A Manager in Cherry Bekaert’s Fraud & Forensics practice, Mike East, CFE, has more than 28 years of experience leading, directing and managing complex and multi-jurisdictional fraud and financial crime investigations. His professional practice focuses on the areas of forensic accounting and analysis, fraud investigation and detection, litigation support and risk advisory.
Mike’s background includes the investigation and analysis of potentially fraudulent financial activities involving asset misappropriations, illegal disbursements and employee theft. He has conducted forensic accounting analyses of financial reports, and assisted state and federal prosecutors with discovery, evidence presentation and expert witness testimony.
In addition, Mike has extensive knowledge of risk assessment and mitigation having conducted operational reviews to identify internal control weaknesses, recommend business and process improvements and assist in the development of fraud prevention programs. He has supported cases involving individuals, public and private corporations
and government agencies ranging from $100,000 to multi-million dollar losses.
Prior to joining Cherry Bekaert, Mike was a special agent in charge of the Financial Crimes Unit of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. He is also a soughtafter speaker and lecturer in the areas of financial crime investigation, fraud detection and crisis negotiation with organizations such as the FBI, National Association of State
Auditors, and numerous colleges and universities and other government agencies.