Chelsea Binns

Chelsea Binns is an Associate Professor in the Department of Security, Fire & Emergency Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). She is a fraud expert with a PhD in Criminal Justice and a Private Investigator license in NY State. She was named a 'top PI' in 2022 by PI Magazine and holds the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential.

Dr. Binns earned her educational credentials from:

• PhD, CUNY Graduate Center (Criminal Justice)
• MPhil, CUNY Graduate Center (Criminal Justice)
• MA, John Jay College (Criminal Justice)
• BA, Cum Laude, Ramapo College of New Jersey (Law & Society)
• AS, Morris County College (Criminal Justice)
• Certificate, Forensic Accounting, New York University

Her research interests focus on fraud and related corporate security & investigations matters, including background checks, corporate crime, cybercrime, employee crime, financial crime, fraud hotlines, investigative techniques, organizational fraud and white collar crime. She has extensive experience in these areas, having previously worked in an investigative capacity for prestigious organizations such as Citibank, Morgan Stanley, New York City's Department of Investigation (DOI) and the New York State Office of the Attorney General.

Dr. Binns has published four books: The Art of Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts (2023), The Art of Investigation (2020), Safety & Security in Hotels and Home Sharing (2020) and Fraud Hotlines: Design, Performance & Assessment (2017). Her scholarly work also appears in peer-reviewed journals such as Security Journal and The Journal of Applied Security Research.

Her notable awards include:

• Certificate of Recognition, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, John Jay College, 2018
• H. Craig Collins Award to Distinguished Faculty, St. John's University, Apr. 2017
• Faculty Recognition Award, St. John's University, Aug. 2016
• Morgan Stanley Client Service Award, 2009
• Doctoral Program Fellowship, CUNY Graduate Center/John Jay College, 2007
• Named 'top PI' in 2022 by PI Magazine

Dr. Binns is a highly sought-after expert in the industry. She has appeared on CBS Channel 2 News in NYC and on Fox 5 News in a segment that aired nationally. Additional media organizations where her work has been featured include: Asheville Watchdog, Bloomberg News, Buzz Feed News, DocumentedNY, Forbes, Metro NY, NBC News MACH, Oxygen/Crime TV, The Daily News, The Washington Times, The New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. She frequently lectures before elite audiences including major industry groups, governmental organizations and investigative teams. The ACFE Rhode Island chapter named Chelsea their speaker of the year in 2020.

She has served in various professional capacities including Past Director of the Center for Private Security & Safety at John Jay College, Past Chair of the Chapter Leader's Committee for ACFE, Past President of the New York Chapter of ACFE, and Past Member of the FBI Infraguard.