Fraud, Ethics & the Human Side of Risk
If you’ve hosted Craig before, you already know his sessions go beyond technical compliance and into the human architecture behind fraud, ethics, and decision-making.
The programs below build on that foundation, offering deeper behavioral insight, case analysis, and practical tools your members can immediately apply in audit, compliance, and leadership roles.
Each session is CPE-eligible and can be tailored to your audience, event format, and learning objectives.
How I Got Caught: A Deep Dive Into an $800K Fraud
In this powerful first-person keynote, Craig Stanland walks audiences through the real story behind an $800K fraud he committed against a Fortune 500 company and the investigation that ultimately led to his arrest by the FBI.
More than a cautionary tale, the session provides a rare inside look at how pressure, rationalization, and small decisions quietly escalate into catastrophic outcomes. Audiences gain a deeper understanding of how fraud actually develops and why traditional controls often miss the earliest warning signs.
Ideal Audiences
Internal auditors, fraud examiners, CPA societies, compliance professionals, forensic accountants, governance and risk professionals, universities, and organizations responsible for financial oversight and internal controls.
Field of Study: Behavioral Ethics / Fraud
Program Level: Basic to Intermediate
Delivery Method: Group Live / Virtual
Prerequisites: None
Session Length: 50 or 100 minutes
Smarter Than the System: How Human Need and Rationalization Defeat Internal Controls
Are your internal controls designed to stand up to human ingenuity when it’s fueled by deep emotional need and rationalized step by step?
Most fraud prevention programs focus on strengthening systems and controls. This session focuses on the one variable that those systems cannot control: human need and rationalization.
Drawing on his own experience committing and rationalizing an $800K fraud, Craig Stanland reveals how emotional pressure and subtle internal narratives can defeat even well-designed control environments. The session provides a behavioral lens on fraud risk, helping professionals recognize warning signs before misconduct becomes a financial crisis.
Ideal Audiences
Internal auditors, fraud examiners, CPA societies, compliance teams, risk professionals, corporate governance leaders, CISOs, and financial professionals responsible for fraud prevention and internal control environments.
Field of Study: Behavioral Ethics / Fraud
Program Level: Basic to Intermediate
Delivery Method: Group Live / Virtual
Prerequisites: None
Session Length: 50 or 100 minutes
Why They Do It: Understanding the Human Side of Fraud
Numbers and data are only part of a fraud story.
There are human beings who make human choices behind the world’s most significant cases.
Join Craig Stanland in the Why They Do It workshop for an insider look into 3 high-profile fraud cases as he examines them from the perspective of someone who committed fraud.
Together, we’ll analyze the cases, examining needs, motivations, rationalizations, and, most importantly, red flags that were missed – or flat-out ignored.
All of this against the backdrop and insider’s view of Craig’s own fraud journey.
Ideal Audiences
Internal auditors, fraud examiners, CPA societies, compliance leaders, corporate governance professionals, financial leaders, and organizations focused on strengthening ethical culture and decision-making.
Field of Study: Behavioral Ethics / Fraud
Program Level: Basic to Intermediate
Delivery Method: Group Live / Virtual
Prerequisites: None
Session Length: 100 or 200 minutes
White-Collar Crime from Both Sides of the Line
In this unique joint session, retired FBI agent Chuck McKee and former white-collar offender Craig Stanland examine fraud from two rare and complementary perspectives: the investigator and the offender.
Together, they unpack how financial crimes develop, how rationalization plays a critical role in the fraud triangle, and what investigators and auditors often see only after misconduct has already escalated. The session offers a rare opportunity to understand how fraud actually unfolds and what warning signs professionals should recognize earlier.
Ideal Audiences
Internal auditors, fraud examiners, CPA societies, forensic accountants, compliance professionals, law enforcement audiences, and financial professionals responsible for detecting and preventing white-collar crime.
Field of Study: Behavioral Ethics / Fraud
Program Level: Basic to Intermediate
Delivery Method: Group Live / Virtual
Prerequisites: None
Session Length: 50 or 75 minutes
If one of these sessions (or more) feels aligned for your next conference, leadership program, or member training, let’s discuss timing and format.
Craig is available for keynote presentations, breakout sessions, workshops, panels, and fireside conversations.
Reach out directly to explore availability and next steps.