Erik J. Saracino
Special Agent
Office of the Inspector General, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Mr. Erik J. Saracino is currently a Special Agent at NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), New Jersey Post of Duty since January 2010. Prior to NASA OIG, Erik served as a Special Agent with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission OIG for 2 years. His additional law enforcement career includes 4 years as a Special Agent, Operations Officer, and Overseas Detachment Commander with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) as a prior enlisted member and active duty officer, achieving the rank of Captain. Before working for AFOSI, Erik completed 5 years as a USAF Security Forces Investigator and Patrolman. Erik holds a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination from West Virginia University and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), in Occupational Education with a Specialization in Criminal Justice from Wayland Baptist University. In addition, Erik is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) which denotes proven expertise in fraud prevention, detection and deterrence. He has successfully completed the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) New Leadership and Development Program, American University, Washington D.C and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA) courses offered through the Supervisory Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute.
Erik routinely speaks as an adjunct instructor for CIGIE’s Training Institute. He has experience teaching the following investigative courses: Investigative Planning; Civil & Administrative Remedies; Contract Process Overview; Contract Fraud Investigations; Introduction to the Grant Process & Grant Fraud Investigations; Investigative Proactive Approaches; Prevention & Detection Internal Controls; and Export Control. These training courses are designed to educate Special Agents, Auditors, and other federal law enforcement entities on criminal, civil, and administrative investigations involving federal fraud in various programs.
Erik is an active co-chair of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Working Group Task Force. Lastly, Erik conducts monthly presentations at the National Collaboration & Development Center, Field Collaboration Seminar (FCS), Horsham Air Guard Station, Horsham, PA. The target audience consists of individuals with intelligence and/or operational responsibilities within their respective agencies. The FCS is a two-day mobile seminar designed to bring together a broad spectrum of agencies in a specific domestic geographic location to stimulate collaboration, greater information sharing, an understanding of partner’s capabilities, and an increase in impactful intelligence reporting. The overall goal of the seminar is to increase effective collaborative efforts within the AOR through facilitated discussions, networking, and collaboration training. These training endeavors educate the intelligence community on how fraud investigations can intersect with intelligence collections and maximize capabilities for both sides to reach a common goal towards mission requirements.
