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CONFERENCE SESSIONS

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Pre-Conference Session: Thursday, October 8th

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Pre-Conference Session
End to End Digital Investigations: Data Collection, Analysis, and AI Integration
Amber Schroader and Greg Kipper, Paraben Corporation 

The exponential growth of digital data necessitates an expanded investigative approach. Mastering the collection of data form OSINT and digital forensic techniques allows for comprehensive data capture and analysis, revealing deeper insights into complex cases. Incorporating artifact discovery across computers, smartphones (iOS and Android), and cloud-based social media data enhances your firm's service offerings. Using AI to add automation is the final step to bring in an efficiency to allow new services for digital investigations. In this training you will be taken through the full digital investigation workflow from capture, analysis, and AI automations. That allow you to create a comprehensive digital fingerprint overview for your clients.

Learning Objectives

Data Source Expansion: Participants will be able to identify and utilize techniques to capture and analyze data from a variety of digital sources, including computers, smartphones (iOS and Android), and cloud-based social media platforms, to expand the scope of their investigations.

Artifact Discovery and Integration: Participants will learn how to effectively discover and integrate diverse digital artifacts from multiple sources to construct a holistic digital fingerprint for clients.

AI Integrations: Participants will learn the process of vetting AI use and how to use AI to bring together different data artifacts for a comprehensive reporting for clients.

Enhanced Service Offerings: Participants will understand how to apply the techniques learned to enhance their firm's service offerings, providing clients with more comprehensive digital investigation.

Each attendee will receive free technology for 30-days with sample lab data to work with. 

Friday, October 9th

9:00 AM – 9:45 AM

General Session: Follow the Network: How the Best Investigators Find Connections
Neil Caddell, IDI

Ten rented Escalades vanished in a weekend. Most investigators would've chased the vehicles—one South Florida PI chased the people instead. This presentation breaks down that instinct: why mapping relationships beats tracking assets, how to build a subject's network in minutes, and how to spot the connection that matters—from the car, courthouse, or your desk.
10:00 AM – 11:45 AM

Keynote: Case Study – Investigating Mental Health and Homicide
Jennifer Nicolalde, Orange County Public Defender's Office

An in-depth look at a homicide case involving a NGRI - not guilty by reason of insanity plea. Discussion about witness interview preparation, interviews with mental health professionals, the difficulty of subjects with mental health issues and uncooperative witnesses, working with the attorney to prepare a vigorous defense at trial.
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM

What California Investigators Need to Know About AB747
Lindon Lilly, Rhino Investigation and Process Serving

This presentation is designed to prepare licensed investigators and process servers for compliance with AB 747, which is expected to standardize and elevate documentation requirements for service of process across California courts by January 1, 2027.
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM

Event Data Recorder (EDR) Investigations: Expanding Your Skillset & Income in the Modern PI Industry
Justin Hodson and Jordan Payton, Hodson P.I. Investigative Solutions

This presentation provides a comprehensive, real-world overview of Event Data Recorder (EDR) investigations and how private investigators can integrate this high-demand service into their existing business model. Attendees will learn what EDR data is, how it is obtained, and how it is used in accident reconstruction and litigation. The session will walk through the process of performing EDR downloads on vehicles, including equipment, software, access considerations, and legal compliance. In addition to the technical aspects, this presentation will focus on how investigators can build a new revenue stream by offering EDR services to attorneys, insurance carriers, and accident reconstruction professionals. Real case examples will be used to demonstrate the value of EDR data in supporting or disputing claims. This session is designed to bridge the gap between traditional investigative work and emerging technology-driven services.
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM

The PI's Guide to AI in 2026: Models, Tools, and What's Actually Worth Paying For
Jason Mitchell, nQuest

AI is everywhere, but the marketing is louder than the signal. This session cuts through the noise with a practitioner's survey of the commercial AI landscape in 2026. We'll start with the vocabulary that actually matters - model, host, product, prompt, tool, and agent - and show how understanding each layer helps you get dramatically better results from the same subscription you're already paying for.

Then, we'll survey what's on the market: the major providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI), the opensource ecosystem, and the explosion of agent frameworks and skill marketplaces like OpenClaw that are putting prebuilt OSINT capabilities within reach of non-technical users.

We'll look at how AI has moved from a chat window into software that takes actions on your behalf - browsing, extracting, analyzing, and reporting - and what that means for how investigators work day to day. Whether you're just getting started or already a daily user, you'll leave with a clearer mental model of the AI stack and a practical sense of where the real leverage is for your practice right now.
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM

Investigators, Lawsuits, and Robots: Managing Risk in 2026
Isaac Peck, OREP Insurance Services

Private investigators face more liability exposure than ever, from clients with bad intentions and careless subcontractors, to brand new risks created by AI tools like ChatGPT. Isaac Peck, President of OREP, walks through real-world claim cases from PIs around the country and what best practices and contract language might have changed the outcome. Peck also showcases common mistakes professionals are making with AI and the new AI exclusions that carriers are quietly filing on E&O and umbrella policies right now.

Attendees will learn:
  • The most common claims filed against PIs and how to protect against them
  • Contract clauses that actually protect you: client indemnification and more
  • How to vet clients and subcontractors to avoid getting dragged into lawsuits
  • The biggest AI mistakes PIs make and how to avoid them
  • What new AI exclusions on E&O and umbrella policies mean for your practice
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Surveillance Detection Routes (SDRs)
Tim O'Rourke, The Grafton Group and TSD-Technical  Services Division

Surveillance Detection Routes (SDRs) give investigators a practical way to detect hostile attention, improve situational awareness, and move more safely during sensitive assignments. This session explains the purpose behind SDRs, how they are planned, and how investigators can apply the principles in everyday casework. From difficult interviews and fraud matters to domestic cases and other high-risk encounters, SDR thinking helps professionals spot patterns, identify surveillance, and reduce exposure before a problem escalates.
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Insta-Insights: Leveraging Instagram and Threads
Tim Wratten, North Country Intel, Inc.

This training is designed for licensed private investigators seeking to strengthen their social media intelligence skills on two of today's most widely used platforms — Instagram and Threads. Tim Wratten walks investigators through a structured, methodical approach to extracting actionable intelligence from these platforms.

Participants will learn how to thoroughly review and analyze Instagram and Threads accounts to identify the person behind the profile, uncover real intelligence, and locate additional accounts owned by the same subject. From profile identifiers to cross-platform attribution, this course equips investigators with practical techniques they can immediately apply to their cases.
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Think Like and Investigator, Search Like an Expert
Joe Mangano, TransUnion/TLOxp

Ever wonder if you're getting everything TLOxp has to offer? Join this advanced session to discover practical techniques for reducing search time, revealing hidden relationships, and turning routine queries into actionable investigative intelligence. Walk away with tips you can apply immediately to your cases.
3:45 PM – 5:30 PM

Keynote: Murdered and Forgotten
John Barrick, Ventura County District Attorney's Office
Steve Rhods, Retired Cold Case Investigator, Ventura County District Attorney’s Office

On the morning of July 18, 1980, the body of Jane Doe Ventura County (hereinafter “Jane Doe Ventura County” because her identity was unknown) was found in the parking lot of Westlake High School in the City of Westlake, Ventura County. She had been raped, allowed to dress herself and then stabbed with a knife approximately 18 times in her chest, abdomen, and upper extremities. The victim appeared to have been murdered shortly after she was raped. Semen was located in her underwear. The victim was also almost five months pregnant at the time of her murder. Three days earlier in Delano, Kern County, on the morning of July 15, 1980, the body of Jane Doe Kern County (hereinafter “Jane Doe Kern County” because her identity was unknown) was found in an Almond Orchard. She had also been raped, allowed to dress herself, and then stabbed with a knife approximately 27 times in her chest, abdomen, and upper extremities. The victim appeared to have been murdered shortly after she was raped. Semen was located in the victim’s vagina and underwear. In 2007, the semen found on Jane Doe Kern County was positively matched to Wilson Chouest. In 2012, the semen found on the underwear of Jane Doe Ventura County was also positively matched to Wilson Chouest.

There were many challenges associated with this case, and many lessons were learned.
  • The investigators had to deal with lost evidence
  • How to interpret and present old technology to today’s criminal investigations
  • Defeating the lack of a victim identity and history
  • Proving a cold case without any eyewitnesses to the murder
  • How to establish a timeline and the life history of the defendant 40 years after the fact
  • How to try multiple murders committed in different jurisdictions in one venue
  • The need to conduct a prelim, over an indictment, in order to preserve elderly witness testimony
  • How to handle when a key witness goes AWOL during trial
  • How to use outside community resources and genetic genealogy to identify Jane Does (the DNA Doe Project)

Saturday, October 10th

9:15 AM – 10:45 AM

Keynote: Exposing Governmental Misconduct – A Fifteen Year Project
Scott Sanders, Law Firm of Scott Sanders

Discussion of Mr. Sanders’ 15-year involvement in the Orange County Informant Scandal — the largest informant scandal in U.S. history — including how the scandal was uncovered, the obstacles, defeats, and successes encountered along the way, and its impact on 61 cases.
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Criminal Defense Investigations & Mitigation Investigations
Debra Allen, 808 Investigations
Leisha Fenton-Fauth, Fenton Investigations

Most private investigators understand surveillance and background checks. Far fewer understand what it means to sit across the table from a prosecutor, review a charging document, and help an attorney build or dismantle a case before it ever reaches a jury. Trial preparation and mitigation investigation are among the most specialized and highest-value services a licensed PI can offer, and they are among the least understood in the profession. 

In this co-instructor session, Debra Allen and Leisha Fenton-Fauth draw on their shared experience as senior investigators at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, where they worked directly in trial preparation and mitigation alongside prosecutors preparing felony and complex criminal cases. They have since carried that institutional knowledge into private practice on the defense side, giving them a rare dual perspective on how the California criminal justice system actually works from the inside out. 

This session delivers a practical, field-tested curriculum on what trial preparation actually looks like when a PI is an active part of the team, what mitigation means and why it can determine whether a client goes home or goes to prison, how to function effectively as a second chair investigative resource to defense counsel, and what California law requires of licensed PIs operating in this space. 

Debra and Leisha do not just teach this material together. They live it together. The two have worked as a consulting team on each other’s cases on an almost daily basis, building on a professional partnership and friendship that spans more than 30 years. Their working relationship is governed by a mutual NDA and grounded in decades of trust, shared methodology, and a commitment to the highest standards of investigative practice. When they step into this classroom, attendees are getting the real thing.
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

The Quirky World of Asset Detection, Location and Recovery
Olivia Robinson, Background Intelligence, Inc.
Mark DiMichael, Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC

In this presentation, a private investigator will describe what started out as a relatively simple asset search case and morphed into something much bigger, involving a major political figure, someone with a history of bad deeds. The asset search was conducted with the mindset of a Repo-man…what are the assets, where are they, and how do we secure them.  

Today, many bad actors are choosing to hide funds in cryptocurrency to take advantage of the pseudonymous nature of the blockchain. A crypto forensic investigator will discuss how investigations can be done using a combination of public blockchain data, subpoenas to digital asset exchanges, and other more traditional forms of investigation and data gathering.

Discussion on the process of identifying and collecting brick-and-mortar assets and the complexities of identifying and collecting cryptocurrency assets.
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Stalking Case: The Fall From Grace; Case Analysis and Tactical Approaches to Stalking Investigations
Joe Dalu, Premier Group International

This presentation examines a real-world stalking case involving a female subject who developed a pathological fixation on multiple victims, culminating in repeated in-person approaches, online impersonation, and escalating boundary violations.

The case highlights how seemingly non-threatening behaviors, such as gift-giving, social media interaction, and indirect contact, can evolve into persistent, intrusive stalking behavior with cross-country travel and targeted surveillance of the victim’s residence.

Attendees will gain insight into the behavioral progression of a fixation-based stalker, including:
  • Initial contact through legitimate means (online purchase)
  • Transition to emotional fixation and a fantasy relationship
  • Escalation to physical approach behaviors and repeated visits
  • Use of deception (fake social media accounts) and symbolic gestures (cash, gifts, photos)
The presentation also explores risk assessment methodology, demonstrating how escalation indicators, persistence factors, and psychological drivers inform threat management strategies. Despite a low immediate violence risk, the subject presents a moderate-to-high risk of continued stalking behavior and escalation over time.