Rebecca Shea PhD

Rebecca is a Director in GAO’s Forensic Audit and Investigative Service (FAIS) team. She led the development of GAO’s Antifraud Resource and the first of its kind estimate the extent of fraud in federal programs and operations. Rebecca oversees audits to identify fraud, waste, and abuse across a wide array of government programs and agencies. These reviews frequently employ data analytics to identify indicators of fraud and feature GAO’s Fraud Risk Framework to assess agencies’ efforts to manage fraud risk. Her recent testimonies include discussion of COVID-19 fraud cases, insights for improving the federal response to fraud, and criminal and national security risks associated with obscured ownership in FAA aircraft registrations. In her 26 years with GAO and prior to her position as a Director in FAIS, Rebecca served as a methodological expert in GAO’s Applied Research and Methods team and as Acting Director in GAO’s Physical Infrastructure team. Rebecca earned her doctorate in Sociology from Vanderbilt University.