Mr. Patterson is the Deputy Director of the West Virginia Fusion Center (WVFC). He began his time with the West Virginia Fusion Center as a volunteer Fusion Liaison Officer (FLO) in 2014, was hired as an Intelligence Analyst in 2016, and was named Deputy Director in 2018. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the WVFC. The WVFC is currently staffed with 19 intelligence analysts and support staff, houses a Narcotics Intelligence Unit (NIU), and has an annual operating budget of approximately $3M. He acts as the WVFC’s Privacy and Security Officer, Federal DHS Security Liaison for the State of West Virginia, oversees the WVFC Forensic Accounting Unit, and is a member of the Special Investigations Unit with the WV Department of Homeland Security. He also holds a regional chair on the DHS-NFCA subcommittee for privacy and civil right and civil liberties.
Mr. Patterson has over 20 years of experience in internal auditing, forensic accounting, and fraud investigation overseeing and leading multiple comprehensive fraud investigations and special inquiries, including executive, employee, and vendor fraud, maximizing recovery efforts while working with internal process owners and outside law enforcement agencies.
Mr. Patterson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, WV. Mr. Patterson is currently a master’s candidate at the Naval Post Graduate School Center for Homeland Security and Defense. He has instructed at the University level and continues to present and train locally, nationally, and internationally about interviewing fraud investigation, investigative reasoning, and topics related to Homeland Security.
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