News / Articles

Speaker Biography

Mr. Shawn Beck serves as the Director of the Special Investigations Division (SID) at the
New Mexico Office of the State Auditor, a position he has held since 2019. He leads a highly
skilled team of Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE), Certified Public Accountants (CPA), and
Certified Government Financial Managers (CGFM) dedicated to detecting and combating
fraud, waste, and abuse across New Mexico’s state and local government agencies. Their
work protects the integrity of public resources and strengthens accountability statewide.

Shawn holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from New
Mexico Highlands University and is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Government
Financial Manager. With more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement and financial
crime investigation, he has served in diverse investigative and leadership roles, including
service with the U.S. Army Military Police Investigations and multiple New Mexico law
enforcement agencies. He began his public service immediately after high school by
enlisting in the U.S. Army as a Military Police Officer and is a veteran of Operations Desert
Shield and Desert Storm
.
Presentation Title

Red Flags and Repercussions: The Real Cost of Procurement Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Presentation Description

This focused 50-minute session equips New Mexico’s state and local procurement
professionals with the awareness and tools needed to recognize and respond to fraud
before it harms their agencies. Drawing from real cases documented in New Mexico fraud,
waste, and abuse investigations and audit findings, the presentation highlights the red flags
uncovered by OSA’s SID investigators and the costly repercussions that followed for public
agencies.

Participants will leave with practical strategies, sharper instincts, and a renewed
commitment to safeguarding public dollars, strengthening procurement integrity, and
protecting New Mexico’s public resources on behalf of the communities they serve.