Siobhan Fitzgerald, CFE

Not every CFE grows up speaking French in the home. Or traveling the world on a Navy repair supply ship. Or earning a sociology degree from Harvard University while raising two sons alone. But Siobhan Fitzgerald isn't your average CFE. She now leads a team of seven investigators that reviews tips of possible fraud and abuse in the Massachusetts' unemployment program. Though team members often investigate in the field, the unit relies heavily on data analytics to detect early patterns of fraud, which mitigates risk to the Commonwealth, she says.

I've learned that fraud can be likened to a "Pandora's Box." You need to dig deeper to determine if advanced fraud schemes are going on. In my experience, it's not usually a single instance of fraud but more of an orchestration of schemes.

My day-to-day duties involve primarily investigation of potential fraudulent unemployment claims perpetrated through identity theft — either the employer calls when they receive the bill or the claimant. We've investigated cases of fictitious employers setting up shop with stolen identities and filing claims.

I'm the youngest of eight children, born and raised in Newton, Mass.

I always dreamed of being an attorney because I have always been passionate about justice and due process for individuals. But now I've shifted my focus to research and investigation. I feel my contribution as a CFE is an integral part of potential prosecution.

By far my most memorable experience at Harvard was completing the one-year intensive foreign language requirement. As a child, my mother taught French to my siblings and me. My mother had mastered the language and felt it was important that her children were also bilingual. We spoke it at dinner on Friday nights.

I've always been passionate about doing the right thing, which was somewhat of a challenge when I worked in the private-sector financial services industry as a field compliance officer. I worked on a case in which an elderly client had lost her investment because her advisor had stolen her funds. The client had intended on using her money to pay for her husband's nursing home care. I connected with the client during the investigation and empathized with her situation. Thankfully, the organization was able to make the client whole.

I attended Northeastern University in Boston for a year majoring in criminal justice. I decided to join the Navy to help pay for school. I was stationed aboard the USS Jason, a repair supply ship in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I had met with the captain as well as the JAG [Judge Advocate General's Corp] officer to discuss working in the legal department because my core courses from Northeastern were in law and criminology. The ship was headed out for an 11-month Western Pacific tour, and they needed a person with a legal background for the Captain's Mast [review and penalty phase of military code of conduct violations] that were scheduled to be held with battle group Delta in the Persian Gulf. I got the job and traveled on the USS Jason to the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Singapore, Diego Garcia, Madagascar and Maroni.

I've learned that when investigating potential fraud you need to ensure that all of the facts are telling a complete story. When you interview individuals, not only listen to their answers but also be mindful of body language cues.

I believe the most important factor in an investigation is to question information and patiently analyze all facts before drawing a conclusion.

When I was a field compliance officer for the financial services firm, I received a regulatory request from a state in which I supervised accounts. When I began reviewing the information, I noticed that we didn't have evidence of the products we were providing to clients. The clients weren't receiving the products for which they'd paid. After I completed the state request, I then conducted my own review of product sales in the other three states I supervised. I was able to determine that the issue was a systemic issue within my region; in other words, I'd found fraud. I was able to present the findings to senior management for resolution.

In the course of a routine audit of a banking and financial services institution, I came across an account that contained a bogus Social Security number (SSN). I searched for other accounts with the bogus SSN and located more than 400. I also noticed that many clients had the same address. I then searched for the address and located more than 10,000 accounts registered to that address. The institution did a complete review of the accounts and froze all assets until it could verify the identity.

I first learned about the ACFE in 2008 just after the Madoff case. I was very interested in the case because it was related to financial services, and it had been perpetrated for so long. I researched the ACFE because one of the analysts, Harry Markopolos, CFE, who had reported the Madoff Ponzi scheme multiple times to regulators, had the CFE credential.

I've learned that you must follow your instincts. If something doesn't feel or seem right, dig deeper to obtain all the facts.

My motto: We are all in this together. Let's get the job done.

My greatest achievement is raising my two sons alone. They're truly wonderful men and have supported me in my challenges and successes.

I play tennis at a local health club, and I could not find anyone to play that fit into my schedule. An older gentleman asked if I wanted to play him. I accepted, and he swiftly beat me! A group of older tennis players have included me in their group, but I haven't beaten any of them yet. This illustrates a good fraud examination principle: Don't be deceived by appearances!

Cora Bullock is contributing editor to Fraud Magazine.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners assumes sole copyright of any article published on www.Fraud-Magazine.com or ACFE.com. Permission of the publisher is required before an article can be copied or reproduced.