Jaco de Jager, CFE

Jaco de Jager learned to spot signs of fraudulent activity through his early work experiences and has helped prevent internal and external fraud at financial institutions and insurance companies. As CEO of ACFE South Africa, de Jager expanded the network in Africa and greatly contributed to the Chapter’s growth.  

Interview by Anna Brahce

I was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and grew up near Hartbeespoort. My friends and I spent most of our time fishing and playing kleilat, a game that involved throwing mud at one another. 
 
My first job at the age of 16 was packing shelves at Checkers Hyper, a mega store like Walmart. I developed a keen eye for catching those who tried to steal from the store. While earning my Bachelor of Commerce in Law, I worked as a security guard and later joined Absa Group Limited’s legal department (known as Volkskas Bank at the time), where I observed individuals lying about their income, attempting to manipulate statements and concealing assets. I developed a passion for identifying fraudsters and exploring methods to prevent internal and external fraud here, as well as at other insurance companies and the Road Accident Fund.

One of my notable cases involved a man sentenced to prison for impersonating an advocate (an attorney). For three years, he represented various clients in divorce matters until a judge noticed he had misspellings in his summons and asked to see his legal card, which he couldn’t provide. 

Then, while in prison for impersonating legal counsel, he used a phone to fraudulently take out more than 100 life insurance policies on prison wardens. Through “good behavior,” he got a janitorial job, allowing him to obtain all the wardens’ details from personal documentation he retrieved from dustbins while cleaning offices. He used the stolen details to open policies in their names, making himself the beneficiary. He was caught when my team reviewed our company’s call register and found that the first claim to come in for a warden who had passed away matched the phone number he’d used to open new policies. His prison sentence was extended a few more years. 

While earning my Bachelor of Commerce in Law, I worked as a security guard and later joined Absa Group Limited’s legal department (known as Volkskas Bank at the time), where I observed individuals lying about their income, attempting to manipulate statements and concealing assets.

I was appointed the first CEO of the South African Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE SA) in January 2008. The ACFE SA board gave me a mandate to recruit more Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs), register the CFE course as a formal qualification and create benefits to equip our members to perform their work more effectively. I was eager to leave a legacy and make a difference in our country and looked forward to a new challenge. 

Our chapter has grown from 40 CFEs in 2007 to more than 3,000 CFEs today. We’ve registered various chapters in Africa and now administer seven chapters in other African countries. We train more than 300 CFEs per year and, with the assistance of our members, have compiled more than 11 formal standard guidelines for specialization in Africa. Driven by a passion to create career paths for young fraud examiners, we’ve applied for two additional qualifications to be registered with the South African qualifications authority to assist people in becoming CFEs. 

As CEO of ACFE SA, I ensure our members maintain our code of ethics and professional standards according to the processes in our disciplinary code. I also regularly speak at international forums, represent the ACFE SA on International Organization for Standardization committees and serve on the King Committee, which provides corporate governance guidelines for companies. 

I also created the quality assurance assessment that helps companies evaluate the effectiveness of their forensic, fraud detection and assurance departments. This program has helped various companies throughout Africa evaluate their capacity, skills and staff conduct and ensure they meet international benchmarking practices.

I became a member of the ACFE in 2002. I was working at the Road Accident Fund and decided to expand my skill set by enrolling at the University of Pretoria, where my professor, who was a founding member of the ACFE SA, told us about the ACFE during a lecture. When I became the CEO of ACFE SA in 2008, I took the CFE International Exam.

The CFE credential opens various doors locally and internationally for fraud fighters who are passionate about doing the right thing, making a positive impact on the companies and clients they serve, and creating a better future for those around them. In South Africa, the credential is listed as a critical and technical skill set, and is required for those who want to be forensic accountants, forensic auditors, forensic investigators or one of nine other fraud examiner specializations registered in South Africa. 

When you become a CFE, you learn how to approach a specific case, what to look for, and how to prepare for court and testify. It also teaches you to stick to the facts, expect the unexpected and — something I regularly teach others — how to protect yourself by putting everything in writing and observing your surroundings.

In South Africa, many fraud fighters live in fear of political interference, including threats against people’s lives and other intimidation tactics. In some cases, politicians get involved in investigations and prevent them from being conducted, sometimes by forcing resignations.

I’ve observed that fraud examiners with a network tend to have more success handling cases, as their colleagues can help expedite investigations, increase awareness of the fraud threat and facilitate conclusions. Even though I’m not currently involved in investigations, I help connect people across the globe through my network to improve their investigations. It’s extremely important to build a network, learn from others and seek tools that help you work smarter.

I believe my greatest achievement was marrying the perfect wife and making my father proud by teaching my sons our values and love of God and watching them grow up. You can have all the money and success in the world, but it’s the memories you create with loved ones that make life worth living.

Outside of work, my wife and I enjoy camping, being in nature, and experiencing the wonders and beauty of our Creator. I just returned from a trip to Botswana. Seeing the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans was an amazing experience. I also had a blast skydiving on my 50th birthday.

I believe we were made to enjoy life and not overwork ourselves. One of my favorite quotes attributed to Walt Whitman says happiness is “not in another place but this place…not for another hour but this hour.” 

Anna Brahce is an assistant editor of Fraud Magazine. Contact her at abrahce@ACFE.com.