Speakers Don Carroll, Juliette Gust, Dave Wood with the AZ Attorney General's Office in partnership with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Hybrid 8:30AM-12:30PM; 4 hour event (including 2 hours of ethics)

This case centers on a sophisticated, multiyear identity‑theft and financial‑fraud operation led by Steven Smiley, who exploited systemic weaknesses across financial institutions, government agencies, and digital account‑verification platforms. Using stolen identities, many belonging to incarcerated individuals, along with counterfeit identification documents bearing his photo, Smiley and his associates opened fraudulent bank accounts, created shell businesses, diverted pension payments, and leveraged systems such as Arizona MVDNOW to rapidly obtain and cash state‑issued refund and distribution checks. The scheme involved extensive misuse of digital banking tools, including remote verification, mobile deposits, ACH transfers, and account‑onboarding processes that enabled the movement and laundering of funds across multiple jurisdictions.

Investigators uncovered strong digital and physical evidence connecting the fraud to Smiley, including recurring IP addresses, VOIP phone numbers, DocuSign authentication records, and ATM surveillance footage. The operation utilized several fictitious business entities to facilitate transactions, channel unauthorized payments, and obscure financial trails, ultimately resulting in losses totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars across numerous institutions. This case highlights how modern fraud actors can leverage gaps in remote identity proofing, business‑entity formation, and government service systems to commit complex, large‑scale fraud, offering valuable insights for fraud‑prevention professionals seeking to strengthen controls and identify emerging patterns.