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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | OCTOBER 2020 RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT By Andi Henderson Most of us are familiar with the Bernie Madoff 's pyramid scandal, Enron, and The Varsity Blues investigations. These are just some of the many cases that came to light as a result of forensic auditors whose investigations led to prosecution and arrests when these crimes were brought to light. Resident Steve Cooley worked for more than 20 years investigating, uncovering, and testifying about fraud, embezzlement, and other financial crimes. With post graduate degrees in forensic accounting, he investigated numerous businesses and organizations, sometimes following up tips or reports from others concerning financial irregularities but more often finding issues within financial records and filings that required further research. "Most accounting is done to ensure that financial records make sense and reflect requirements of banks, owners, and investors. Forensic accounting always involves some type of investigation," Cooley said. He was hired by the Utah State Department of Commerce after a charity had been noted as engaging in a fraudulent activity. School Fitness Systems appeared to be a charity selling fitness equipment to schools in the United States. The school would make "small down payments through a finance company, then National School fitness would begin to make payments… it appeared that the schools got free equipment," he said. "Equipment was sold to 600 schools for $77.5 million… but it was a classic Ponzi scheme. They soon were spending more on expenses and salaries than they were bringing in… and were unable to make monthly payments, so the finance companies began to repossess the equipment. "Several states filed criminal charges of mail fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering — all felonies," Cooley said. "Although Utah did not file charges, they were furious about the bad publicity and wanted to prevent this from happening to them." So, Steve Cooley was hired to investigate all financial transactions that were regulated by the Utah Chamber of Commerce. He focused on registrations, annual fillings, and Financial Forensics: Tracking Motives & Money

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