Join us for the Houston ACFE Monthly IN PERSON luncheon!  It's on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, so mark your recurring calendars!

We meet at the Ballroom at Tanglewood, 5430 Westheimer, Houston, TX

Speakers: Derrick Farr, Team Lead Investigator, United States Department of

Agriculture

Jerry Tuggle, Lead Investigator, United States Department of Agriculture

Title:  Current Trends in SNAP (Food stamp) Trafficking

Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Time: Lunch begins 11:30 pm, 12-1 presentation

Description:  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Trafficking is at least a $1 billion plus annual problem in our country.  Retailers and recipients continue to collude to misuse the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to obtain non-food items or cash rather than food and it is a growing problem.  It is estimated at least one in ten retailers are exploiting SNAP benefits.  But growing trends are targeting more of the recipients by cloning their cards through the use of skimming devices.  This presentation will discuss these trends in SNAP fraud.

Bios: Mr. Farr has been with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for six years.  He is a Team Lead Investigator in the Special Investigations Unit within the USDA’s Retailer Operations and Compliance division under Food and Nutrition.  He is currently involved in several outreach initiatives, contract management, and work planning projects.  He has assisted in the transition of SNAP’s investigative role to the USDA’s contractors.  He was assigned to oversee training, serve as a liaison, and provide guidance to case managers and investigative staff in the field.  He also led several investigative projects throughout the nation.  Previously, he was a Background Investigator assigned to the Pentagon and occasionally the White House and Vice President residence.  Prior to that he spent some time as a police officer, working in his local community in various roles and at the Veterans Affairs as training supervisor.  He was an Air Force Guardsman while attending college, serving in two combat tours in the Middle East.  He has a B.A. in Sociology and Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in public administration.

Jerry Tuggle has been employed by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service for the past 20 years.  He began his career in 1988 as a Law Enforcement Specialist in the United States Air Force where he served for five years.  He spent another seven years in civilian law enforcement where he worked for a sheriff's department in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and the St. Petersburg Police Department in Florida.  In 2003, he was hired by the USDA as an investigator conducting undercover SNAP (Food Stamp) fraud.  He was promoted to Senior Investigator in 2014, a Supervisory Investigator in Charge in 2016, and finally transferred to the Special Investigations Unit as a Lead Investigator in 2020.  His responsibilities include providing leadership and guidance to a team of investigators conducting SNAP Fraud investigations throughout the U.S., and training current and new investigators.  He has a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration and Ethics and a M.S. in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management.

Learning Objectives:  

• What SNAP trafficking and fraud trends are emerging and continuing.
• How these crimes are being committed and perpetuated.
• What is being done to combat this very serious and growing economic problem.

Presentation timeline:

11:30 Lunch begins

11:50 am: Houston ACFE Board Remarks

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm - Presentation

Recommended CPE hours: 1.0 credits.  

Event Policies:

Program Cancellation Policy

If you have registered and/or paid for an event and you need to cancel, you MUST cancel online through your account no later than 5 days prior to the event, unless otherwise indicated in specific event policies, to request a refund and/or cancel your registration. The Chapter must confirm event registrations with the venue prior to the event and any changes after this time period can become a financial cost to the Chapter. The Chapter reserves the right to make the final determination on what percentage charge/refund will be returned for cancellations made after the cutoff. The default condition is that cancellations made after cutoff will be charged at 100% and/or no refunds will be allowed. In the event the Chapter determines that partial charges or refunds will be allowed, they will be made on a case by case basis.

In the event of having to cancel one of the events,  the Chapter would immediately send an email blast to all registrants with the emails they used for registration.  The Chapter media relations officer would post on all social media platforms notifying members of the cancellation, and the Chapter webmaster would also post cancellation on the Chapter website.

In the event an attendee does not show up to the event, the registration cost will be forfeited. If payment at the door was the selected method, then the attendee will be billed for the full cost of the event. The Chapter reserves the right to bar future registrations for any attendees who routinely register and fail to pay and/or attend the event.  If you have any questions you may email events@houstonacfe.org."

For more information regarding refund, complaint and/or program cancellation policies, please visit the Terms & Conditions section of the website, or email us at events@houstonacfe.org.  

Additional Information:

Delivery Method:  Group Live
Prerequisites: Not Applicable
Field of Study: Specialized Knowledge
Who Should Attend:  Anti-fraud professionals, Auditors, Accountants, Attorneys, Investigators, Law Enforcement, Educators, Students
Advanced Preparation: None
Program Level: Basic

NASBA Sponsor No.  125230

The Houston Area Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.  State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.  Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

For concerns regarding course offerings, certifications or complaints, please contact:  Sasha Gartman, Training Director at the Houston ACFE.