Round Bottom Background
Round Bottom Background

Reported directly to the Office of the Secretary and Chief Counsel and led a team of fifteen (15) special investigators tasked with safeguarding the integrity and compliance of the agency’s proper payment of unemployment benefits. Responsibilities focused on detecting and preventing fraud, ensuring compliance with agency standards, and supporting both internal and external investigations. A key aspect of this remit involved leveraging data mining and predictive analytics to uncover patterns of fraudulent activity within unemployment insurance and related benefit programs. Leveraged advanced analytical techniques to proactively identify risks and address anomalies before they escalated, enhancing the overall efficiency and accountability of the department.

Also ensured that the agency adhered to a range of federal laws and regulations, including the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) and The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010. The work under IPERA was particularly vital in identifying agency control frameworks and policies that were susceptible to fraud, waste, and abuse. This included conducting regular program reviews, compiling findings for federal reporting, and fostering interdepartmental coordination to align with state and federal standards.

In addition to compliance and data oversight, was tasked with administrative and internal investigations concerning potential agency policy violations. In this capacity, collaborated closely with law enforcement agencies, providing analytical support and subject-matter expertise during criminal investigations and representing the agency in federal and state court in asset seizure and clawback proceedings.


  • Spearheaded efforts to integrate predictive modeling into agency surveillance systems, leading to a federal award of $5 million and designation of the state of Kansas as a pilot state for U.S. Department of Labor Data Analytics program.


  • Reduced department rate of improper benefit payments by fifty (50%) percent, resulting in savings of $1.9 million to federal unemployment trust fund. Leveraged data analytics techniques to improve agency investigation process. Eliminated three (3) year investigation backlog and increased agency “clawbacks” of fraudulently obtained unemployment

    benefits by $2.5 million.