Iowa Multi-Agency Coalition Wins National Award for Dismantling Transnational Fraud Networks

DES MOINES, Iowa - A multi-agency coalition led by the Iowa Insurance Division's Fraud Bureau has been awarded the Multi-Jurisdictional Investigative Excellence Award by the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU). The national award recognizes the coalition's innovative, statewide effort to dismantle complex, transnational fraud networks targeting vulnerable populations.

The award-winning coalition unites the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services, the Iowa Department of Public Safety (Iowa Fusion Center), the Iowa Attorney General's Office, the Polk County Attorney's Office, and the Iowa State University Computer Hacking and Cyber Security Club.

"Protecting Iowans from financial exploitation requires us to stay three steps ahead of increasingly sophisticated criminal networks," said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen. "This award reflects what happens when state agencies, local prosecutors, and student innovators break down silos and pull in the same direction."

"Criminals who scam Iowans out of hard-earned money are evil; it's crucial we have the best of the best working to stop them," said Attorney General Brenna Bird. "By working together, we stop the scammers, help victims, and arm people with information to protect themselves. There are many Iowans who would say no one deserves this award more than this Iowa fraud fighting team-and I'm one of them. Congratulations and thank you."

Moving Beyond Reactive Enforcement

Rather than focusing on isolated cases, the coalition implemented an end-to-end operational model to disrupt financial exploitation at every stage:

• Grassroots Community Prevention: The 2026 statewide "Stop the Scammer" tour led by the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the Iowa Attorney General's Office reached over 1,400 seniors across 20 events. The events enabled 19 attendees to realize they were actively being targeted and seek immediate law enforcement intervention.
• Proactive Interceptions & Physical Arrests: The coalition's operations included stings, such as arresting four couriers attempting to collect six figures in physical gold liquidated from seniors' annuities and life insurance policies.
• Generational Cyber Defense: Iowa State University cybersecurity students helped the coalition team build a pipeline to map and batch-seize recurring domain networks used in "pig butchering" and romance scams, automatically redirecting fraudulent links to law enforcement warning pages.
• Closing Legal & Prosecutorial Gaps: The Polk County Attorney's Office established legal frameworks to streamline complex transnational asset seizures for the coalition, creating a model now shared with prosecutors statewide.

Key Operational Impact

Through unified enforcement and intelligence-sharing, the coalition achieved landmark results:

• 260 active investigations opened across 96 communities and 54 counties.
• $84.6 million in reported losses investigated.
• $2.28+ million stopped directly in its tracks before reaching scammers.
• $92,721 directly recovered for victims.
• Millions in seized assets earmarked for victim restitution, including $3.58 million in cryptocurrency, $1.5 million in real estate, $300,000 in vehicles, and $128,015 in financial accounts.

"We are sending a direct warning to transnational crime groups: Iowa will not tolerate fraud," said Iowa Insurance Division Fraud Bureau Chief Matt Mortvedt. "If you target vulnerable citizens here, you will be met with an aggressive, multi-agency team that won't stop until you are caught. We will use every tool available to identify you, charge you, seize your websites and accounts, and reclaim every dollar you steal."

Honored Organizations & Personnel:

• Department of Insurance and Financial Services: Commissioner Doug Ommen, Deputy Commissioner Jared Kirby, Fraud Bureau Chief Matt Mortvedt, Financial Literacy Director Heather Kriener; Senior Financial Exploitation Investigators Jessica McGraw and Kristina McCasland; Criminal Intelligence Analyst Keith Stoermer; and Special Investigators Denise Rudolph, Jerome Hill, Jeremy Tosh, Chris Scanlan, Dawn Blahnik, Stephanie Shelangowski, Juan Tejada, and Ryan Hanssen.
• Iowa Department of Public Safety: Iowa Fusion Center.
• Iowa Attorney General's Office: Investigator Al Perales.
• Polk County Attorney's Office: Assistant Polk County Attorney Amanda Johnson, and the Prosecution & Asset Seizure Legal Framework Team.
• Iowa State University: Dr. Doug Jacobson and the Iowa State University Hacking and Cyber Security Club.

About the IASIU Award

The International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) presents the Multi-Jurisdictional Investigative Excellence Award annually to recognize joint operations between special investigation units, law enforcement, and public partners. Winning initiatives showcase cross-agency synergy, advanced investigative technology, and substantial financial and social impacts in combatting organized insurance fraud.