Justice For Fraud Victims Program

The partnership between the Criminology & Criminal Justice Department in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Accounting Department in the School of Business is excited to participate in the Justice for Fraud Victims project. Our program was made possible through an internal Next Generation of Student Success, Diversity, Innovation, and Community Engagement grant and we are thankful to our University for their support.

This class partners with members of the community (law enforcement, prosecutors, and local certified fraud examiners) to provide CRM and ACT students with a service-learning opportunity to investigate real cases of suspected fraud. Students work with mentors outside of class and complete a written forensic report on their case. The final is a formal presentation to the community agencies and stakeholders on the outcomes of the cases they investigated.

Our Partners

• Office of the Chief State’s Attorney

• Connecticut State Police

• Hartford Police Department

• Glastonbury Police Department

• New Britain Police Department

• Stamford Police Department

• West Hartford Police Department

• International Association of Financial Crime Investigators

• Association of Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialists

Testimonials

• One CRM student commented, “this has been the best experience of her life!”

• Another CRM student has used the connections to start an internship.

• ACT student is continuing her experience with the mentors through an Independent Study during graduate studies.

• Another ACT student stated she felt it was the most real-world experience in a unique new career path. 

External Conference Presentations and Attendance

• ACAMS conference – we brought students to the ACAMS conference.

• ACAMS training – we hosted a training sponsored by ACAMS for our students

• IAFCI Conference – our current and past students will be presenting at International Association of Financial Crime Investigators conference in May.

Overall, the student groups were able to substantiate proof for at least $266,092.01 in financial crime. This included embezzlement, check fraud, money laundering, and fraudulent Medicaid claims.