry’s accounts to see if any evidence existed for similar activity, but none did. Henry had started with this market less than two years ago, his first position out of college, so his activity was finite and readily available. When we confronted Henry with our evidence, he broke down and admitted he had taken the check. Through tears as he wrote out his confession, he realized that he might have jeopardized the rest of his career for about $800 of short-term cash, which he had already begun to repay before we questioned him.

Read the full profile in the Career Center on ACFE.com.