Michael Richardson
Brunswick,GA
Summary
Special Agent and Computer Forensic Agent with 28 years of experience investigating crimes involving child exploitation, large scale narcotics organizations, intellectual property rights, gangs, counterfeit documents, immigration fraud, and human trafficking. Computer forensic responsibilities entailed the imaging and analysis of electronic evidence including hard drives, servers, cell phones, and other media. Certified as Subject Matter Expert in computer forensics and testified as Expert Witness in numerous trials. Prepared technical computer forensic reports for the United States Attorneys Office, Homeland Security management, and foreign counterparts. Firearms Instructor for 23 years and designated as the Senior Firearms Instructor for the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Atlanta, Georgia. As of August, 2020, instructing at FLETC as a Senior Instructor in the Cyber Division.
Overview
32
32
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Instructor/ Cyber Division
DHS/FLETC
08.2020 - Current
- Successfully completed FLETC course Law Enforcement Instructor Training Program (LEITP) on October 30, 2020.
- Successfully completed FLETC course Instructional Systems Design Training Program (ISDTP) on February 25, 2022.
- Successfully completed FLETC course Macintosh Forensics Training Program (MFTP) on July 23, 2021.
- Successfully completed FLETC course Digital Evidence Acquisition Specialist Training Program (DEASTP) on March 19, 2021.
- Instruct up to 24 students in group size in area of Cyber and Computer Forensics for FLETC Center Basic and Agency Specific training.
- Shifted between formal and informal methods of teaching to keep students interested, including debates, practical activities and experiments.
- Evaluated students' understanding of course material through examinations and report writing.
- Responsible for maintaining the following FLETC basic cyber courses for Criminal Investigations Training Program (CITP): a) First Responder to Digital Evidence (FRDE), b) Conducting Investigations in a Cyber Environment (CICE), c) Fundamentals of Digital Officer Safety (FDOS)
- Duties included updating PowerPoint material, ensuring test questions were fully covered, creating new course material and inputting that data into FLETC data systems.
- Responsible for instructing FLETC Center Advanced 2 week course Internet Investigations Training Program (IITP)
- Responsible for creating and instructing new FLETC Center Advanced Export Course Cyber-Tools for Active Shooter Prevention and Response (CASPR)
- Successfully taught newly created export CASPR Program 2 times: a) Brunswick, GA Police Department, b) Evansville, Indiana Police Department.
- Responsible for instructing Agency Specific classes on internet security, internet investigations, and Dark Web.
Special Agent
Department of Homeland Security Investigations
06.2002 - 12.2019
- Experienced computer forensics agent with over 150 cases forensically examined
- Provided guidance to agents and prosecutors based on evidence obtained through forensic analysis of electronic data, including evidence obtained by consent and covertly through international border searches
- Focused on complex large scale narcotics organizations, sexual predators, gangs, child exploitation, human trafficking investigations
- Testified as expert witness for computer forensics in various court proceedings, including U.S. District Court, U.S. Magistrate Court, Federal Grand Jury, Immigration Court, state and local courts
- Evaluated investigative leads and disseminated to agents as Child Exploitation Coordinator
- Presented case summaries to executive management
- Led undercover operations and utilized technical equipment to record and document evidence
- Regularly conducted interviews of witnesses and victims of criminal activity or sexual exploitation and recorded sworn statements
- Experienced in leading interrogations and taking proffers
- Served as Senior Firearms Instructor and training of agents in firearms tactics since 1996
Federal Agent
Department of Justice/ U.S. Border Patrol
01.1992 - 06.2002
- Primarily responsible for detection and prevention of illegal entry of individuals, narcotics, and other contraband to the U.S.
- Selected as Acting Supervisory Border Patrol Agent on numerous occasions
- Served as Liaison Coordinator with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies
- Provided testimony in criminal court cases and immigration hearings
- Passed extensive 220 hour Spanish language course requiring the ability to read, write, and speak proficiently
Skills
- Certified Computer Forensics Agent
- Certified in Encase, Forensic ToolKit (FTK), A
- Lead Agent for DHS Rapid Response Team
- Experienced undercover chat room and online investigations
- Top Secret Security Clearance
- Certified Subject Matter Expert (SME) in Computer Forensics and Cell Phone Examinations
- Experienced Expert Witness for Computer Forensics
- Lead Firearms Instructor for 23 years
Accomplishments
Successfully completed over 150 computer forensic cases and was certified as a Subject Matter Expert in computer forensics for the Northern District of Georgia. Received the U.S. Attorney's Award for investigative work relating to the international take-down of the world's largest child pornography organization which resulted in the successful prosecution of the website moderator/developer. Served as Team Leader for the Department of Homeland Security Rapid Response Team that responds to terrorism attacks and natural disasters such as Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. Recognized by U.S. Attorney's Office for preparation of technical computer forensic analysis reports. Operated in an undercover capacity to identify and arrest sexual predators. Served as the Child Exploitation Coordinator for the SAC/ Atlanta area which included all of Georgia, North and South Carolina.
Awards
- 1994 - Department of Justice Meritorious Act Award for saving lives
- 1996 - Department of Justice Newton-Azrak Award/Medal for Valor (highest award given by DOJ to Border Patrol Agents for Heroism)
- 2011 - United States Attorney's Award
- 2012 - Executive Associate Director's Award for Excellence in Emergency Management for Rapid Response Team deployment to Haiti following the earthquake
Certification
June 2008 - Successfully completed 6 week Computer Forensic Agent training course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) March 2011: AccessData Certified Examiner (ACE) August 2011:
Advanced Computer Evidence Recovery training (ACERT) June 2012: MFI Cellular Phone Training
August 2016: Advanced Mobile Forensics Training (JTAG Certification)
- Seizure, acquisition, and analysis of electronic data from computers (laptop, desktop), digital media items (thumb-drives, external hard-drives, cell phones, etc)
- Building a forensic workstation computer for forensic analysis
- Investigative techniques for computer related search and seizures
- Review of disk structures and recovery of erased or corrupted data
- Review of disk analysis and file allocation tables
- Studied partition structure and hard disk drive code
- Hardware Laboratory (IDE, USB, FireWire, SATA, SCSI, etc.)
- Misc. investigative techniques utilized in federal investigations involving the seizure of computer related items
- Accessing E-mails and how to open them utilizing Mozilla Firefox, Outlook, etc
- FAT, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HFS file structures and how to image and analyze
- Legal issues relevant to computer search and seizures
- How to develop effective text string searches in Encase
- Various techniques for imaging hard drives
- Using software and hardware Write Blocks (Tableau)
- Validating seized data and your software
- 32 hours training in the use of Guidance Software EnCase forensic tool
- Training to Access Data Forensic Toolkit (FTK), password recovery toolkit, and registry viewer
March 2009: ACCESSDATA Forensic Toolkit (FTK) Advanced Boot Camp
- 35 hours Training consisted of advanced forensics techniques using FTK version 2.0 which included a written and practical exam for successful completion
- 2 week training course covering evidence recovery of network servers and how to preview or image network servers, to include RAIDS, Linux, SQL, Solaris Systems
- Training also included the following: Procedures for extracting Emails from Microsoft Exchange and other email servers and how to extract the data
- The proper use of the Linux and DOS boot disks such as Raptor, SPADA, Helix, FBI, Encase for forensic preview or for imaging servers
- Data recovery using Runtime software
- Mounting images with Image ProVirtual Machines (VM) restoration and converting for forensic examination
- Using WireShark and other devices to detect wireless routers and how to determine if they are password protected
- Overview of Windows Servers 2000/2003
- Basic and advanced cellphone forensics to include both logical/physical extractions, data carving, retrieval of emails, SMS, MMS, Skype, etc.
- Proficient Cellebrite Touch, UFED for PC, Internet Evidence Finder (IEF), as well several other hardware and software devices for extracting cell phone data
Timeline
Senior Instructor/ Cyber Division
DHS/FLETC
08.2020 - Current
Special Agent
Department of Homeland Security Investigations
06.2002 - 12.2019
Federal Agent
Department of Justice/ U.S. Border Patrol
01.1992 - 06.2002