Bejarano and Hopewell Elected to ACFE Board of Regents

AUSTIN, Texas – The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education, has announced that Johnnie R. Bejarano, DBA, CFE, CPA, and E. Wendell Hopewell, MBA, CFE, CPA, have been elected to the ACFE Board of Regents.

Elected by Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) worldwide, members of the ACFE Board of Regents are responsible for setting membership standards that promote professionalism and ensure the future of fraud examination as a whole. They have authority over the admission of members, continuing professional education and ethics requirements, and all other matters necessary to maintain the high standards of the ACFE.

Bejarano, a senior financial analyst, and Hopewell, a managing director of a national fraud practice, will begin their two-year terms when they take office at the board’s Feb. 22-23 meeting at the ACFE headquarters in Austin, Texas. They replace departing regents Jonathan E. Turner, CFE, CII, and Martha Reynolds McVeigh, CFE.

Bejarano an Analyst, Educator and Military Veteran

In addition to being a senior financial analyst, Bejarano serves as an adjunct faculty member and area chair of accounting and finance at the Denver, Colo. campus of the University of Phoenix School of Business, where he teaches forensic accounting, finance, accounting and management.

Bejarano is a former accounting manager at the nation’s primary research and development laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency. He is also a combat military veteran with 26½ years of service in the U.S. Air Force and Colorado Air National Guard. Bejarano served as deputy commander for support in the Sultanate of Oman during Operation Enduring Freedom. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Bejarano serves as the board secretary for the ACFE’s Colorado Chapter.

Hopewell’s Methodology Impacted Court Rulings

Hopewell is managing director of Forensic Professionals, LLC, a national fraud practice that has helped vindicate corporate executives of fraud allegations launched by audit reports and investigations.

Hopewell’s knowledge and application of professional accounting, auditing, fraud examination and ethical standards resulted in the nation’s first civil finding of audit fraud against state auditors in the case of Pacific West Marketing and Communications Firm Inc. v. California State Department of Transportation, which resulted in a $2 million verdict. His methodology later withstood scrutiny in U.S. v. Scialabba, at the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, regarding business expenses impacting money laundered funds.  He also successfully defended and managed a five-year federal campaign audit investigation of a former U.S. senator.

Hopewell has conducted seminars for professional organizations and is an adjunct professor of auditing at numerous colleges.

About the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
The ACFE is the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. Together with nearly 55,000 members, the ACFE is reducing business fraud worldwide and inspiring public confidence in the integrity and objectivity within the profession. For more information about the ACFE, visit ACFE.com.