CBIZ held its third annual Corporate Compliance & Fraud Summit on October 4th. Kyle Anne Midkiff, a Partner in CBIZ’s Valuation, Forensic, and Litigation Services Group, chaired the Summit in Philadelphia. The Summit included four very informative sessions about frauds committed using funds from the Government’s pandemic programs and other topics, including the whistleblower’s role in money laundering, healthcare fraud and qui tam issues, and enforcement actions concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Both continuing legal education credits (CLE) and continuing professional education credits (CPE) were awarded.
The first session in the Summit was Investigating, Prosecuting, and Defending the Pandemic of CARES ACT and Related Frauds. Approximately 300 people attended the session virtually. The session was moderated by Frank A. Suponcic, a Partner in CBIZ’s Valuation, Forensic, and Litigation Services Group in Cleveland.
Frank was joined by James Boazzo, a CPA and a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. James, a Certified Public Accountant, worked at Deloitte before joining the FBI. He joined the FBI in 2008 and, in 2020, joined the FBI’s Complex Financial Crime Squad in Cleveland. As a Special Agent, James currently spends much of his time working on complex fraud investigations, many resulting from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), both programs being heavily used during the pandemic.
The panel also included Eric L. Gibson, an attorney who is a Partner and Chair of the Internal Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice Group at Post & Schell P.C. in their Philadelphia office. Eric is a former state and federal prosecutor who currently counsels and defends companies, organizations, and individuals under administrative, civil, or criminal investigation or facing charges from federal, state, or local authorities.
The fourth panelist was attorney Paul Flannery of Flannery Georgalis LLC. Paul is a former federal prosecutor and now defends clients in a wide array of criminal cases ranging from complex fraud and public corruption matters to violent crimes, including armed robbery and murder. Paul has also successfully represented individuals and organizations in complex business disputes involving professional malpractice, corporate fiduciary duties, real estate, and contract disputes.
As the moderator, Frank sought out the knowledge and experience of all three panelists, having them share their insight and expertise in the process of an investigation by the FBI, working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ascertain if prosecution is the next step and following the case through the justice system. The panel also discussed how to mitigate the penalties sought by the government when evidence is overwhelming or an individual is found to be guilty of a crime. The panel gave the attendees an excellent lesson in how our justice department works when a financial crime has been committed. They also discussed the process of paying restitution, sentencing, and serving prison time when a defendant is convicted.
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