SALISBURY, M.d. - Salisbury University’s fraud and forensic accounting certificate program has received a $2.6 million federal grant to expand their partnership with the state’s attorneys office for Worcester County in the fight against elder financial and high-tech fraud.
“To our knowledge, this is the only fraud experiential learning program of its kind in the nation,” said Weber, who was appointed last year as a special investigator by Kris Heiser, state’s attorney for Worcester County, to further the pilot program.
Currently, 20 students in Salisbury University’s fraud program intern with the office of the state’s attorney for Worcester County, providing outreach and prevention services to elder victims and those at risk for financial fraud, and working to assist Worcester County Sheriff’s Office detectives on related criminal investigations. After investigations conclude, those student interns assist prosecutors preparing for trial by creating visual displays to condense records and evidence into easy-to-understand exhibits for jurors, as well as testifying as needed.
However, students have experienced setbacks with a lack of information technology resources to securely house personally identifiable information and a lack of transportation to cover the nearly 700 miles the county incorporates. David P. Weber, clinical assistant professor of accounting in Salisbury University, expects this grant to solve those issues with the purchase of new secure laptops, phones and software, and a dedicated vehicle for the program.
Weber says funding also will be allotted to reimburse mileage for students using their own transportation when that vehicle is not available, and to provide them with more specialized training in data analytics, cryptocurrency investigations, and cyber security and computer forensics. The grant will also fund seven new positions, including three seasoned criminal investigators and three victim-witness case workers, who will partner with Salisbury University's investigative interns to provide social outreach and crime prevention resources for victims and potential victims of elder fraud, and a new administrative assistant position to assist Weber with case management.
The grant also provides new scholarship funding for student interns in the program, according to Weber. Currently, through Salisbury University’s ShoreCorps AmeriCorps program, students earn some $1,400 during their one-year internship with the Office of the State’s Attorney, in exchange for at least 300 hours of service. The grant is expected to add an additional $4,500 scholarship for each intern.
Weber says "This scholarship will allow students to devote greater time and attention to the fraud program and their pending criminal investigations rather than working at another job.”
Looking toward the next few years, Weber also hopes the opportunities this grant provides will encourage more students to consider careers in fraud examination and public service.