FBI agent Robert Herndon has helped bring down corrupt judges, expose a crooked pharmacist and oust high-level executives of a multi-million-dollar corporation. His cases have been written about in books, discussed in documentaries, fictionalized in televised legal dramas and, as of September, adapted in a major Hollywood movie, “The Informant!”

Tonight, Herndon, a School of Business alumnus, will star as himself in a lecture at the Lied Center.

The lecture, “Clues from the Convicts: Life Lessons on Character, Leadership and Ethics from the Files of the FBI,” will feature some of the biggest cases Herndon worked in the past 23 years and the life lessons he has learned.

Herndon is an agent with the White Collar Crime Squad in the Kansas City FBI and was recently portrayed as one of two FBI agents in the movie “The Informant!” starring Matt Damon.

He said although TV and movies could blur the lines of reality, the essence of his experiences remained the same.

“Our cases are never solved in an hour and most of us don’t look as good as the actors who play us,” Herndon said. “But there are many things that do translate.”

Tonight’s lecture, which is part of the Anderson Chandler Lecture Series, will be Herndon’s second lecture sponsored by the School of Business. The first was in 2006, when Herndon spoke about ethical decision-making in professional environments.

“I believe he delivered one of the most powerful and effective messages business students will ever hear,” said Keith Chauvin, associate dean of academic affairs for the School of Business. “It was because of his earlier talk that I suggested we invite Robert back for another public lecture.”

A large portion of Herndon’s talk will be spent discussing the case portrayed in “The Informant!” The movie focuses on the antics of Mark Whitacre, played by Damon, who was one of the top executives of Archer Daniels Midland, a major agricultural conglomerate, in the early 1990s. Whitacre agreed to work with Herndon and the FBI to gather evidence of price-fixing by the company’s CEOs.

But, like all good crime stories, the case had a twist. While operating as an informant for the FBI, Whitacre secretly embezzled more than $9 million from the company. Herndon said he never once thought of the case’s Hollywood potential.

“Everything was very serious when this was going on,” Herndon said. “But there came a time when Mark’s antics were so over the top that we wondered to ourselves, ‘What is he going to do next?’”

Herndon and his partner, Brian Shepard, spent more than five years on the case, which ultimately landed several ADM executives, including Whitacre, in federal prison.

Though he said his 15 minutes of fame were nearly complete, Herndon said he enjoyed the perks of being part of a Hollywood production. Matt Damon spent an afternoon with Herndon’s family, gave baseball tips to his son and talked about when Damon dropped out of Harvard University.

But Herndon said he had connected most with comedian Joel McHale, who portrayed Herndon in the film. McHale is best known as host of “E!” television’s “The Soup,” and stars in the NBC sitcom “Community.” Herndon said that he had visited with McHale on multiple occasions and that the two texted occasionally.

“When we first met him, Joel was pretty serious talking to my wife about the love scene involving my character,” Herndon said. “He had my wife pretty concerned, but he played that pretty well. He’s been a great guy.”

In addition to the ADM case, Herndon will speak about some of his other high-profile investigations. One case involved a Kansas City pharmacist who diluted chemotherapy drugs, and another involved a federal district judge who took bribes.

“He is a very entertaining speaker, but has a very important message,” Toni Dixon, director of communications for the School of Business, said. “His lecture gives a background of how people can easily trip into crime without really ever thinking about themselves as a criminal type. He has a lot of interesting experiences to share.”

— Edited by Nick Gerik