Scott Fischler

Investigative research includes: 1) public safety negligence, 2) malfeasance and corruption in local and state government, 3) California Fair Political Practices Commission enforcement actions for incumbent and candidate violations of the Political Reform Act concerning campaign filing irregularities and financial discrepancies, 4) alleged fraudulent misrepresentation of nonprofit corporation legal type, and 5) examining financial dynamics and exposure scenarios relevant to an emerging, risk-dense asset class referred to as 'asset-backed securitizations (ABS) collateralized by debt settlement (DS) fees.'

I am a student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, majoring in Mass Communication and Media Studies.

My Cronkite coursework was completed in May 2025 with a 4.0 GPA in my major. Remaining general studies coursework requirements are tracking for degree completion in 2026 with a 3.5 cumulative GPA.

Coursework included media law, media ethics, misinformation, political communication, interview and inquiry, podcasting, and media literacy education where I served as a social media intern for the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) to assist in promoting the organization’s annual U.S. Media Literacy Week event.

Additionally, I've completed “The Art of the Investigative Interview" component of the Investigative Editing Certificate offered by the ASU Howard Center for Investigative Journalism Editing Program.

Currently investigating the emerging, risk-dense asset class referred to as 'asset-backed securitizations (ABS) collateralized by debt settlement (DS) fees.'  The first two transactions of this new asset class closed in Q4 2025. This asset class is high-risk for legal and regulatory sensitivity. ABS collateralized by debt settlement fees have substantial exposure to a regulatory-shock scenario; more so if the first rated transactions from Q4 2025 become the focus of potentially deleterious in-depth scrutiny by state and federal consumer protection agencies and other legal authorities.

Now exploring the use of AI to investigate large quantitative datasets, with some anticipated applications including: 1) mapping the geographic distribution of several banned herbicides known to have been illegally sprayed -- to suppress roadside weed germination -- by a county's public works department, 2) analysis of a county's lapsed or unapproved Engineering and Traffic Surveys (E&TS) as a public safety risk metric, 3) analysis of the degree by which the barometric altitude displayed by a commonly-cited flight-tracking app providing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data deviates between altitude MSL and pressure altitude, and 4) examination of factors contributing to 'margin-of-error discrepancies' between Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) collision reports created by the California Highway Patrol and the Caltrans Postmile Services Postmile Query Tool.

I consider myself an excellent and versatile interviewer, and an exceptionally perceptive issue spotter exhibiting a demonstrated aptitude for investigative research including geospatial data and forensic examination and analysis of campaign finance filings.

I possess a keen eye for identifying incriminating fact patterns of government and nonprofit misconduct and corruption, and uncovering evidence of willful government negligence and public safety failures.