At the Intersection of Filmmaking and Fraud Investigations

Brian Lazarte and James Lee Hernandez are storytellers by trade. But these filmmakers, directors and producers of the HBO docuseries “McMillion$” and the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Big Conn” align their styles closely with that of a fraud examiner. In front of a packed crowd at the 34th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, the Emmy-nominated pair discussed their process of “investigating an investigation,” conducting effective interviews with both criminals and their victims, and truly understanding the long-term impacts of fraud.

“We want to build a case. We want to make it the most convincing version of the story as possible so that we take you on a ride,” Lazarte said of the pair’s filmmaking process. “What we know with any storytelling is it’s driven by your emotions, right? When you’re a prosecutor, when you’re talking to 12 jurors, you want to take them on a journey. You want to tap into the emotions of the story you’re telling.”

Understanding the full scope of a narrative story is essential to Lazarte and Hernandez. While riding the rollercoaster of emotions keeps documentary viewers engaged, the reality is that there are real victims and people affected by these scams, which brings gravity and relevancy to the stories they investigate as filmmakers.

Filmmaking, much like fraud investigations, starts by conducting effective interviews. Whether it’s interviewing someone with intimate knowledge of the case or sitting down with fraud victims themselves, patience is vital for Lazarte and Hernandez. Getting someone to speak on camera is not easy—especially if they are already hesitant to do so in a private setting. But as these documentarians have found through persistence (often, many months of it), criminals find a catharsis in speaking their truths. By using empathy and understanding to break down the wall, a criminal’s true character is unveiled, and real reflection rises to the surface. Furthermore, by reinforcing that Lazarte and Hernandez are not trying to sensationalize their crime, but rather, learn why they did what they did, the playing field evens and gives an authentic purpose for criminals to tell their story.

“Everybody else can talk about you,” Lazarte tells interview subjects. “But if you have a certain position on this, you need to speak for yourself.”

For the victims of these crimes, successful interviews require sensitivity. In reinforcing early on that their journey is incredibly personal, Lazarte and Hernandez connect with subjects on a deeper level and begin to slowly understand the root causes of why they succumbed to a crime. It is through these relationships that valuable perspectives emerge, which can ultimately help other victims understand that they are not alone, and furthermore, deter others from falling victim to similar scams.

“For [‘McMillion$’ fraud victim Gloria Brown], it was the catharsis of setting the record straight,” Hernandez said. “She’s showing that she’s a real person. Yes, she made a mistake. But sometimes, good people make bad decisions and that shouldn’t define your entire life.”

The common threads allowing the schemes documented in both “McMillion$” and “The Big Conn” to grow to the level they did were intimidation, manipulation and ignorance. When a few people — or even just one person — take command of essential controls within an organization or system, the result is an unquestioned power hierarchy that allows these criminals to stack the deck in their favor. Conversely, even though the courage of whistleblowers reveals fraudulent activity, the damage done in many of these cases lasts long after criminals are convicted. As highlighted in “The Big Conn,” families who lost vital Social Security benefits because of Eric Conn’s greed struggled for years to recoup those losses, especially in the poor, rural community of Pikeville, Kentucky. Likewise, marketing companies that leaned heavily on the McDonald’s Monopoly game for their business ceased to exist.

“[These stories are] really the illustration of the consequence of ignoring a problem,” Lazarte said. “The consequence of ignoring a problem is far greater than dealing with the problem when it happens.”