Spring 2026 Seminar (May 11, 2026)

Mon, 11 May 2026 13:30:00 GMT

2026 Spring Seminar - REGISTER NOW

REGISTRATION is OPEN for MONDAY, May 11; provided in a "hybrid" format so that you may attend in-person or virtually. Our on-site location is St. Edward's University, 3001 S. Congress, John Brooks Williams Bldg "South," room #165. You are required to pre-register your vehicle to avoid a parking ticket. The link for doing that will be on your Registration Confirmation email sent after you register for this ACFE event. Cost of parking permit is included with registration fee.

Description: Multiple sessions for 6 CPE hours for only $150 per Austin ACFE member (& $175 per non-member) plus lunch is provided for in-person participants. Share this information with a colleague so they can attend, too! Sessions will cover topics described below. Planned agenda with approximate times:

~8:30-9:00am Welcome & Announcements (with Coffee & Networking)

~9:00-9:50am "Strategies for Fraud Prevention & Detection in State Government Agencies by Ryan Durbin, DBA, CFE. Vast sums of taxpayer dollars are disbursed by state agencies across the U.S. A small dollar amount for an invoice may not seem like a big deal...but, it can be if it is fraudulent & might be leading to a much larger fraud. Fraudsters exploit vulnerabilities in public-sector systems to carry out all types of billing schemes including phantom billing, inflated costs of services, duplicate invoices, or impersonating legitimate vendors. Procurement & AP staff at state agencies may lack the training to identify fraudulent invoices. Based on a case study of fraudulent invoicing to a state law enforcement agency, this session covers strategies to enhance invoice verification & to facilitate timely payment processing.

~10:00-11:20am "Crypto Crime in the Courts: Legal Developments & Emerging Trends in Cryptocurrency Fraud" by Claire Braaten, PhD, JD. This session examines the evolving legal landscape of cryptocurrency crimes & federal court decisions, tracing developments from early enforcement actions against unlicensed money transmitters & dark web operators to today's sophisticated fraud schemes involving decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, and AI-facilitated investment scams. Also included are the topics of emerging legal challenges in prosecuting cryptocurrency fraud, including jurisdictional barriers, anonymity-preserving technologies, and the treatment of digital assets under securities and commodities laws.

~11:30-11:50am Workshop re: 2026 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report (joint publication of ACFE and SAS). Participants are asked to read the report prior to attending so that we can discuss the implications for your work specifically and for fraud examination in general. Refer to: www.acfe.com/fraud-resources/anti-fraud-technology-benchmarking-report

Noon-1pm Business Meeting & Lunch (provided for in-person participants)

~1:00-2:50pm "All-green Interaction Fraud" by Zach Kelley, Associate Professor of Instruction, Dept. of Information Systems & Analytics. The capabilities of fraud perpetrators to generate flawless invoices, IDs, & other documents increased dramatically with the availability of AI. Now, fraudsters have begun using AI to generate the "presence" of a person, conducting online transactions, and duping the monitoring systems into signaling "all-green" and a "go" for what looks like legitimate transactions. Learn about this new, almost undetectable fraud threat.

~3:00-3:50pm "In the News: Fraud Cases from Texas." The State of Texas may have bragging rights for some of the biggest fraud cases in the news recently. Ranging from a multi-million dollar tax fraud perpetrated by a CPA to insurance and social services fraud, the taxpayers are the losers in these cases. This session includes a description of some of these cases and what the government is doing to crack down.

Learning Objectives - After attending these sessions, participants will be able to:

Describe strategies for fraud prevention & detection at state government agencies.
Describe legal developments & emerging trends in cryptocurrency fraud.
Summarize major findings from the 2026 ACFE Anti-Fraud Technology Report
Explain All-green Interaction Fraud and threats to online transactions.
Discuss recent fraud cases in Texas.

Recommended CPE credit & Field of Study: ~6 total CPE hours in the field of Specialized Knowledge

Refund, Cancellation & No-Show Policy: Refunds of fees paid for internet-based sessions may be provided only if registrant contacts Austin ACFE within 24 hours of the start time of the session & documents an emergency or similar event that prevented participation. For in-person events, registration cancellations and refund request must be made by contacting Austin ACFE within 5 calendar days from the start time of the session. Cancellations received less than 5 days prior to events will not be refunded except for exigent circumstances. Contact must be made via email to: info@austinacfe.com

In the event a registrant does not show up to an event, the registration cost will be forfeited. If payment at the door was the selected method, the registrant will be billed for the full cost of the event. The Austin ACFE reserves the right to bar from future events registrants who routinely register and fail to pay and/or attend the event.

For events provided by the Austin chapter at no cost to registrants, there will be no refunds.

Complaint Resolution Policy: Any concerns or complaints about registration for an event must be made within 14 calendar days of the event (with the event date counting as day 1) in writing to: info@austinacfe.com

NASBA Registry: The Austin Area chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org

Non-profit Status: The Austin Area Chapter of The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is a non-profit organization formed in the State of Texas and registered as a 501 (C) (6) organization with the IRS.

Austin Chapter of the ACFE upcoming events

Spring 2026 Seminar (May 11, 2026)