3-DAY INTENSIVE COURSE
Fraud and Financial Crimes
Suspects understand fraud better than most investigators. Change that.
Overview
Fraud hasn't waited. It evolved — and it has faster than most training budgets allowed. From synthetic identity theft and AI-powered scams to mortgage fraud, Medicaid abuse, and elder exploitation, the financial crimes landscape has become more sophisticated, more lucrative, and more damaging than at any point in law enforcement history. Suspects move fast. They work across jurisdictions. They rarely meet their victims. And they count on the fact that most investigators haven't had the training to keep up.
This 16-hour, POST-certified seminar was built to close that gap. It was developed by investigators who have worked fraud from the inside — hundreds of assigned cases, hundreds filed, and partnerships spanning HSI, FBI, USPIS, and REACT. Every concept in this course has been forged in real casework. Students walk away able to identify current schemes, read financial records, understand money laundering stages, and build prosecutable cases — not just take reports.
Fraud and Financial Crimes Investigations are leaders in your department's solve culture. It isn't just about learning what fraud is — it's about removing the barriers that keep investigators from acting on it. Knowing what you're looking at. Understanding the paper trail. Being able to communicate with prosecutors and financial institutions from a position of competence. That's what turns a report into a case.
Force multiplier: Train your support staff, community service officers, and civilian investigators alongside your detectives. A fraud-literate team doesn't just support investigations — it multiplies them. One educated department can handle ten times more cases than a single trained detective working alone.
Here's what students move through across two days:
- Identify the Fraud Landscape: Current schemes, scam trends, and the criminal logic behind them — real cases, current tactics.
- Follow the Money: Read the records fraud leaves behind: balance sheets, income statements, cash flow, and ACH timelines.
- Understand the Instruments: Forged documents, counterfeit instruments, BSA requirements, SAR reporting, and ACH protocols.
- Recognize Money Laundering Stages: Placement, layering, integration — what each stage looks like and where investigators can intervene.
- Build Cases, Not Just Reports: Connect evidence, document findings, communicate with prosecutors, and turn an investigation into a filing.
Who Should Attend
Financial crimes investigation is not just a detective assignment. Every officer who takes a fraud report, every supervisor who reviews one, every analyst who tracks the data, and every civilian who processes the paperwork is part of the investigative chain. This seminar trains the whole team — not just the fraud unit.
Law Enforcement
- Patrol Officers & Field Supervisors
- Detectives & Detective Sergeants
- Fraud Unit Investigators
- Community Service Officers
- Support Staff & Civilian Employees
Government Investigators
- Adult Protective Services (APS)
- City/County Fraud Investigators
- Code Enforcement & Compliance Officers
- Elder Abuse Investigators
- DA Office Investigators
Corporate & Civilian
- Workplace & Corporate Investigators
- HR Professionals & Loss Prevention
- Insurance Investigators
- Bank & Financial Institution Staff
- Internal Audit Personnel
Support Roles — Force Multiplier
- Records & Evidence Personnel
- Crime Analysts
- Civilian Case Managers
- Administrative Investigators
- Victim Services Coordinators
Note for Training Coordinators:
Mixing sworn and civilian attendees in the same room is not a compromise — it's a strategy. When your support staff speaks the same financial crimes language as your detectives, your investigative capacity grows without adding headcount. Register your whole team.
Seminar Highlights
Financial Crimes & Fraud Schemes
- Fraud Definitions & Legal Foundations
- Identity Theft & Synthetic Identity Theft
- Bribery — Active vs. Passive
- Forged & Counterfeit Documents
- Current Scams — Romance, phishing, grandparent, real estate, wire transfer, home title theft, mortgage, investment, advance fee, boiler room
Money Laundering
- Forms & Stages — Placement, layering, integration — and where evidence lives at each stage
- Common Methods — Cash businesses, false invoicing, smurfing, foreign accounts, fake employees
Financial Records & Instruments
- Reading Financial Statements — Balance sheets, income statements, cash flow — what's normal vs. flagged
- ACH Protocols & Transfer Timelines
- Bank Secrecy Act & Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR)
Case-Building
- Evidence Documentation & Chain of Custody
- Working with Prosecutors & Financial Institutions
- Case Studies Applied to Current Trends
Course Agenda
Instructors
Testimonials
What I liked best was learning tips and advice not previously known and discovering new resources and investigative tools. I learned new resources and tools to make my investigations easier and to make a stronger case.
Diana
Fremont PD
What I liked best was the wide variety of fraud related examples and the proper procedures of investigating them — and it was not Death by PowerPoint. This course is perfect for new detectives and patrol officers wanting to learn more about fraud investigations.
Jordan
Santa Cruz
I enjoyed the case examples and walkthroughs on how investigators were able to solve them. Overall great class.
J.
Hayward
What I liked best was the detailed breakdown of complex investigations and case studies and applying it to patrol level law enforcement. Great class for all levels of law enforcement personnel — explained complex investigations in a simple and easy way to understand.
Nick
Los Altos PD
Jason provided a lot of good information about financial crimes and all of the investigative steps to take to complete and present a thorough investigation. He did not rely on the slides to teach the material, which helped with retaining the information. The detailed explanations and case studies included were very helpful.
Matthew
MHPD
The instructor is extremely knowledgeable and has good case studies and real world experience.
J.
Santa Clara Sheriff's Office
What I liked best was that the instructor was able to provide info not just for detective work but info to look for while on patrol.
Kevin
Foothill De Anza
This class exposed me to many new avenues I can take an investigation — I have a better idea at what I can actually do now. I feel like I got the info and tools to take my cases to the next level.
Sam
FHDA PD
The idea was complex but the course breaks it down and shows the many channels and makes it much more simple. Such a packed list of resources were given that I feel more than ready to be very helpful.
Anonymous Author
Fraud & Financial Crimes Class — Santa Cruz, May 19–20, 2026
What I liked best was the breakdown of case studies and information on the different types of fraud — and learning about resources to obtain information outside of a warrant.
Dave
Salinas PD
The case studies and listed steps for investigations were my favorite part of the class. Fraud is a dry subject but the class was conducted well.
Branden
Salinas PD
What I liked best was the detailed information and the knowledge the instructor had regarding fraud investigations — the case studies showed the investigative methods applied. The instructor was very knowledgeable about the topics he was teaching.
David
Salinas PD
What I liked best was that the case studies illustrated the material in a comprehensive manner. I learned spoofed numbers are traceable.
Laurent
PPB
What I liked best was that the class covered a wide variety of topics with multiple real world examples. The instructor is incredibly knowledgeable.
Clayton
Pleasant Hill PD
Good resources and information — what I found most useful about this class.
Rochelle
DOJ
Reviewing real cases is helpful in seeing real world examples and true instances of fraud activity.
Laura
DOJ
What I liked best was the introduction to different types of fraud and investigative resources.
Alec
Santa Cruz PD
What I liked best was the sharing of resources and attention to detail — the instructor had great delivery.
Pete
CAL DOT
What I liked best was learning tips and advice not previously known and discovering new resources and investigative tools. I learned new resources and tools to make my investigations easier and to make a stronger case.
Diana
Fremont PD
What I liked best was the detailed breakdown of complex investigations and case studies and applying it to patrol level law enforcement. Great class for all levels of law enforcement personnel — explained complex investigations in a simple and easy way to understand.
Nick
Los Altos PD
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