Association of Certified Fraud Examiners


The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is a professional organization of fraud examiners. Its activities include producing fraud information, tools and training. Based in Austin, Texas, the ACFE was founded in 1988 by Joseph T. Wells. The ACFE grants the professional designation of Certified Fraud Examiner.

Founder

Joseph T. Wells founded the ACFE and sits as its chairman. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, he served for ten years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, during which time he investigated former Attorney General John N. Mitchell's involvement in Watergate.
In addition to his duties as chairman, Wells writes, researches, and lectures to business and professional groups on white-collar crime issues. He has written books and articles on fraud prevention and detection. His writings appear in professional journals.

Global Fraud Conference

With companies losing up to 5% of annual revenue to occupational fraud, the ability to detect and deter fraud is critical. Due to this, the ACFE created the largest anti-fraud conference in the world as an opportunity for those interested in developing the appropriate tools to combat fraud. The 32nd ACFE Global Fraud Conference will be held in Las Vegas on June 20-25, 2021.

Past ACFE Global Fraud Conferences

The ACFE runs a fraud museum containing exhibits linked to famous frauds, which is open to the public. America's Guide to Fraud Prevention, written by famous con man Steve Comisar, is on display in the ACFE fraud museum. The book is considered a piece of fraud history.