AWARD WINNERS GALLERY 2024

2024 Awards Sponsored by:

And in collaboration with:

Jake Hummerstone

Counter Fraud Apprentice, London Borough of Enfield

WINNER: Apprentice or Newcomer of the Year 2024

Sponsored by:

For the individual who has made impressive progress in a short space of time and shows huge potential to go further:

Jake has a flair to bringing about innovation in the workplace. He’s made an outstanding contribution to several key projects, especially with his ability to find new ways of looking at and processing data to identify fraud.

Joanne Hornsey

Investigator, HMRC

WINNER: Female Pioneer of the Year 2024

Sponsored by:

A remarkable individual whose achievements stand as a testament to her outstanding performance and the positive influence she has had on her organisation and the broader community:

Joanne relishes taking on some of the most complex and challenging civil investigations and proactively shares her knowledge and experience to achieve improved results for HMRC. Joanne’s impact extends beyond her investigative role, as she mentors colleagues, develops learning packages, and passionately contributes to HMRC’s success.

Alison Atkins

Senior Counter Fraud Manager, Government Internal Audit Agency

Graeme Bowers

Senior Counter Fraud Manager, Government Internal Audit Agency

Genette Hopley

Criminal Investigation Officer, HMRC 

WINNERS: GCFP Member of the Year 2024

Members of the Government Counter Fraud Profession who have demonstrated the values in the Profession’s Code of Conduct, and who have gone above and beyond:

Alison Atkins:

Alison has supported the production of a high profile, high value fraud risk assessment for a large government department. She collaborated with the GCFP Centre of Learning to implement the fraud risk assessor learning programme, and supported development of the new CSL Fraud, Bribery and Corruption e-learning. She has provided input and advice and worked with colleagues to develop engaging products for the new GovS 013 continuous improvement assessment framework. Alison actively supports the wider CF&I team and is passionate about developing others through coaching. She recently completed an external coaching and mentoring qualification to improve the support she can provide.

Graeme Bowers:

Graeme has been responsible for the development of CF&I’s quality strategy and the joint delivery of a highly sensitive and high-value FRA. His collaborative approach means CF&I have been asked to provide longer-term support and dedicated expertise. His commitment to collaboration and assembling the right team, builds customer trust and typically results in more work being commissioned. Graeme has personally coached and upskilled individuals on a range of quality improvement initiatives.

Genette Hopley:

Genette started her Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship in May 2022 and has demonstrated remarkable tenacity and determination. Despite having no previous background in Counter Fraud work, she took on a complex CJRS (COVID payment) case involving £3 million fraud and 4 suspects. Genette organized and executed a successful search, leading to significant evidence discovery and arrests.

Gareth Cottrell, Counter Fraud Manager, ASW Assurance

for the Development of the Counter Fraud Champion role in the NHS

WINNER: Outstanding NHS Initiative 2024

In collaboration with:

The winner of this award exemplifies innovation, dedication, and effectiveness in tackling fraud-related challenges within the NHS:


Gareth, the Counter Fraud Manager for ASW Assurance (who cover most NHS organisations in Devon, Cornwall and Avon), has done ground-breaking work in developing the Counter Fraud Champion role within the NHS, including his launch of the NHS Counter Fraud Champions Network. Originally intended for the South West region it quickly expanded to other areas as well as representatives from Local Authorities. The initiative has truly taken the value of the Counter Fraud Champion role beyond the requirement of the Government Functional Standard Govs13: Counter Fraud and has greatly assisted in facing the challenges this presents. Gareth’s leadership and innovative approach have facilitated collaboration across the public sector and translated government standards into tangible benefits for NHS bodies.

Project Falcon & Project Crane

Avon and Somerset Police

WINNER: Champion for Culture & Inclusion 2024

For the team or department that have led on actions to remove barriers, improve the working experience, engagement levels of employees and enable talented employees from underrepresented groups to realise their full potential.

Project Falcon helps to safeguard people vulnerable to impersonation phone calls due to memory loss. Working closely with Dementia UK they created a prompt sheet to help victims to tell a trusted person about the contact, so they can complete verification checks. It has been recognised countrywide by police forces, and several other vulnerable groups have been identified to benefit from the prompt.

Project Crane: Chinese victims within Avon and Somerset lost a staggering £1.9 million to fraud in 2022. The Project Crane team approached the Chinese Lantern Project to co-create a printed and digital fraud prevention leaflet for Chinese students to educate students of fraud risks.

Richard Moore

Senior Leader for North East England and the Enhanced Review Team, CFCD, Department for Work and Pensions

WINNER: Outstanding Leadership Award 2024

This award is for the individuals of any grade who is an effective leader, motivates others to deliver to their potential and manages projects and/or teams to deliver improved outcomes:

Colleagues commend Richard’s leadership, describing him as a mentor, role model, and advocate for work-life balance. His leadership has enabled his extensive teams to deliver over a billion pounds in annual savings, and his positive attitude, inclusive decision-making, and dedication to supporting and inspiring his team have been instrumental in their success. He fosters a collaborative and supportive work environment, leading to promotions and personal growth for team members.

The London Boroughs of Enfield and Waltham Forest Shared Anti-Fraud Service

WINNER: Local Excellence Award 2024

The local excellence awards recognises the Local Authority and the people within them, whose innovative and singular determination to combat fraud has prevented public funds being stolen by fraudsters:

The shared service has enabled the two authorities to take a proactive stance on fraud prevention by conducting effective investigations into key fraud risks, with great success across the board. The services were also the first to join the London Fraud Hub and became a Local Authority Pilot member of CIFAS in 2018 and the CIFAS Internal Fraud Database data matching service in 2021, improving the service they deliver within the Counter Fraud Sector.

Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

WINNER: Team of the Year 2024

The Team of the Year Award has been designed to recognise each and every member of the team and show how their teamwork has led to success and their consistent service:

The EPG was set up at pace. The team developed a multi-layered defence, establishing a network of delivery partners and collaborating with the private sector to identify and mitigate fraud risks. The compliance measures that the team implemented have detected and recovered substantial taxpayer value as part of scheme operation. In addition, The EPG was one of the first teams to complete the Fraud Management Plan and this was used as an example of best practice for the other Energy Affordability schemes.

National Fraud Initiative (NFI) Team and Synectics Solutions

WINNER: Public/Private Partnership Excellence Award 2024

This award seeks to identify and promote public / private engagements that whose best practice, learning and approaches have brought better value for money for the taxpayer:

The NFI and Synectics Solution have worked together for over 25 years to detect and prevent fraud through a range of services, to deliver cumulative audited savings of £2.4 billion. More recently they have created bespoke solutions to highlight potentially fraudulent activity where citizens falsify residency or other relevant personal information. Several utility providers have been using the collaboration’s intelligence, leading to 45% uplift in the amount of fraud detected and almost £23 million fraud prevented in a 12-month period.

DWP - Counter Fraud - Enhanced Review Team

WINNER: Innovation in Fraud Prevention 2024

This award is designed to recognise an initiative that has been developed, implemented, and subsequently had a positive impact in preventing fraud or potential fraud activity:

The DWP, Counter Fraud Enhanced Review Team (ERT) respond to high-volume threats across benefit claims by robustly reviewing high-risk cases. ERT has continued to develop its outstanding work across Universal Credit, however throughout 2023, has begun to successfully expand into further benefit lines. In 2022/23, ERT recorded £650 million of taxpayer savings.

Rachael Tiffen

Director of Public Sector & Learning, Cifas

WINNER: Outstanding Contribution Award 2024

This peer-nominated award recognises someone exceptional - innovators, passionate influencers, and those delivering real and positive change. An individual who has been influential and has significantly contributed to making a visible difference to Counter Fraud during their career to date:

Passionate, dedicated and knowledgeable, Rachael has had a staggering number of notable accomplishments in her 24-year career. From her instrumental roles in in central and local government to her achievements at CIPFA and Cifas, Rachael’s passion for collaboration, innovation, and raising standards in the public sector sets her apart.

Last Year's Winners

  • DSI Cybercrime Team

    HMRC - WINNER: Team of the Year Award 2023

  • Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service

    Department for Work and Pensions - WINNER: Diversity and Inclusion Award 2023

  • George Loosley

    Senior Risk Assessor, Fraud Team, Department for Education - WINNER: GCFP Member of the Year 2023

  • Macmillan Cancer Support Counter Fraud Team / EMM

    - WINNER: Public/Private Partnership Excellence Award 2023

  • Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service

    - WINNER: Local Excellence Award 2023

  • Nick Sharp

    Fraud Manager, Newham Council - WINNER: Fraud Leadership Award 2023

  • DSI Cybercrime Team

    HMRC - WINNER: Risk & Prevention Award 2023

  • DC Richard Gentile

    Cyber Crime Unit. British Transport Police - WINNER: Apprentice or Newcomer of the Year 2023

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