STATE’S ATTORNEY PARTNERS WITH UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SMITH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS TO FIGHT FINANCIAL CRIMES IN FREDERICK

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 15, 2025

 

STATE’S ATTORNEY PARTNERS WITH UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SMITH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS TO FIGHT FINANCIAL CRIMES IN FREDERICK

COLLEGE PARK, MD – State’s Attorney Charlie Smith joins the Justice for Fraud Victims, Inc., (JFV) a supporting organization of the University of Maryland Smith School of Business Chapter, to combat financial crimes in Frederick.  The JFV, directed by Samuel Handwerger, Certified Forensic Accountant and lecturer at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business, is honored to partner with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit.  Established in 2023, the JFV nonprofit team already serves the State’s Attorney for Prince Georges County, MD and has been integral in achieving justice for victims of economic crimes and fraud.  Comprised of financial professionals, retired F.B.I. investigators and highly trained student volunteers within the Smith School of Business program, including computer science students, the JFV has already produced hundreds of State’s exhibits in court cases.  The JFV’s services include, free of charge:

  • Fraud examination and fully developed fraud reports, based on cases of embezzlement, payroll fraud, HOA fraud, and most other asset misappropriation cases within small business and nonprofit organizations.
  • Tracing stolen funds within the public blockchain.
  • Risk-assessments for non-profits and small businesses.

“Fraud victims are underserved due to the lack of necessary investigation and resources needed to make a case for prosecution”, said State’s Attorney Charlie Smith.  “When a potentially fraudulent financial investigation is submitted to the JFV team, the goal is for them to compose a forensically examined accounting report that shows that this is a criminal, and not a civil, case,” Smith continued.  “In a recent high-profile jury case in Maryland involving elder fraud, the UMD student volunteers produced a 40-page report containing data analytics and visualizations. They examined more than a year’s worth of bank statements for several different accounts, debit card purchases and their receipts and listened to over 30 hours of recorded calls to the bank by the presumed account holder.”

The JFV’s new partnership with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office allows the Smith School of Business to expand its forensic accounting training department with a new program this Fall.  The Justice for Fraud Victims operates in association with a national coalition of schools with similar programs at Gonzaga University, Marquette University, Central Connecticut State University, Siena College, State University of New York at Old Westbury, and more.  The participating schools network and share resources when needed. Charlie Smith, a graduate of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business with a B.S. in Finance, looks forward to the new partnership increasing justice for fraud victims in Frederick, MD.

 

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Press Contact:

Jacqueline Rottmann

Court Media Relations Officer

301-600-2972

100 West Patrick Street

Frederick, Maryland  21701