Orange County Auto Theft Investigators
Association
Prior OCATI Meeting Training
Presentations
2014 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
  Due
to illness, our guest speaker from the CHP Mexican Liaison Unit could not
make it to the meeting to give an update on the situation in Mexico.
Instead, the guest speakers at the December 2014 OCATI meeting were Dennis
Frias, Oficina Coordinadora de
Riesgos Asegurados (OCRA) U.S.A. & Canada Operations Manager, and
Efrain
Quezada, LoJack Law Enforcement
Liaison for San Diego & Imperial Counties, who gave a presentation
about the situation in Mexico. Since Efrain was with the CHP Mexican
Liaison Unit for 18 years prior to retiring, and Dennis was the CHP FEAR
Sergeant, both shared a vast knowledge of the problems related to Mexico. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the November 6, 2014 OCATI meeting was Richard
O. Knapp, Knapp & Spurlock,
LLP, OCATI / WSATI Legal Counsel, who gave a presentation on "Vehicle Theft
and Insurance Claims." Richard gave some humorous examples of how
the "bad guys" think insurance companies are fools and will accept any
story they come up with. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the October 2, 2014 OCATI meeting was Michael
Pimental, CHP / OCATT
Investigator, who gave a presentation on Business Inspections of Auto Related
Businesses. Mike went over what could and could not be done utilizing
California Vehicle Code 2805. Gabe Marquez,
Crime
Prevention Program of Southern California Executive Director, also
gave information about using 2805 VC in checking heavy equipment at construction
sites. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the September 4, 2014 OCATI meeting was Mike
Bender, ICW Group Insurance Companies
manager, who gave a presentation on Vehicle Security Devices and Transponders.
Mike's PowerPoint presentation and show and tell enlightened the audience
about what is defeating even the best the automotive industry has to offer. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the August 7, 2014 OCATI meeting was Bureau
of Automotive Repairs Supervisor Matt Loftus
of the BAR Irvine Office. Matt spoke about auto body repair and how
BAR tries to inspect and regulate repair shops. Matt said that BAR
works with the insurance companies and the Department of Insurance to make
sure repairs are being made at licensed repair shops. Matt handed
out material that also included a brochure on the BAR Auto Body Inspection
Program. |
  The
Guest Speakers at the July 10, 2014 OCATI Meeting were 3M
ALPR Representative Greg Lary and VINMonitor
Representative Dennis Frias. Greg spoke
about the law enforcement applications of ALPR systems and Dennis spoke
about the Private Industry applications of ALPR systems. Greg also
spoke about some of the current issues being addressed regarding lawsuits
and pending legislation regarding the use of ALPR systems being used by
law enforcement. |
  The
Guest Speakers at the June 5, 2014 OCATI Meeting were DMV
/ OCATT Investigator Cesar
Mata and DMV
Placentia Administration Manager Irma Bryant,
who gave a presentation on "California DMV Vehicle Updates and Records." |
   The
Guest Speakers at the May 1, 2014 OCATI Meeting were Orange
County Fire Authority Captains Ray Falcon, Bob
Spiegel, and Irvine Police
Department Arson Investigator Justin Russell,
who gave a presentation on "Vehicle Arson Investigations." Ray and
Bob showed actual suspected vehicle arson fires that they have recently
investigated. Justin explained how he is the liaison between the
Fire Authority and law enforcement agencies within Orange County. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the April 3, 2014 OCATI meeting was National
Insurance Crime Bureau Supervisory Special Agent Ron
Michel. Ron gave a presentation on "Staged Accident Investigations."
Ron made it very clear to the attendees that staged accidents, insurance
fraud, auto theft, and subleasing all go hand in hand. Ron's training
was very well received by a large turnout at the meeting. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the March 6, 2014 OCATI meeting was OCATT
/ Orange County
District Attorney's Office Deputy District Attorney Renee
Jones. Renee gave a presentation on "Auto Theft Complaint
Filings." Renee helped the attendees in understanding what makes
a successful report, which makes a successful complaint, and ultimately
a successful prosecution. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the February 2014 meeting was OCATT
/ California Highway Patrol Investigator
Kraig
Palmer. Kraig gave a presentation on "Rental Car Theft / Fraud
Investigations." Kraig's presentation was very enlightening involving
the way thieves are targeting Rental Car companies. Photos blurred on request
of Investigator Palmer. |
  The
Guest Speaker at the January 2014 meeting was National
Insurance Crime Bureau Supervisory Special Agent John
Acuna. John gave a presentation on "NICB Foreign Operations"
covering areas on assisting with recoveries in Mexico, as well as assisting
with investigations in Mexico. |
2013 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
 |
 |
 |
The Guest Speakers at the November 2013 meeting were a panel presentation on "Financial Fraud." The panel consisted of representatives
from local banking financial institutions and vehicle financial institutions. Wells Fargo Dealer Services Operational Risk Consultant Betty
Ashley, Toyota Financial Services Fraud Investigator Eileen
Mejia, and Locator Technologies Representative Dennis Frias made a presentation to the attendees. Both Betty and Eileen spoke
about some recent incidents of fraud and how cooperative efforts with law enforcement representatives led to positive results. Dennis Frias also spoke about how Locator Technologies assists financial institutions
in the recovery of their missing vehicles, as well as assisting law enforcement in the recovery of reported stolen vehicles.
|
  The
guest speaker at the September 2013 OCATI meeting was Heather
Roberts, Liberty
Mutual Insurance SIU, who gave a presentation on "Classic Car Theft
and Body Shops." |
  The
guest speakers at the August 2013 OCATI meeting were Dennis
Frias, Oficina Coordinadora de
Riesgos Asegurados (OCRA) U.S.A. & Canada Operations Manager, and
Efrain
Quezada, LoJack Law Enforcement
Liaison for San Diego & Imperial Counties, who gave a presentation
about Mexico Operations related to stolen vehicles, recovery and operations. |
  The
guest speaker at the June 2013 OCATI meeting was Ron
Poll, Executive Director of the Construction
Industry's Crime Prevention Program of Southern California. Ron
gave a presentation on "Construction Equipment Theft and Identification,"
as well as some case histories. Dennis Frias
briefly spoke about law enforcement's participation on the CPP Board of
Directors. |
  The
guest speaker at the May 2013 OCATI meeting was Keith
Jackson, KBJ
Consulting, who gave a presentation on "Watercraft Theft / Identification."
Keith is a recognized expert in this field and was able to point out past
cases where just knowing the little things made a big difference in the
outcome of the case. |
  The
guest speaker at the April 2013 OCATI meeting was Mick
O'Neill, Hagerty Insurance
SIU who gave a presentation on "Classic Car SIU Investigation - the basics".
Mick walked the attendees through one investigation from start to a finish
the insured did not expect when he reported his classic car stolen. |
  Due
to a medical emergency, Guest Speaker NICB
Agent Pat Goodman could not attend the March
2013 OCATI Meeting. Stepping in to do the training were the "tag-team"
of NICB Agents Chris
Mendez and Mark Winter. They
gave a presentation on NICB Operations and how NICB can assist Law Enforcement
and Insurance personnel. |
  At
the February 2013 OCATI Meeting, Farmers
Insurance SIU Investigator Kevin Letson
gave a presentation on body shop fraud and investigations. |
  At
the January 2013 OCATI meeting, Orange
County District Attorney's Office Auto Fraud Deputy District Attorneys
Claudia
Alvarez and Leslie Hanke gave a presentation
on the Elements of Case Filing - Vehicle Theft / Insurance Fraud for both
law enforcement and private industry. |
|
2012 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
  At
the November OCATI meeting, Cletus Nunes,
from the Automobile
Club of Southern California, came in to brief the attendees of a new
program that is being put into effect in California, the AAA OnBoard Stolen
Vehicle Assistance Program. Cletus gave a presentation of the program
and then requested feedback from the attendees on any potential problems
that anyone might see. There was quite a bit of discussion and it
appeared that Cletus took down a lot of notes to give feedback to others
at AAA. |
  The
guest speaker at the October OCATI meeting was Christophe
Delavoye from PLATENET National
License Plate Monitoring System. Mr. Delavoye provided information
on this new resource for vehicle theft and fraud investigations and demonstrated
the system during the program. Christophe also ran live queries of license
plates from those in attendance. Christophe showed the attendees how to
sign up for a 30-day free trial access to the system. Needless to say,
this system will help both law enforcement and SIU personnel in their investigations. |
  The
guest speaker at the August 2012 OCATI meeting was Ken
Zion from Automotive Collision Consultants,
who gave a presentation on an additional tool that can be used to identify
vehicles. Ken's presentation gave information that both law enforcement
and insurance SIU personnel can utilize. He provided handout material
as well. |
   The
guest speakers at the July 2012 OCATI Meeting were Investigator Gabe
Marquez from CHP / L.A. TRAP)
and Special Agent Lou Koven from NICB
who gave a presentation on Construction Equipment Theft and Trends. |
  The
guest speaker at the May 2012 OCATI Meeting was Ted
Saraf from LoJack. Ted
gave a presentation of how the LoJack recovery system works from the viewpoint
of law enforcement. Ted also spoke about the requirements necessary for
a LoJack activation. |
  The
guest speaker at the April 2012 OCATI Meeting was Jim
Gotter from the Orange County Sheriff's Department
Crime Lab. Jim gave a presentation on vehicle evidence processing
(i.e.: DNA, photos, prints) and also information on evidence from organized
rings or major investigations. |
  At
the January 2012 OCATI Meeting, Tony Ko, Toyota
/ Lexus Financial Fraud Unit, gave a presentation on Vehicle Finance
Fraud. There were also representatives from Honda and Hyundai, who
are part of the Auto Finance Fraud Association set up to combat the fraud
that is plaguing the industry. Tony went over several different "schemes"
that are being perpetrated against the auto finance industry. It
was obvious that the best way of combating these crimes is by networking
and training. |
2011 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
  At
the October 2011 OCATI Meeting, OCATT
/ CHP Lieutenant / Task Force Commander
Ed
Michalkiewicz gave the attendees an update on the Orange County
Auto Theft Task Force (OCATT) which is now in its 18th year of operation.
Ed explained to the attendees what OCATT did to identify and prosecute
vehicle theft suspects in Orange County. Ed also spoke about the
current staffing of OCATT. Ed handed out two quarterly reports to
the attendees which explained some of the cases worked by OCATT personnel
(the encrypted reports can be located
here). Ed also spoke about current trends in vehicle thefts and
theft of vehicle parts. |
  At
the September 2011 OCATI Meeting, Long
Beach Police Sergeant Jim Williams and
Detective Joe Starbird gave a presentation
on how thieves are breaking into GM vehicles to steal the third row seats
or to steal the vehicles. Attendees viewed several surveillance videos
as well as a slide presentation. It was very enlightening to see
how quickly this can be done. |
  At
the August 2011 OCATI Meeting, NICB Special
Agent Mark Winter gave a presentation on the
ISO Claimsearch Database. Mark also gave a presentation on the use
of social networking for investigations. |
  At
the June 2011 OCATI Meeting, Tim Staab, Glendora
PD / Delta Analysis, gave a presentation on Auto Fraud and Staged
Traffic Collisions. The presentation also covered "Black Box" technology. |
  At
the April 2011 OCATI Meeting, Dennis Frias,
OCRA
/ Consolidated Fraud Group, gave a
presentation on Private License Plate Reader (LPR) databases. This
covered systems that are available to law enforcement, as well as the private
sector. |
2010 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
  At
the November OCATI meeting, Tom Seroogy of
Advanced
Technologies & Forensics, Inc gave a presentation on ignition /
door lock forensics. Tom's presentation included examples of sophisticated
tools available to the forensic locksmith personnel as well as how auto
thieves may be acquiring the same tools. |
  At
the October OCATI meeting, Infinity
Insurance SIU Investigator Heather Roberts
gave a presentation on Classic Car Theft Investigation. Heather has
an extensive background in classic cars and drag racing. Her presentation
gave a lot of information that both law enforcement and insurance SIU personnel
can use in their investigations. |
  At
the March OCATI meeting, former CHP Sergeant Dennis
Frias gave a presentation about his new employer, Consolidated
Fraud Group, a company dealing with financial fraud prevention and
detection. This company works with financial companies with fraudulent
credit applications. Dennis also said he was working with (OCRA)
Oficina Coordinadora de Riesgos Asegurados, S.C. in trying to locate
and recover Mexican stolen vehicles that have been brought into the United
States. Also providing training at the March OCATI meeting was Mike
Bender (former Simi Valley PD Detective/NICB Agent), owner of Bender
Enterprises ( www.vintrack.com) which
specializes in stolen vehicle detection. Mike gave a presentation on new
methods thieves are using to steal cars. |
2009 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
  Greg
Lary from Federal Signal/PIPS
Technology gave a presentation on their LPR system, "Back Office Server
Software" (BOSS), and data sharing at the November OCATI meeting. |
  DMV
Investigator
John Bartolone gave a presentation
on “Registration Classification Codes” pertaining to DMV documentation
topics at the September OCATI Meeting. |
Brea
Police Detective
Chris Wood gave a presentation
on how GM products are being broken into and stolen at the June OCATI Meeting. |
  Mike
Bender (former Simi Valley PD Detective/NICB Agent), owner of Bender
Enterprises (www.vintrack.com) which
specializes in stolen vehicle detection, gave a presentation on Forensic
Vehicle Identification at the April OCATI Meeting. |
2008 Training Presentations
at OCATI Meetings
 Orange
County Fire Authority Captain Bret Russell,
arson investigator, gave a training presentation on vehicle arson at the
November meeting. |
 CHP
Sergeant Dennis Frias gave a training presentation
on the FEAR Team (Foreign Export And Recovery Team) at the August meeting. |
Tustin
Police Detective
Dave Welde gave a training
presentation on Fraudulent Application cases at the May meeting. |
Santa
Ana Police Department Forensics Services Supervisor Heather
Heider gave a training presentation at the March meeting on the
expanded use of DNA collection, especially related to recovered stolen
vehicles. |
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