Continuing a long-standing tradition, the InternationalAssociation of Special Investigation Units announced the winnersfor four awards it presents every year at the annual conference:investigator of the year, analyst of the year, outstanding serviceaward, and the public service award. Below is a profile of eachwinner and an explanation of their achievements.

Investigator of the Year

Ed Welch has been named the 2007 Investigator of the Year.Welch, an SIU investigator with State Farm Insurance, conducted aninvestigation centered on a prominent south Florida neurologist whowas egregiously impacting claims through questionable surgicalprocedures and medical reports. The physician's activities came tolight through a preceding investigation in which Welch wasinvolved. The non-confidential portion of Welch's investigationresulted in the neurosurgeon's waiver of $3.3 million dollars inbillings. IASIU selects Ed Welch for Investigator of the Year basedon his role in identifying, developing, and concluding this uniqueinvestigation.

2007 Analyst of the Year

The International Association of Special Investigation Unitsselected Diann Williford, a field information analyst with theNational Insurance Crime Bureau, as its 2007 Analyst of the Year.Williford was selected based on her significant analytical workassociated with a major international vehicle theft and insurancefraud ring. In 2005, four NICB investigations were opened tosupport a California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Department ofInsurance (DOI) vehicle theft/owner give-up investigation that alsoinvolved VIN switching. Williford worked directly with CHPheadquarters and NICB and proved to be instrumental in identifyingoverlapping elements and coordinating all aspects of theinvestigation. Additionally, Williford created and maintained themain database that identified counterfeit vehicles, individuals,and locations of interest. The scheme that emerged revealedhigh-end vehicles were stolen, obtained through identity theftfraud, or obtained through owner give-up. Williford was crucial inidentifying this weakness in the scheme and to date, there havebeen 24 arrests associated with this scheme.

2007 Outstanding Service

IASIU is proud to announce Fred Burkhardt, NICB lead specialagent for the Florida Medical Fraud Task Force, as the recipient ofthe Outstanding Service award for 2007. Currently, Fred supervisesthree NICB agents, a field information analyst, and aninvestigative assistant while maintaining his own case load.Burkhardt has been highly involved and proved to be the maincatalyst in the success of the task force, which is the second ofits kind in the country. His duties include overseeing the dailyoperations of the main task force in South Florida and themini-task forces in Ft. Myers, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville.These meetings have been critical in bringing together insuranceindustry members, numerous law enforcement agencies, and the NICBwith the common goal of combating insurance fraud in the state. Forhis work ethic and dedication, IASIU recognizes Fred Burkhardt forthe Outstanding Service Award.

2007 IASIU Public Service Award

IASIU is proud to announce Henry “Tommy” Clark as the 2007winner of the Public Service Award. Detective Clark has been withthe Florida Division of Insurance Fraud since 1994. Hisinvestigative focus is workers' compensation fraud. Over the years,Detective Clark has investigated numerous high-profile casesinvolving complex workers' compensation schemes.