Get Paid or Get Prosecuted - a Legal Guide for Private Investigators

Private investigators will learn of various federal whistleblower, forfeiture, and payment for information programs that could result in a financial reward for them or their clients.  They will also learn about things not to do in the course of representing their clients in order to avoid a potential federal investigation and/or prosecution.  The presenters are two criminal defense lawyers who are former federal prosecutors. 

BIO

David Haas, a federal and state defense attorney founded Haas Law, PLLC where he represents clients in federal courts around the country and Florida.  He is a former state and federal prosecutor who has extensive jury trial experience, including handling more than 65 jury trials. 

He began his career as a state prosecutor with the State Attorney’s Office in the Tenth Judicial Circuit.  After three years of handling felony and misdemeanor offenses, attorney David Haas was promoted to Chief of the Economic/Environmental Crimes Division where he was responsible for the investigation, intake, and prosecution of complex financial crimes including racketeering and public corruption cases.

In February 2006, David Haas joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida.  He served as a federal prosecutor for nearly 10 years.  During his tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney, he handled complex white-collar matters including bank fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, tax fraud, FOREX trading, healthcare fraud, and Ponzi/investment schemes. He also is an attorney for whistleblowers seeking reward for information of significant criminal wrongdoing under the False Claims Act.

Updates from the State of Florida Division of Licensing: Legislative and Licensing Insights

BIO

John Raymaker is an attorney and currently serves as Director of Florida’s Division of Licensing. John has been with the Division of Licensing for over 16 years and has previously served the division as Chief of the Bureau of Regulation and Enforcement and Attorney Supervisor. John is a 1992 graduate of The Florida State University College of Law and spent his first 10 years practicing criminal law serving first as an Assistant Public Defender and then as an Assistant State Attorney primarily doing felony trial cases. Before joining the Division of Licensing, John spent 7 years as the attorney for Florida’s Sexually Violent Predator Program.

A Title Fraud Case Study of State v. Michelle Cherry

This presentation will examine the evidence in State v. Michelle Cherry to understand how and why Ms. Cherry and her husband were able to commit title theft. We will walk through the evidence and expose how easy it is to commit title theft by forging deeds in the State of Florida. From this review, we will learn about what tools are available to fight it, detect it, and prosecute title theft. Lastly, we will also learn about what evidence an investigator or law enforcement officer should capture for a successful prosecution.

BIO

In 2001, Michael Lennon graduated from the Florida State niversity Law School. He graduated number 9 out of 225 students in his class with magna cum laude honors. He is presently the Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in Hillsborough County, FL. He has served at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office since 2004. For over a decade, he has been in the Economic Crimes Unit where he has successfully gone to trial on cases involving identity theft, embezzlement, title theft, mortgage fraud, contractor fraud, insurance fraud, exploitation, and racketeering. Prior to coming to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, Michael served as an Assistant State Attorney and learned under the Honorable State Attorney Larry Basford in Jackson County, FL, from 2001 to 2003. Michael was the recipient of the 2012-2013 West Central Region Prosecutor of the Year award. In 2014, Michael received the honor of being Florida’s Law Enforcement Prosecutor of the Year at the annual FIFEC (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee), which is an insurance fraud conference. Michael regularly teaches law enforcement in Hillsborough County and repeatedly teaches at various conferences throughout the State of Florida.

Threats: Financial Crime & Deepfakes

This presentation explores how deepfakes and synthetic media are revolutionizing financial crime, creating a $40 billion enterprise risk by 2027. The presentation covers how criminals use AI-generated audio, video, and images to create synthetic identities, steal existing identities, impersonate executives, bypass biometric security, and facilitate money laundering. Through real-world examples—including synthetic identity fraud causing up to $40 billion in annual losses and a $25.6 million deepfake video conference scam—attendees will learn how these sophisticated attacks work and why traditional verification methods are failing. The session concludes with Deep Media's multimodal detection solutions that help investigators identify and combat these emerging threats in the financial sector.

BIO

The rise of IoT in Digital Investigations

IoT devices are everywhere and causing potential chaos with the data they collect and store. With risks to digital security and information sharing they are becoming a prime suspect in digital evidence. Learn the new process for seizure and capture of the data associated with these digital devices. Discover the untapped information that can be discovered from them from security risks and leaks to digital evidence.

BIO

For over 30 years, Ms. Schroader has been a leading innovator in digital forensics. She's developed software to recover data from various sources, including smartphones, hard drives, cloud storage, email, and even gaming systems. Her expertise extends to creating protocols for evidence seizure and processing, used by organizations worldwide. Ms. Schroader's vision extends beyond specific tools. She's championed a "360-degree approach" and "Forensics of Everything (FoE)," emphasizing the importance of considering the complete picture of digital evidence. This influential perspective has pushed the field towards a more holistic approach. Her contributions go beyond software. Ms. Schroader is an accomplished instructor, having written and delivered numerous courses in this specialized field. She's even founded certifications, further solidifying her role in shaping the digital forensics landscape. Her passion continues through industry talks and book contributions.

The Georgia Prison Scam

When a case in Sarasota uncovered a crime ring operating out of the GA prison system, the victim's weren't just in Florida, but nationwide. Discussion will include how it was uncovered, steps in the investigation and what is currently being done to combat this.

BIO

Detective Andrew Rowe is a 22 year veteran and a 2^nd generation deputy of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.  During his tenure there, he has been a patrol deputy, general assignment detective and more recently assigned to the Economic Crimes Unit within the agencies Criminal Investigations Section.  Detective Rowe is also assigned to the Hostage Negotiation Team for the agency.  Detective Rowe recently won the 2025 IAFCI (International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators) Law Enforcement Officer of the year for the Florida Chapter as well as the International Chapter.  When not at the office, Detective Rowe spends his time with his wife and dogs and enjoys relaxing with a nice bourbon in hand or playing golf terribly at a local course.

Investigating Employee Misconduct

BIO

Jeffrey Stein is the President of ELPS Private Detective Agency and Executive Director of Intellenet, an international network of more than 600 investigators in over 70 countries.

Stein has conducted over 3,000 internal and external integrity and witness interviews throughout his career in the private sector, for both civil and criminal cases. With over 38 years of experience in private investigations, security consulting, and as an expert witness, he is licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Stein is recognized for his expertise in criminal defense investigations, negligent security, and premises liability. He has overseen high-profile security operations, including serving as Co-Security Director for the International JCC Maccabi Games and directing oversight during the decommissioning and redevelopment of Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) regulated facilities, such as the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery and the Bethlehem Steel Mill. A frequent lecturer and published author, Stein has been featured as a subject matter expert on CNN, FOX News, and Investigation Discovery.

FAPI Banquet Dinner Keynote Presentation

BIO

Sheriff Rick Staly is serving his third 4-year term as Flagler County Sheriff. He was first elected to the office of Sheriff in 2016 and was sworn in as the 18th Sheriff of Flagler County on January 3, 2017. Following his first term, he was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2020. Following his second term, he was re-elected unopposed in 2024, joining Sheriff Zip Edmonson in 1968 as the only incumbent Sheriff in agency history to be re-elected unopposed. As Sheriff, he leads a workforce of more than 400 employees and volunteers with a budget of over $48 million dollars.

Sheriff Staly holds a master’s degree in Justice Administration from the University of Louisville and a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Rollins College. Sheriff Staly is a graduate of the 177th Session of the FBI National Academy, the 79th Session of the FBI LEEDS Program, and the Southern Police Institute’s 79th Administrative Officer’s Course. He is also a graduate of the 112th Session of the National Sheriff’s Institute, and Session 2 of NSI’s Jail Administration, making him the first Sheriff in Flagler County to graduate from the NSI.

During Sheriff Staly’s more than 45-year career of public safety service, he has received numerous awards, commendations, and medals. While serving the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, he received the Medal of Valor, Purple Heart Medal, and Florida Governor’s Medal of Heroism after being shot three times while saving the life of a deputy sheriff. In 2015, he was awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from President Obama. In 2019, Sheriff Staly was selected as one of five finalists for the NRA’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.

FULL DAY PROGRAM - Wednesday, March 11, 2026

How To Double Your PI Income & Client Base: 5 Systems That Generate $500+ Daily

BIO

Jimmie Mesis, BAI, LPI, TSCM is one of America’s most successful private investigators and is widely known as the “PI Marketing Guru.” With over 45 years of investigative experience, he has trained more than 15,000 investigators in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., and has been featured on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Associated Press.

He is the Founder and Director of USA Bugsweeps, Inc. (USAbugsweeps.com), the largest TSCM service provider in the United States, and the former owner and creator of PI Magazine. Jimmie is the recipient of multiple national and international awards, including lifetime achievement, leadership, and “Investigator of the Year” honors from major investigative associations in the U.S., Canada, and England.