OCDA prosecutor and investigator recognized for fighting financial fraud

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Date: June 3, 2016

OCDA PROSECUTOR AND INVESTIGATOR RECEIVE AWARDS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL CRIMES INVESTIGATORS

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Deputy District Attorney Donde McCament and Investigator Jennifer Friedl of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) were recognized this week by the Southern California Chapter of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) for their outstanding commitment and exceptional performances in combatting insurance fraud. Friedl received the prestigious Rick Brady Financial Crimes Investigator of the Year award, and McCament received the William D. Neumann Prosecutor of the Year Award.

Each year, the IAFCI honors those prosecutors and investigators who demonstrate an outstanding dedication to advancing the ideals of criminal justice and fighting financial crimes.

McCament Named Prosecutor of the Year

The IAFCI’s Prosecutor of the Year award acknowledges prosecutors who have shown exceptional diligence, cooperation and tenacity in prosecution or causing investigations before prosecution. Numerous nominations were sent to the IAFCI, and McCament was selected as the ideal candidate for the award based on her accomplishments in the OCDA’s Insurance Fraud Unit.

In 2011, under the direction of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, the OCDA established the Public Works Unit within the Insurance Fraud Unit. McCament has been the sole deputy district attorney assigned to the unit, which focuses on the investigation and prosecution of financial fraud committed by construction contractors who are awarded jobs on public projects. McCament and the unit’s investigative team pour over thousands of pages of documents including certified payroll records, bank documents including close to 25,000 checks in each case, and other documents seized during investigations with the objective of pinpointing and stopping tax fraud, workers’ compensation premium fraud, and wage theft.

Friedl Named Investigator of the Year

The IAFCI’s Investigator of the Year award recognizes a non-law enforcement financial crimes investigator for outstanding service and dedication toward investigative excellence in the investigation of financial crimes. From a vast array of nominations, Friedl stood apart as the ideal candidate for the award due to her investigative tenacity and excellence.

Since joining the OCDA as a Civilian Economic Crime Investigator in 2014, Freidl has used her expertise to help the OCDA’s Insurance Fraud Unit decode and understand the workers compensation industry so that medical provider fraud is efficiently identified and aggressively prosecuted. Freidl’s investigative techniques and interviewing capabilities have yielded significant findings that have contributed to the unit’s successful prosecution of more than $75 million in fraud.

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