Bank fraud might not be highway robbery in the literal sense, but when it comes to high-profile financial crimes, fraudsters are the modern-day equivalent of the Old West’s bandits.
On the other side of the law, Seth Bullock and Wyatt Earp have retired to the history books, but Kylee Reyes is stepping up to take their place.
“My grandpa worked in law enforcement before I was born,” Reyes, a native of Arkansas City, Kansas, said. “He would sit around when I was a little child and tell me stories of cases he had worked on. He really loved Old West tales, too. We’d talk about the Dalton Gang, Jesse James, stuff like that. So that really is where the interest started.”
After earning her undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, Reyes realized that she needed more to stand out in the law enforcement job market. While working in a regional bank’s fraud department, she found something better than a badge: a Forensic and Fraud Examination master’s degree from West Virginia University.
“I didn’t have any professional accounting experience,” Reyes said. “I worked in banking, but I didn’t have the actual credential. I was interested in becoming a certified fraud examiner. I wanted to pursue that, but I also wanted a degree.”
Reyes got more than a degree, though.
While she was pursuing her FFE studies, she started a new job with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In her role as a bank examiner, she ensures banks comply with laws and regulations, evaluates risks and communicates her findings and recommendations to bank management.
Though she was working a full-time job and living half a country away while studying for her FFE degree, Reyes saw immediate benefits thanks to its career-focused curriculum.
“I had a lot of light bulb moments,” Reyes said. “Getting to do the coursework at WVU, I was exposed to different types of financial fraud. I know I’ll be able to apply the skills I’ve learned in my day-to-day job.”
Her learning went beyond the textbook when she took part in the FFE program’s Moot Court exercise, held in collaboration with law firm Steptoe LLP, where students spend a full semester investigating a mock case based on real-world financial crimes, then present their findings at a trial supervised by practicing attorneys.
“Getting to prepare for that and go through that process, I felt, was really beneficial,” Reyes said.
“For a lot of people, it was anxiety-inducing. I thought it was a lot of fun. I remember getting feedback from the lawyer — he said something along the lines of, ‘You have the temperament to be a good expert witness.’ And I wanted to frame that and hang that somewhere.”
Will Reyes ever serve as an expert witness in a real trial? That remains to be seen. For now, she’s happy to apply the skills she’s learned to her career protecting the public from marauding fraudsters.
“I hope that with my career as a bank examiner, I can eventually work in problem banks or maybe get to do more on the fraud side there. But at the end of the day, as long as I’m getting to serve the public and do something that involves investigation, I’m happy.”
Reyes’ opinions and experiences do not represent the views of the federal government or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
