Denise R. Harding, CFE, CPA
The sky is the limit for accounting graduate turned NCIS Special Agent
From investigating counterterrorism and espionage to tracking down the illegal purchases of four F-14 Tomcats, Denise R. Harding, CFE, CPA, NCIS Special Agent, had no idea how far an accounting degree and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential would take her in her career. As an economic crimes desk officer, Harding is responsible for reviewing and monitoring all of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's (NCIS) investigations that deal primarily with white-collar crime.
Describe your job (a day in the life of):
I watch for potential high-profile investigations that will garner the interest of flag officers at the Pentagon, the media or Congress. I coordinate regularly with agents in the field to provide investigative support and guidance for all NCIS investigations with financial implications, including counterterrorism, homicide, narcotics and espionage investigations.What kind of training was required of you before you could join NCIS?
To be a special agent, you need to have a bachelor's degree and be under the age of 37. For other positions with NCIS, such as an analyst, accountant or investigative support, there is no age requirement.What made you decide to become a CFE and how has earning the credential benefitted you in your career?
I worked with a CFE on my first job with the Washington State Department of Revenue. As my mentor, he gave me the opportunity to work tax evasion cases and introduced me to fraud investigations. He encouraged me to become a CFE and find a career where I could investigate fraud full-time. The credential grants me instant recognition as a subject matter expert throughout the Department of the Navy and the federal investigative community.What do you enjoy most about your career as a CFE?
Fraud investigations are like working a big story problem. I love solving the puzzle.What do you enjoy most about the NCIS?
NCIS' mission is so broad; you never have to work the same type of case twice. I have had the opportunity to work in counterterrorism, cold case homicides, narcotics, espionage, contract fraud and numerous other types of cases.You've been to multiple ACFE Global Fraud Conferences. What keeps you coming back? What do you find most useful among the benefits of attending?
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) conference allows me to satisfy my CPE requirements for my CPA and the CFE in one setting without straining my office training budget. The classes, breakout sessions and general session speakers are always relevant and interesting. I usually find there are more breakouts that I want to attend than [there is] time to attend them.In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities for CFEs today?
The biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity are one and the same: the workload. Whenever I talk with my colleagues and other special agents in the economic crimes field, the general agreement is that there is always more work to do than there are people and resources to respond.Please describe your most memorable fraud case and its resolution.
When I worked in Los Angeles, a source reported there were two F-14 Tomcat Aircraft on display at a museum in California that contained all the cockpit electronics and claimed one aircraft had engines that were fully operational. When an aircraft is decommissioned by the military, it must be "demilitarized" — where all the computers, electronics, explosives, armaments, etc. are removed and the remaining shell is cut up into scrap metal. The F-14 is especially sensitive because the Iranian military still flies these aircraft.Iran is constantly looking to purchase replacement parts. All the parts on the F-14 are export-protected and are not allowed to be sold outside the U.S. I worked the case jointly with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Together, we identified a command from Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station that had inappropriately sold not two, but four F-14s to a scrap-metal dealer without demilitarizing the planes.
Through a series of concealed transactions, the planes were sold to the museum. The owner of the museum knew the planes had not been authorized for sale and knew they needed to be demilitarized, but neglected to do so. He also knew military aircraft and vessels are always property of the U.S. and cannot be privately owned.
In March 2007, about 40 agents and I seized all four aircraft and monitored them for a month as each aircraft was dismantled and placed on a flatbed truck for transport to a military facility. The civil case was settled with the Navy refunding a portion of the purchase price for the aircraft to the museum. The aircraft have since been demilitarized and scrapped.
My favorite part of the case? Calling the NCIS evidence custodian in San Diego and asking, seriously, where we could store four full-sized F-14 Tomcats.