Conference Agenda

7:15 am - 8:00 am

Check-In, Breakfast, and Networking

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Conference Presentations

Detecting Deception in Investigations via Body Language for CFE's

Jerry Balistreri 

Jerry Balistreri is a professional educator, administrator, trainer and author. His training on how to read body language leaves participants wanting more and creates a memorable experience. Jerry gets the participants involved with fun learning experiences that leave them with concrete knowledge of how to read body language and what the "tells" mean. Some of Jerry's past experiences are:

• Professional educator, administrator, trainer, speaker, and author
• B.S, M.S., M.Ed., DTE
• Twenty-five years experience in public education
• Twenty years experience in training
• University department chair
• HS Principal
• State Supervisor with two state education departments
• ASTD certified trainer
• Over thirty years experience with non-verbal communication
• Certifications in: situational awareness, forensics for patrol officers, detecting lying, detecting deception in interpersonal communications.

Jerry has been training, researching, writing, and speaking on non-verbal communication for over thirty years. Jerry delivers customized trainings, keynote addresses, and conference sessions.

Jerry has been married to his wife Sheila for 40 years and live in Scottsdale, AZ. Sheila and Jerry have two grown children. Their son lives in California, and their daughter lives in Arizona.

The Ins and Outs of Insurance Fraud

Patrick Cryer, Texas Department of Insurance

Patrick has practiced criminal law for over 30 years.  First in private practice, then the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, then the Dallas County  District Attorney’s Office and now with the Texas Department of Insurance.  Yes, he realizes that he has done his whole career backwards. 

30 Years of Fraud: Narcissism, Entitlement, and the Rule of Swine

Greg Westfall, Partner, Cantey Hanger

Greg Westfall is a partner with Cantey Hanger in Fort Worth. Greg’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense and civil litigation. He has practiced criminal defense in Texas and nationally for 30 years, specializing in complex criminal litigation in state and federal courts.  He has tried more than 100 criminal cases, many of them “high profile,” and handled more than 50 criminal appeals at all levels. In 2010, Greg added commercial litigation casework and has several civil trials and appeals among his experiences. Greg has represented many individuals through federal investigations into, among others, alleged violations of EPA regulations, hiring undocumented aliens, health care fraud, anti-kickback and import/export violations, and government contractor fraud.

Financial Statement Fraud: A Case Study

Eric Werner, SEC

Eric Werner is the Regional Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth Regional Office, where he oversees the agency’s enforcement and examination activities in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas. Prior to his appointment as Regional Director, Mr. Werner worked in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement as an investigative staff attorney, in the Office of Chief Counsel, and in supervisory positions as Branch Chief, Assistant Director, and Associate Director. Mr. Werner earned his law degree from the Washington University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Occidental College.

Guarding Your Career Search: Navigating Security & Avoiding Scams

Jim McConnell, Principal, Ask McConnell

Jim will speak on the topic of HR Recruiter & Job Seeker Frauds and Scams.  As the job and fractional market changes and job seekers and HR Recruiters are increasingly under pressure and stressed to secure a new client/gig. Fraudsters and scammers feed off this stress, pressure, level of trust, and willingness to help.  The fraudster’s success can cause loss of job, loss of time, loss of identity, loss of money, delays in finding a new client/job, etc. In this class, Jim will educate you about why the fraudsters/scammers are so active in the HR / Job Seeker world, discuss actual and recent incidents and indicators of these scams, and, more importantly, provide you with awareness and tools you can use immediately to protect you, your information, your reputation, and your money so you can focus on landing that amazing new client/role and help HR Recruiter defend their company from fraud.  

Jim has had the privilege of working in Corporate Security for over 30 years and in multiple CIKR industries for over 33 years, most recently as a Fellow (Director Level) in a Fortune 25 Corporate Security organization, and pro bono support of over 350 NGOs and volunteer at SFG. He has been investigating HR Recruiter/Job Seeker/Employment Fraud for over 20 years.  He is now the Principal Owner at Ask McConnell, LLC, servicing clients by solving key security pain points from a Converged Security perspective. Jim has 15 US Patents and published a book on Converged Security Metrics and another on Converged Safety Metrics.  Jim is also a volunteer first responder and adjunct instructor at Texas A&M-TEEX.

Panel Discussion: What's on the Horizon for Fraud Investigation in 2025 and Beyond?

Paul Bustos, Revenue Protection Services, Southwest Airlines

Bryan Foster, Deloitte Transactions & Business Analytics

Anna Hardy, Partner - Forensic, Litigation & Valuation Services, Whitley Penn

Martha Parra, Manager - Special Investigations, GM Financial

Rick Roybal, Vendor Audit Manager, Matador Resources

Mike Urrutia, Police Officer, City of Roanoke

5:00 pm

Closing Remarks