Menendez Victoriously Pressed on to Third Act of Halliburton Fraud Production

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Menendez Victoriously Pressed on to Third Act of Halliburton Fraud Production

Deux ex machina — “God from the machine” — is a plot device that ancient Greek play authors used to save their characters from tight spots and hopefully give them happy endings. Anthony Menendez, CFE, told the Wednesday closing session attendees that was how Halliburton solved a fraudulent accounting problem he’d reported — just drop a benign explanation from the sky, end the production and close the curtain. Finis.

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Barboza’s Early Audacity Prepared Him For His China Corruption Articles

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Barboza’s Early Audacity Prepared Him For His China Corruption Articles

In the 1990s, David Barboza — then a sophomore at Boston University — wanted to emulate authors such as Robert Caro, J. Anthony Lucas and Neil Sheehan because he too desired to become a journalist and historian. “So I had this crazy idea … that I would call some of the great figures in history,” Barboza told attendees at the Tuesday working lunch, to interview them for his student papers.

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How to Spot Liars and Achieve Balanced Interviews

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How to Spot Liars and Achieve Balanced Interviews

Your key interview subject walks in, removes his coat and takes his seat. You offer him a cup of coffee and begin building some rapport. You immediately begin watching his hands, face and posture. You scrutinize his sentences and ask yourself, “Is this person lying to me? How can I tell?” Your observations and analysis might make or break your case.

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Dreyfuss Says Attendees Can Reverse Madoff-Influenced Society

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Dreyfuss Says Attendees Can Reverse Madoff-Influenced Society

“What would make smart people give him their millions?” actor Richard Dreyfuss asked himself when he was preparing to portray Bernie Madoff in the February ABC miniseries, “Madoff.” 

“He had to be the most comfortable, menschy, honest, sweetest guy in the world with a very strong opinion about who deserved to be in his exclusive investment company,” Dreyfuss told attendees at the Monday working lunch. 

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Wall Street Judge: Cynicism Tempered by Fraud Examiners' Efforts

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Wall Street Judge: Cynicism Tempered by Fraud Examiners' Efforts

Cressey Award recipient Judge Jed S. Rakoff said the real winners of the honor should be the members of the ACFE because they root out fraud to an unprecedented degree. “I wish I could say the same for the federal government,” he said during his Monday Opening Session address. “But I am regrettably, convincingly convinced that the federal government and the federal system of justice has somewhat retrogressed over the past couple of decades … in the prosecution of fraud … when it’s perpetrated by people at the highest levels of the financial establishment.”

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Nathan Mueller Stole $8.5 Million, Served 5½ Years and Says He Emerged Changed Man

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Nathan Mueller Stole $8.5 Million, Served 5½ Years and Says He Emerged Changed Man

“I went into prison thinking my life was over, but it turned out to be a lifesaving and life-changing experience,” said convicted fraudster* Nathan Mueller during the closing General Session of the 26th Annual Global Fraud Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. During his incarceration, he told attendees, he became “the person I always wanted to be.” Unfortunately, Mueller and his family had to travel a rocky and costly path so he could become a changed man.

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