The Houston Chapter of the ACFE announces its 2016 Global Fraud Impact Award Winner - Amy Davis.

Emmy-award winning reporter Amy Davis is passionate about helping people.

Her persistent pursuit of justice has landed scam artists in prison, changed state laws and city ordinances, and has resulted in businesses refunding thousands of dollars owed to customers who couldn't otherwise get their money.

Amy is a native Houstonian and thinks it's pretty cool that she lives just miles from the hospital where she was born. She attended Aldine Senior High School and the University of Houston, where she majored in Journalism and received a minor in Political Science.

Amy is a long-time member of Investigative Reporters & Editors.

Her investigations have won accolades and honors from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters, Society of Professional Journalists, the Houston Press Club, the Harris County Medical Society and the Lone Star Emmy Chapter.

Ms. Davis led an investigation regarding complaints filed with the State Securities Board and the FBI with regard to a potential fraudulent investment scheme orchestrated by AG Cooper & Associates and convicted fraudster Allan Cooper. Victim complaints gained traction with the FBI upon reporting by Ms. Davis and more recently Allan Cooper was arrested in conjunction with the fraud charges. Because of her work on this case, she was selected by the Houston ACFE Board of Directors as the 2016 Fraud Impact Award Winner and our guest speaker at the June luncheon.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/houston-convicted-thief-runs-investment-company-in-plain-sight

The Houston Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Global Fraud Impact Award for 2016 is presented to the individual who made outstanding, significant contributions to the worldwide effort to prevent, deter, or detect fraud. The fraud fighter must have played an important role in a significant fraud matter. In the spirit of the Houston Chapter slogan United Locally to Fight Fraud Globally, the winner must reside in the Houston Combined Statistical Area, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Waller, Chambers, Austin, San Jacinto, Walker, and Matagorda counties.  The outstanding contribution must have taken place during the twelve month period ending April 30, 2016.

Congratulations to chapter members David Frizell and Robin Patterson for winning conference passes to the ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Las Vegas this June!  David and Robin entered the raffle drawing by donating to the Richie-Jennings Scholarship fund (www.houstonacfe.org/giving).  For more information about the Richie-Jennings Scholarship or the ACFE Foundation, go to www.acfe.com/foundation.

Congratulations to  Marina Rahim and Trinh Vu from the University of Houston.   These students displayed academic achievement in accounting, finance, business administration or criminal justice, and desire to pursue a career in fraud examination or similar anti-fraud profession. 

http://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/documents/2016-2017-RJMS-winners.pdf

This has been a busy year for student relations in supporting the efforts to revitalize the student chapter at Sam Houston State University and support the student chapter at University of Houston – Clear Lake.  Additionally, student relations has been reaching out to the University of Houston-Downtown and University of Houston-Main Campus to gauge interest in student participation in events and formation of student chapters.

In the fall, Al Mitchell spoke to the student chapter at Sam Houston State University and Katherine Avery Guillot spoke to the student chapter at UH-Clear Lake to provide an introduction to the Houston Area ACFE and the CFE designation. In February, Robert Ward spoke to the SHSU student chapter on the topic of Preventing Diversions to Forbidden Nations.  In February and March, Al Mitchell and Scott Lanham spoke to several sections of Dr. Jan Taylor Morris’ accounting class. In April, Charles Dixon spoke to the SHSU student chapter on the topic of career advice.  Scott Lanham was the Lunch Keynote Speaker the Future Tech Conference at SHSU in April. 

Katherine Avery Guillot, Thi Tran and David Kirtland reviewed resumes during the Fall and Spring semesters.  This service provides great insight to the students through input from industry professionals on ways to maximize their experience and education.

In March, Katherine Avery Guillot spoke with Al Mitchell about his volunteer experience. Al Mitchell noted he enjoyed interacting with the students and felt as if he were contributing to their education and the industry by sharing his experience.  Mr. Mitchell also shared with the students that the CFE designation is applicable to fields outside of accounting.

The Houston Area ACFE would like to thank all the volunteers for their contributions.  If you have interest in volunteering for future events, please contact Katherine Avery Guillot.

The Dallas Area ACFE Chapter is hosting their 26th Annual DFW Fraud Conference on May 13, 2016.   The event is offering 8 CPE credits and a great speaker lineup.  Click here to view the conference flyer for more information or go the Dallas Area ACFE Chapter website to register.

Join the Houston ACFE Chapter at the SecureWorld Houston event on May 11th at the Norris Conference Center for a full day of quality security training, CPEs, & networking….view discount codes: http://bit.ly/210bTTh.

The Houston Area Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners invites anti-fraud professionals in the Houston area to take advantage of group rates by registering as part of the Houston Chapter Group.

Join anti-fraud professionals from across the world for the world's largest anti-fraud organization's annual global conference.  This annual event is being held at the Aria in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to 13 tracks of educational sessions, the ACFE Global Fraud Conference hosts the foremost experts in the anti-fraud field. These keynote speakers share their insights and address the key anti-fraud issues relevant to you. 

The group registration price is determined by the number of individuals who register.   You will be billed after registration closes at the final discount rate.   The group registration rate is the lowest rate you can receive, including early bird registration.   Members are encouraged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity. 

Click here to register or get more information.

The Houston Chapter of the ACFE announces its 2016 Global Fraud Impact Award.

The 2016 Global Impact Award will be presented to the individual who made outstanding, significant contributions to the worldwide effort to prevent, deter, or detect fraud. In the spirit of the Houston Chapter's slogan United Locally to Fight Fraud Globally, the winner must reside in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Waller, Chambers, Austin, San Jacinto, Walker, and Matagorda counties. 

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One of our largest challenges recently has been our efficient use of technology to communicate and provide our services to our members as efficiently and user-friendly as possible.  To that end we are announcing the launch of our new website and membership management platform. This new website is cleaner, easier to navigate (we hope) and allows you much more control of your membership.  

Some of the benefits of the new site include:

• Ability to manage your own account
  
• Automated invoice creation billing and account statements
  
• Single system for event management, membership management, chapter communication, and online payments
  
• Ability for organizations to self manage group memberships
  
• More streamlined site and information.