2020 WCC Speakers
Mr. Vern Beck
Speaker, Consultant
Vernon Beck is a former U.S. Air Force fighter and bomber pilot who devised a scheme to commit fraud and embezzle almost $14 million from the company where he worked for 17+ years. Using his personal experiences and his knowledge of finance and accounting, Mr. Beck now help corporations to identify and eliminate fraud. Mr. Beck is also an expert conference speaker on the subject of detecting and preventing fraud in corporate America.
Dr. Michael Benson
Professor, University of Cincinnati
Michael L. Benson is a Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He has published extensively on white-collar and corporate crime. His most recent book, co-authored with Sally S. Simpson, is White-Collar Crime: An Opportunity Perspective, 3rd edition. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology and received the 2017 Gilbert Geis Lifetime Achievement Award from the Division of White-Collar and Corporate Crime of ASC. He is the 2020 recipient of the Bruce Smith, Sr. Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Mr. Eric Conforti, CPA, CFE
Senior Manager, Plante Moran Forensic Accounting Services
With a focus on solving problems, Eric specializes in performing forensic investigations (the team conducts more than 125 each year), data analytics, and internal control analyses. Professionally trained in a variety of interviewing and interrogation methods, he has identified millions in losses due to asset misappropriation across a variety of industries. Eric has helped organizations prepare economic loss claims that are filed with insurance companies and provided referrals to law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels, resulting in dozens of criminal convictions. Prior to joining this practice, Eric gained valuable experience serving as an auditor on Plante Moran’s governmental team. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the Michigan Association of CPA’s Fraud Task Force.
Mr. Steven D’Antuono
Special Agent in Charge – FBI Detroit Field Office
Rev. Jeff Grant
Co-Founder, Progressive Prison Ministries
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is an ordained minister with over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law, reentry, recovery, and executive & religious leadership. Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he uses his experience and background to guide people faithfully forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them to stop making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff started his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a focus in Christian Social Ethics. He is Co-Founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice/economy exiled community.
Dr. Erin Harbinson
Research Scholar
Robina Institute, University of Minnesota Law School
Erin Harbinson, PhD, is a research scholar for the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she works on projects addressing the intersection of research, policy, and practice in community supervision. Erin is currently conducting research on topics examining fines and fees in community supervision, analyzing the drivers of probation revocations, and evaluating and improving practices around setting conditions for probation and parole. She also conducts research on white-collar crime and cybercrime, and explores how criminal justice and correctional policies apply to people who engage in these types of crimes.
Ms. Emily Homer
Doctoral Candidate, University of Louisville
Ms. Homer is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminal Justice at University of Louisville. Her research focuses on theoretical explanations of corporate and white collar crime with an eye toward prevention and detection. Her work has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Journal of Financial Crime, and Criminal Justice Policy Review, among others.
Mr. Michael LeMieux
Consultant, former FBI Agent
Michael LeMieux currently serves as a consultant and certified fraud examiner from his firm based in Virginia. Michael retired from the FBI as a Supervisory Special Agent at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, where he managed FBI investigations involving theft of trade secrets; counterfeit goods; and copyright and trademark infringement. In addition to intellectual property rights, Michael also specialized in complex investigations involving financial crimes, corruption, antitrust, and domestic terrorism during his career. He also served as a supervisory instructor at the FBI Academy. Michael continues to serve as a Law Enforcement Fellow with Michigan State University’s Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection and he also serves as a consultant for the International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy.
Mr. Walt Pavlo
Speaker, Consultant and Forbes contributor
Walt Pavlo, Jr. is a nationally recognized expert on white collar and the federal criminal justice system. He consults, writes and speaks on topics ranging from white collar crime to criminal justice. Walt is a popular contributor to Forbes where he writes on white collar crime issues. His work has earned him appearances on American Greed and in documentary films (including White Collar Convicts: Life On The Inside and (Dis)Honesty). Pavlo co-authored a popular book, Stolen Without A Gun (co-authored with Neil Weinberg, Bloomberg), based on his experience as a senior manager in a large telecommunications company where he was at the
center of a large accounting fraud. He would serve two years in federal prison as a result. He has made appearances for the FBI, U.S. Attorneys Office, Big-4 Accounting Firms, Top-Ranked MBA Schools, Law Schools and major corporations across the country. He co-founded the firm Prisonology LLC as an expert testimony, training and consulting firm on Bureau of Prison policies and procedures. The firm utilizes the talents of retired BOP and US Probation professionals who share their knowledge through engagements across the country. He leads training classes for attorneys, federal judges, probation officers and public defenders. Mr. Pavlo earned his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University and his MBA in Finance from Mercer University. He is also a Journalist Law School Fellow at Loyola Law School (2014).
Ms. Kay Rogers
Speaker, Consultant
Kay Rogers, was a 4 time elected official (Auditor) in Butler County, Ohio. She was a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Government Finance Manager. She signed one document in the Fiber Optic Project that was going on in Butler County and wound up serving 24 months in Federal Prison. Kay is currently a manager for a consulting business, and previously has served as the president of several accounting organizations. She was a member of the Ohio Government Finance Officers Association, Treasurer of the County Auditor Association of Ohio, and President and Founding President of the Lakota YMCA. Ms. Rogers is a graduate of Xavier University, graduating with Cum Laude honors.
Dr. Melissa Rorie
Associate Professor, UNLV
Melissa L. Rorie is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada‐Las Vegas (UNLV). Her research predominantly examines the impact of formal and informal controls on corporate and white‐collar offending. She is currently involved in a variety of projects that examine regulation and corporate compliance in the gaming industry, theoretical explanations for elite white‐collar and corporate crime, and quantitative research methodology. Her research has been published in Oxford Handbooks, Wiley Handbooks, and Edgar Elgar readers as well as a variety of peer‐reviewed journals, including: Crime, Law and Social Change, Criminology & Public Policy, Law & Policy, and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology.
Mr. Andrew Stevens
Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor
Mr. Gary Zeune, CPA
Managing Director and Founder of The Pros & The Cons
Mr. Zeune has the only speaker's bureau in the country specializing in white-collar criminals — The Pros & The Cons. He and his speakers provide more than 500 fraud and ethics seminar, conference, and webinar presentations every year. They have been profiled multiple times in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other national papers:
- Bookkeeper to CEO
- High school to PhD
- $18,000 to $2.7 BILLION frauds
Zeune has taught Strategy Formulation and Implementation in the Executive MBA Program and Accounting and Honors Finance at THE Ohio State University. Prior to founding The Pros & The Cons, he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, financial and SEC reporting, and corporate finance for more than five years at Wendy's International, . He was on the audit staff of Ernst & Ernst from 1973 to 1977; and taught accounting at Ohio University from 1970 to 1973, where he received his bachelors in mathematics and masters in accounting, with honors. He has published more than 40 professional articles.