Fraud Lab - Toby Groves

Dr. Toby Groves

Dr. Toby Groves

The Science of Fraud Investigation

Learn the cognitive science behind fraud detection and investigative communication—then experience how it transforms the way you think, question, and conclude.

Fraud Lab: A New Frontier in Investigative Thinking

Fraud Lab is a radically different approach to professional development for fraud investigators and forensic professionals. This isn’t passive learning—it’s a cognitive deep-dive designed to challenge and evolve how you think.

In this immersive half- or full-day experience, participants engage in real-time investigative simulations, high-stakes decision-making scenarios, and collaborative analysis rooted in cutting-edge research in the psychology of fraud, deception, and cognitive bias.

Led by Dr. Toby Groves—a recognized expert in investigative reasoning and cognitive science—Fraud Lab fuses engaging instruction with applied neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and sophisticated fraud scenarios that reflect real-world complexity.

This isn’t about learning more techniques—it’s about changing your investigative mindset. You’ll sharpen your ability to think clearly under pressure, communicate with precision, and see beyond the obvious to reveal what others miss.

Interested in bringing Fraud Lab to your team?
Contact: laura@tobygroves.com

Download the full program description here

Simulations That Challenge and Reveal

Each simulation in Fraud Lab is structured like a live investigative experiment:

Teams work with separate but interconnected threads of a complex unfolding case.
You’ll investigate suspected fraud, assess control breakdowns, respond to emergent risk events, and make critical judgment calls in real time.
You’ll learn not only from your own actions, but from the ripple effects generated across teams—revealing how investigative decisions impact broader outcomes and organizational dynamics.
Simulations evolve based on your choices, injecting new intelligence midstream and shifting the case trajectory—just like a real investigation. Throughout the day, you’ll rotate teams and roles to build cognitive agility, sharpen communication, and develop collective investigative intelligence.
This is experiential fraud learning at its most effective—messy, human, unpredictable, and deeply revealing.

Why Fraud Lab Works

Fraud Lab is built on the neuroscience of learning and performance.

You learn more deeply when you’re in the experience, not just hearing about it.
You gain insight from teammates—not just the content—by learning how different minds work under pressure.
You build critical judgment by facing challenges, adapting to new information, and receiving expert feedback.

What you’ll do:

Rotate through dynamic roles—from stakeholder interaction to evidence analysis, control evaluation, and decision justification.
Investigate real-world-inspired fraud cases, navigate ethical dilemmas, and dissect operational vulnerabilities.
Present your findings, compare perspectives with other teams, and receive strategic debriefs from expert facilitators.
Watch the scenario evolve as your decisions reshape the unfolding case—powered by AI-enhanced simulation design.

You won’t just explore what to think—you’ll develop how to think more effectively as a fraud investigator.

Why I Created Fraud Lab

Fraud investigators are expected to make high-stakes decisions in complex, ambiguous environments—but most training doesn’t reflect that reality. I created Fraud Lab to bridge that gap.

Yes, you’ll engage with investigative principles—but more importantly, you’ll learn how to think collaboratively, communicate under pressure, and bring clarity to the chaos that defines real-world cases.

This isn’t a lecture. It’s a shared cognitive experience.
And by the end, you won’t just see fraud differently—you’ll think differently.

What Participants are Saying

"A real-world crash course in audit thinking."

"The most fun I’ve ever had learning about auditing."

"It felt like a professional escape room for auditors—with real insight built in."

"I learned just as much from hearing other teams present as I did from my own experience."

“It was like stepping into the audit itself—every decision mattered, and I learned more in one day than I have in some entire courses.”

“I didn’t expect to come away with this many real tools to improve how I think. It wasn’t just about audit—it was about how to be sharper, faster, and more insightful.”

Book Fraud Lab for Your team or conference. Your Members or Employees Will Thank You.

Fraud Lab is available for in-person or hybrid delivery.

Ideal for government agencies, corporate investigation teams, internal audit departments, and professional chapters.

Multiple pricing models are available to accommodate a wide range of budgets and event types.

For more information email toby@tobygroves.com