Mike East
Prior to being appointed by the President of the United States as a United States Marshal, Mike spent 28.5 years as a sworn Special Agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and worked a wide range of crimes including Homicide, Corruption, State and Federal Narcotics Trafficking, Embezzlements, and many others. He worked closely with the U.S. Secret Service on numerous Dignitary Protection Details; and has planned and coordinated the security for 3 Governor’s Inaugurations, as well as the 100th Anniversary of Flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 2003. Mike worked closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and spent 20 years training local, state, and federal law enforcement officers in Crisis Negotiation and served on the NC SBI’s Crisis Negotiation Team for many years including 3 years as the Team’s Leader.
Mike is a recipient of the Long Leaf Pine Award given to North Carolinians who have made a difference in the lives of fellow North Carolinians and have represented the state.
After retiring from the NC SBI, Mike helped launch the Fraud & Forensics Group at Cherry Bekaert, one of the nation’s largest certified public accounting firms. In that capacity, Mike worked with public and private companies, and government agencies who lost assets due to internal or external thefts. Mike has spent many years teaching companies how to enhance their internal controls, how to handle and investigate these types of situations internally, and how to recover assets.
Mike also served in the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina where he was assigned to work the financial aspects of large international drug organizations in the Organized Crime and Drug Task Force (OCDETF) Section. Mike worked closely with the FBI, ATF, DEA, IRS-CID, Homeland Security, and many local and state agencies on these types of investigations.
From June 2019 until December 2022, Mike was Presidentially appointed and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In that capacity, he supervised all USMS Operations in Eastern North Carolina to include Judicial Security, Prisoner Transport, Enforcement Operations, Asset Forfeiture, and Sex Offender Compliance.
Since early 2023, Mike has worked as a consultant for large law firms, corporate clients, and CRISIS24 across the country. In that capacity he has conducted forensic financial investigations, internal investigations, and executive protection.
Mike is a sought-after speaker and regularly teaches at the Master of Accounting Programs in Virginia Tech, Elon University, and several others. He is also a guest lecturer at conferences for the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mike teaches in the Homicide Block of the NC SBI’s yearly academy classes; and he also conducts case presentations and trainings for both the NC SBI and the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Teams in North Carolina.
In 2023, Mike joined SafeHaven Security Group, LLC, to utilize his expertise in keeping people safe and protecting their brands.