Certified Fraud Examiners have elected Sidney P. Blum, CFE, CPA, CFF; Leah D. Lane, CFE; and Nancy E. Rich, CFE, MPA, to the 2016-2017 ACFE Board of Regents from nine candidates selected by the Board's nomination committee. Blum, Lane and Rich took office at the Board's meeting in February at ACFE Headquarters in Austin, Texas.
Sidney P. Blum, CFE, CPA, CFF, Stout, Risius, Ross Inc., Los Angeles, California
The ACFE honored Sidney P. Blum, CFE, CPA, CFF, as the Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year at the 2012 ACFE Global Fraud Conference for outstanding achievements in the field of fraud examination. Blum's last 30 years have included leading Ernst & Young's (EY) national internal audit fraud investigations and royalty audit practices, winning EY's National Innovation Award, writing the contract investigation methodologies for both EY and KPMG, and creating KPMG's Contract and Royalty Audit Services as a partner.
His teams have conducted more than 1,500 fraud and forensic investigations.
Blum wrote two leading books for attorneys: "License, Royalty & Revenue Agreements: Drafting, Monitoring and Auditing," published by Oxford University Press, and "License, Royalty and Revenue Agreements," published by LexisNexis.
As chief audit officer at Beats Electronics, Blum helped guide the company's acquisition by Apple. He also led internal audit at Warner Bros. Studios and worked five years for a Fortune 50 oil company's internal audit department.
Blum is a frequent speaker at international conferences, and he has testified more than 30 times as an expert witness in federal, state and U.S. International Trade Commission courts.
He leads the Western USA Dispute Advisory & Forensic Services practice for SRR — a global litigation support, forensics and valuation firm.
Leah D. Lane, CFE, Texas Instruments, Frisco, Texas
Leah Lane, CFE, has more than 25 years of combined public and private sector investigation and fraud examination experience. She began her investigative career as a U.S. Customs Service special agent — a position she held for more than seven years before moving to the private sector.
During her career, she has assisted, conducted and managed hundreds of investigations globally involving alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, multifaceted internal and external fraud, and employee misconduct cases.
Lane is the Texas Instruments (TI) director of global investigations responsible for managing a group of investigators in the U.S. and Asia with global investigative responsibility. Lane is also responsible for fraud awareness within TI.
Prior to joining TI, Lane served as JCPenney's first audit fraud manager. She also worked for more than a decade in several security positions at Hewlett-Packard (formally Electronic Data Systems), at which she was responsible for the investigation and management of complex financial fraud and computer forensic investigations.
Lane is a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She's an active ACFE faculty member and serves on the ACFE Advisory Council.
Nancy E. Rich, CFE, MPA, United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Singapore
Nancy E. Rich, CFE, MPA, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, has more than 25 years of experience investigating major economic crime for the U.S. Navy. Her efforts have resulted in the recovery of more than $170 million.
Rich, who holds a Master of Public Administration degree, is a member of the ACFE Singapore Chapter and served as the vice president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. Currently working in Southeast Asia, Rich has conducted a wide range of complex, white-collar investigations with various national and international organizations such as the Australian Federal Police, Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and the U.S. Department of Justice Public Corruption/Major Frauds Section.
In 2014, she played an integral role on the FBI task force that dismantled two major bribery schemes at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital and Military Sealift Command in Washington, D.C. Consequently, the U.S. Attorney General's Office presented her team with the Distinguished Service Award.
Rich also has received public service awards from the District of Virginia and the Los Angeles, California, U.S. Attorney's Office. In 2014, the ACFE presented Rich with the Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year award.