The speakers will include:
Corporate Embezzlement and Fraud: A Prosecutor’s Perspective
Description: In 2018, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, Major Fraud Unit, prosecuted large-scale criminal fraud with total losses of over $50 million. A significant portion of this fraud was perpetrated by suspects who embezzled from their employers (technology start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, etc.). DDA Mattia Corsiglia will discuss what his Office considers before filing criminal charges, recent outcomes, and corporate governance issues generally. This presentation is focused on educating attorneys on how corporate fraud occurs and actions to take once it is discovered.
Speaker Bio: DDA Mattia M. Corsiglia works in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, Major Fraud Unit. He has overseen numerous investigations and first-chaired numerous criminal jury trials to verdict. He is currently specially assigned to prosecute illegal gambling casino operators. He spent the first half of his career litigating a variety of complex civil cases as an attorney at Jones Day.
The Corporate Embezzlement and Fraud and Real Estate Fraud presentations will each count for 1 hour of CLE credit. The Dark Web presentation will count for 2 hours of CLE credits. Total for all presentations is 4 CLE credits.
Dark Web and Crypto Currency: A Law Enforcement Perspective
Description: Come learn more about crypto currency, the dark web, and how criminals use these platforms to further their criminal enterprises. This presentation is helpful to people with no dark web/crypto background and those who have much greater familiarity. It will touch upon the following topics:
- What cryptocurrency is, how it works, and how it is used in the criminal environment
- The Dark Web and its relation to cryptocurrency
- The evolving regulatory environment for cryptocurrency and how it impacts investigations
- Investigative methods for cryptocurrency-related cases
- Recent case studies from first-hand experience
Speaker Bio: Dave Berry is a Criminal Investigator with 15 years of law enforcement experience. He currently works as an investigator for the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney focused on high-tech crimes. He is also assigned to the REACT Task Force, a multi-agency unit which investigates technology-facilitated crimes in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the United States Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force for the San Francisco area. Dave holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Real Estate Fraud: A Prosecutor’s Perspective
Description: Participants in any competitive market are always trying to find ways to get ahead, or to game the system. While some non-traditional methods are legal, most set-ups violate the law or ethical responsibilities. In the highly-competitive and super-expensive real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area, real estate fraud is unfortunately prevalent. Thus, it is imperative that property owners and attorneys learn about the different kinds of fraud that exist and how to prevent fraud from occurring. This presentation will address:
- How real estate fraud happens
- What the most common types of fraud are (including elder abuse, wire fraud, and title fraud)
- Common methods & techniques used by hackers and scam artists
- How to detect real estate fraud
- Where and how to report real estate fraud
- Potential consequences for both the victims and the defrauders
Speaker Bio: Melanie Griswold is a deputy district attorney with the Real Estate Fraud Unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. She has overseen countless real estate fraud investigations and first-chaired numerous criminal jury trials to verdict. She graduated law school from Harvard Law School and previously worked as a civil litigation attorney for the law firm Latham & Watkins.
