In an interview and an email, O'Block defended ACFEI's credentialing programs by saying the group held seven outside "accreditations and approvals."

But ACFEI is not recognized as an accredited institution of higher learning by Missouri, where it is incorporated, or by the U.S. Department of Education, which maintains a registry of accredited schools.

A number of organizations, such as the California Board of Registered Nursing and the American Psychological Association, recognize ACFEI as a provider of continuing education. But that's not the same as institution-wide accreditation, said Leroy Wade, the Assistant Commissioner of the Missouri Board of Higher Education.

"There's really no oversight that regulates the CE providers in general, at least not in this state," Wade said. "You can't put any stock in the fact that an organization states it's a continuing education provider."

Several former ACFEI staffers say they came to question how the group writes and administers its exams.

John Bridges was hired as ACFEI's president and chief executive in 2010 after decades in government, most recently as an administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He left ACFEI after just nine months, frustrated, he says, by the group's practices.

"Based on my perception of what went on related to standards and quality, it operated like a certification mill," he said.

Though ACFEI offers both basic courses and more advanced, specialized certificates, Bridges said, its exams are designed so that anyone can pass. He put the failure rate at less than 1 percent.

"If you want to be validated by somebody," Bridges said, "this organization will validate you."

O'Block initially said that ACFEI did not keep pass/fail rates for its exams. Later, the group's attorney said it did keep such statistics, but he did not provide them upon request.

Other former employees said it was routine for low-level staffers to write exams for ACFEI and its related organizations based on textbooks in subject areas in which they had no expertise.

Tania Miller worked for six months as chief association officer for the American Psychotherapy Association, an ACFEI sister group, beginning in fall 2010. A few weeks into her job, she said, she was asked to author an exam to certify forensic counselors. Miller's background was in marketing and graphic design. She said she declined to write the exam. ACFEI did not respond to questions about Miller.

The Forensic Consultant test I took focused primarily on rules of evidence and courtroom procedure. Some questions required specialized knowledge (i.e., Which rule is known as the "Admissibility of Expert Testimony" rule in the Federal Rules of Evidence? Answer: 702), but ACFEI's study packets helped me fill in the blanks, making it basically an open-book exam. The rest of the questions relied largely on common sense (i.e., When providing testimony, which of the following should you NOT do? Answer: Cross your arms and joke with the jury.)