Oklahoma City University will host its first Fraud and Forensics Conference April 27. The conference will be held in Meinders School of Business at N.W. 27th Street and McKinley Avenue, beginning with registration at 9:30 a.m. and closing with the final presentation ending at 3 p.m.
Experts from a variety of fields will cover fraud topics relating to uncovering fraud in taxes, banking, cyber security and government contracts. Guest speakers will be Valarie Devol, tax attorney; Elaine Dodd, fraud investigation trainer for the Oklahoma Bankers Association; Rich Lay, Cyber Squad investigator for the FBI; Phil Busey, CEO of defense contracting firm DRG; and U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot of the Western District of Oklahoma.
Eddward Herron, one of the conference organizers and professor of fraud and forensic accounting, said that fraud is possibly the fastest growing industry in the world, and “is only limited by the ingenuity of people who want to steal from others. Everyone should know more about that risk and how to protect themselves.”
Herron said attendees will have the relatively rare opportunity to hear a federal judge speak on the subject of adjudicating fraud cases.
Conference registration is $95 with discounts available for college students, professors and members of various associations. Lunch will be provided. For more information, find the conference web page at okcu.edu/business.
About the conference guest speakers —
Valerie Devol
Devol has practiced law for more 20 years. Her fields of expertise include business and personal tax law, estate and tax planning, and resolving myriad state and federal tax controversies. Devol is also accomplished in tribal, municipal and business development law for established as well as start-up businesses. She frequently speaks on issues of taxation and government action, and is a contributor to Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Association rule-making efforts affecting business regulations.
Elaine Dodd
Dodd spent 22 years in law enforcement doing investigative work for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, retiring in 1995 as director. Now in the Fraud Division of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, Dodd provides training and investigative assistance for banks and fraud training to thousands of bankers and customers.
Rich Lay
Lay joined the FBI in July 1997. After attending the FBI academy, he was assigned to the Houston Division, where he worked white collar crime and cyber crime. In 2003 he transferred to the FBI's Engineering Research Facility in Quantico, where he managed a variety of technical support programs. In 2007 he transferred to his home state of Oklahoma. He served as the supervisor of the Cyber Squad in the Oklahoma City Division of the FBI for more than five years. In 2013 he returned to investigative duties as a cyber agent, focusing on computer intrusion investigations.
Phil Busey
Busey established the Busey Group of Companies in 2000 and the flagship company, DRG, in 2002 with defense subcontracting opportunities for Boeing Aerospace. Busey practiced law for 27 years until 2005. His areas of practice experience include commercial law, corporate law, public finance, federal government and contract regulation, defense and government contracting law and Native American law.
Stephen P. Friot
Friot is a senior United States district judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. Judge Friot has presided in criminal cases involving indictments for bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, tax fraud, money laundering, computer fraud and racketeering. Friot practiced civil trial and appellate law in Oklahoma City for 29 years before his appointment to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2001.
