Joe Darragh
Panelist
Joe Darragh is a Certified Fraud Examiner, data scientist and Microcap Fraud Subject Matter Expert. From 2013-2022 Joe served as the principal investigator for the SEC's Microcap Fraud Task Force.
During his tenure at the SEC, Joe helped to reinvent methods for detecting and analyzing pump and dump schemes, while partnering closely with the FBI, DOJ, IRS, and foreign regulators to combat Microcap fraud around the globe.
Joe has worked on 100s of trading suspensions and dozens of investigations totaling over $700 million in fraud. Most notably those resulting in litigation against:
● IPC Corporate Services,
● Legacy Global Markets,
● Beaufort Securities &
● Blacklight S.A.
Joe also served as a Microcap specialist for the development of the Consolidated Audit Trail, the Microcap Fraud Early Alert Tool, Amendments to Rule 15c-211 and DARPA's Memex project among others.
In 2022, Joe left the SEC to fight a different type of fraud - scams against homeowners. As the co-founder of Pillar Digital Marketing, Joe is working to reduce fraud in the home services industry by helping the most qualified local businesses stand out over their unqualified competitors.
Joe also continues to work in the Microcap space as an independent investigator, and is working to simplify investor education while harnessing the potential of AI in the fight against fraud.
Topic
Wednesday General Session 1/31/2024
Let the Investor Beware! - Fraud Detection & Red Flags
- Examples of the most common frauds being committed by microcap companies that are only caught after the fact
- Early warning signs of hard-to-identify scams
- Protocols for investors and fund managers to help them hedge if there are suspicions of fraud
- Microcap volatility: discerning when legitimate companies are the victim of outside forces, such as naked shorts
- Perspective: legal preventive measures in the early financing stages and later stages that could reduce fraud
