Joseph Ensminger, CPA, CFE, is the Deputy Chief Investigator for the Upper East Region of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury’s Division of Investigations. He leads a team in investigating and reporting on fraud, waste, abuse, and significant internal control and compliance issues in government and other publicly funded entities.

Joseph began working for the Comptroller’s Office in 2006 as a legislative auditor in the Division of Local Government Audit (née County Audit). In 2014, he transferred from Nashville to Knoxville to work as a full-time investigator. Beginning in 2016, he briefly served as the business manager at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Department of Chemistry before returning to the Comptroller’s Office in 2018. He was named Deputy Chief Investigator in 2023.

Joseph holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Martin Methodist College. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

Joseph lives in Knoxville with his wife and three sons. In his spare time, he enjoys attending his sons’ sporting events, hiking, fly fishing, and playing stringed instruments both inside and outside the family’s log home.