James D. Ratley, CFE
James D. Ratley, CFE, is the former president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Journalist with a fraud-digging shovel
Andrew Jennings, an independent investigative journalist, has spent more than 15 years laboriously examining the economic intricacies of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). His reporting of entrenched FIFA corruption — bribes, kickbacks, vote rigging and ticket scandals — eventually caught the attention of the FBI. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted scores of FIFA-related officials under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and the U.S. Travel Act.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
A sobering decision
Let’s say you find an accounting regulation violation that your organization might have ignored for years. You bring your concerns to your boss who agrees you’ve discovered a problem. Other accounting department staff members concur until they figure out the restatement costs. You stew over this and realize that your organization is breaking the law.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Constructing hotlines that employees can trust
In our cover article, "Top 10 factors leading to hotline distrust: Understanding why no one calls," authors Ryan Hubbs and Julia Kniesche write that whistleblowers have always been subject to false allegations, retribution from management and even dismissal.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Dissecting the minds of fraudsters
Eugene Soltes, a Harvard Business School professor, wants to know why some C-suite executives appear to risk everything to commit fraud. Middle management and employees further down corporate ladders might do it because they’ve found a ready source of cash to ease their economic problems. However, top-flight business people seldom lack for anything; their organizations often reward them spectacularly. Why would they need to steal?
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Stanching intellectual property flow
Ryan Duquette, CFE, CFCE, author of the cover article, quotes studies that show that half of all departing employees leave with confidential company information — either deliberately or unintentionally. That’s sobering. How are your organizations deterring the fraudulent flow of intellectual property out the door?
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Policing fraud
Long before James D. Ratley, CFE, helped form the ACFE with Founder and Chairman Dr. Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, he had worked with the Dallas Police Department as a street cop, and on the vice squad, in internal affairs, the child abuse unit and other departments. In 1985, he was part of a joint task force assembled to investigate possible widespread fraud at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). In this excerpt from his autobiography, “Policing Fraud: My Journey from Street Cop to Anti-fraud Leader,” Ratley describes some of the skills he’d later apply and teach as an ACFE leader. — ed.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Welcome to our special case study issue
The editors of Fraud Magazine know the value of a good story. They like to begin feature articles and many of the columns with case histories because they know you want illustrations of fraud examination principles in action.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Taking down the giant
I've met many whistleblowers in my time, and what’s always resonated with me is that they persist despite nearly impossible odds. Dr. Sam Foote, a physician with a genius mind and audacious spirit, persisted when he found himself facing Goliath: the Phoenix Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System. When scandal rocked the department in Arizona, he didn’t back down.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Fraud examiners and investigative journalists
David Barboza, a business correspondent for The New York Times, is the 2016 Guardian Award recipient because he exposed corruption at high levels of the Chinese government, including billions in secret wealth owned by the prime minister’s relatives.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Spy vs. spy
Here's the situation. You’re a new FBI undercover field operative. But the bureau has called you into headquarters, put a suit and tie on you, and ordered you to take a desk job as the assistant to a longtime FBI special agent and computer systems expert. You’ll be locked in a soundproof, two-office vault to do one thing: covertly surveil this man suspected of being a master spy for the Russians.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Why no top execs prosecuted after the Great Recession?
Jed S. Rakoff, U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York, says in our cover article that the reasons for the government’s lack of prosecutions ranged “from the diversion of FBI agents to other priorities to prosecutors’ increasing unfamiliarity with how to pursue such cases.”
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Shutting down the laundromats
Jennifer Shasky Calvery has been fighting money laundering and other crimes for years — first at the U.S. federal government and now as the Global Head of Financial Crime Compliance at HSBC Bank. Before joining HSBC in 2016, she was director of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for four years after a 15-year career at the U.S. Department of Justice. She’ll be receiving the ACFE Cressey Award at the 28th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Let’s support the sentinels
In our cover story, author Robert Tie, CFE, says Merriam Webster’s Thesaurus offers such synonyms for “whistleblower” (for obvious reasons, we prefer “sentinel”) as “betrayer,” “rat” and “snitch.” And he writes that these aren’t just words in a book; they’re manifestations of beliefs that incite and legitimize retaliation for perceived breaches of trust.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Listen and learn
I normally don’t extoll the high points of a person’s résumé, but I’m emphasizing that you should listen to this man. He knows what he’s talking about.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
The cost of integrity
Through the years, I’ve met scores of whistleblowers — the ACFE likes to call them sentinels — and all of them have suffered. Many have lost their jobs, relationships and health. But I don’t think I’ve known of a sentinel who’s paid the cost of integrity more than James Holzrichter.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Untethered from the office
It was wonderful to see so many of you at the 26th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference. At the opening general session, I told attendees that ACFE founder and Chairman Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, and I recently were discussing the future of fraud and what lies ahead for the profession.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Some chilling words
Read Krebs’ interview so you can help your organizations (plus family and friends) protect themselves against breaches and data theft. Better yet, come to the 26th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference June 14-19 in Baltimore, Maryland, to hear Krebs, a keynoter speaker, in person.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Exciting career path for CFEs
The author of our cover article, W. Steve Albrecht, Ph.D., CFE, CPA, CIA, writes that in 2013, more than 10 boards of directors asked him to join them, and during the past 12 years, he’s been on eight boards for public and private companies.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
CFEs' pledge to protect employees
James D. Ratley, CFE, President and CEO of the ACFE, discusses the importance of CFEs' responsibilities that go beyond just performing thorough fraud examinations.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
'Fess up and move on
In our cover article, Leslie R. Caldwell, assistant U.S. attorney general for the DOJ’s Criminal Division, in essence, says go for the second option: ’Fess up and make amends — quickly.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
Fear not the deposition hot seat
Depositions are grueling. Let’s say you’re an expert witness for the defense. As you walk into the conference room of the plaintiff’s counsel your heart rate ascends, your palms sweat and you reach for a glass of water as you sit at the table. You know what’s coming: incessant, pointed questions from attorneys as you give sworn testimony. You also know that all parties will use your words in court as evidence or as weapons to attack your inconsistencies.
Written By: James D. Ratley, CFE
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