Meet the Whistleblower Who Took on Halliburton

Whistleblowers are essential to discovering fraud. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, more than 40 percent of frauds are discovered by a tip or whistleblower. In this episode, Caleb and Greg talk to one for the first time on Oh My Fraud. Anthony Menendez, “The Accountant Who Beat Halliburton,” recounts his saga as a whistleblower, and shares the many lessons he learned along his journey.

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Chapters
  • (00:00) - Welcome to Oh My Fraud
  • (01:21) - The Halliburton Episode: A Prelude
  • (02:54) - Meet Tony Menendez: The Accountant Who Took on Halliburton
  • (04:27) - Tony's Early Life and Unexpected Path to Accounting
  • (09:22) - The Sarbanes-Oxley Era and Its Impact on Tony's Career
  • (11:21) - Tony's Transition to Halliburton and Initial Skepticism
  • (23:52) - Uncovering Accounting Irregularities at Halliburton
  • (29:20) - The Bill and Hold Controversy Explained
  • (37:14) - Raising Concerns and the Fallouts
  • (41:36) - The Fallout: Navigating Corporate Politics and Email Warnings
  • (46:37) - The SEC Steps In: A Whistleblower's Hope and Disappointment
  • (01:06:00) - The Fight for Whistleblower Rights: A Personal Battle
  • (01:11:25) - The Verdict: A Crushing Blow to Whistleblower Protections
  • (01:16:37) - Taking Matters into His Own Hands: The Appeal Process
  • (01:18:27) - A Glimmer of Hope: Winning the Appeal
  • (01:20:34) - Back to Square One: The Lower Court's Stubborn Stance
  • (01:23:46) - A Final Victory? The Appeals Court's Decision
  • (01:29:25) - The Aftermath: Life After Whistleblowing
  • (01:34:12) - A New Chapter: From Whistleblower to Professor
  • (01:37:23) - Thanks for Listening and Remember to Rate & Subscribe
CONNECT WITH TONY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyjmenendez
LMU - https://cba.lmu.edu/academics//faculty/anthony.menendez

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CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at ohmyfraud@earmarkcpe.com
References:
The Whistleblower’s Tale: How An Accountant Took on Halliburton [ProPublica]
Anthony Menendez [Loyola Marymount University]

Creators and Guests

Caleb Newquist
Host
Caleb Newquist
Writer l Content at @GustoHQ | Co-host @ohmyfraud | Founding editor @going_concern | Former @CCDedu prof | @JeffSymphony board member | Trying to pay attention.
Greg Kyte, CPA
Host
Greg Kyte, CPA
Mega-pastor of @comedychurch and the de facto worlds greatest accounting cartoonist.
Anthony Menedez
Guest
Anthony Menedez
Tony is best known as the “Accountant Who Beat Halliburton” and is widely recognized for his decade-long legal battle with the oil giant as a corporate whistleblower under Sarbanes-Oxley. Despite having no formal legal training, he prevailed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as a pro-se litigant. Ultimately, his case has resulted in significantly increased protections for all corporate whistleblowers. Tony brings nearly 25 years of professional experience to LMU and provides forensic accounting and litigation consulting services to attorneys in complex nationally litigated cases involving allegations of improper accounting and financial reporting. Tony has held senior positions in both the public and private sectors. He is the former controller of U.S. sales, service and marketing for General Motors where he oversaw over $100 billion in annual revenues and a former audit executive with Ernst & Young where he provided assurance services to entrepreneurial and emerging growth companies. He is a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner. A native of Texas, Tony earned a master’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M University-Commerce and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Houston. In 2017, he was honored with the Accounting Exemplar Award from the American Accounting Association for his notable contributions to professionalism and ethics in accounting.
Meet the Whistleblower Who Took on Halliburton
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