Meetings Agenda
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Welcome Remarks / Lunch & Learn
BSA Exams in Focus: Frequent Findings and Practical Takeaways
DAVID PETERSON – Moderator
Chief Innovation Officer, First National Bankers Bank
Panelists
DULCE JEREZ, BSA/AML Lead Expert, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
MATHEW ROBINSON, Department for Supervision, Department of Finance and Banking
JOHN DOUGLAS, Outreach Director, Supervision & Regulation Division, Federal Reserve Bank Atlanta
Join a panel of regulators as they share perspectives on current themes emerging from BSA examinations and discuss supervisory expectations for financial institutions. This panel discussion will explore how regulators are approaching BSA oversight, areas receiving continued attention during exams, and broader considerations for maintaining an effective compliance program.
Ballroom Foyer C,D – Lobby Level
12:00 PM
Lunch Break (Boxed Lunches)
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
12:15 PM to 1:15 PM
When Silence Is Costly: Elder Financial Exploitation and Bank Liability
BRAD RUSTIN
Partner, Financial Services Regulatory Practice
Nelson & Mullins
Elder financial exploitation is one of the fastest-growing forms of financial crime, and financial institutions are increasingly facing regulatory scrutiny and civil liability when warning signs go unaddressed. “We didn’t know” is no longer a sufficient defense when controls, escalation, or documentation fall short. This session examines how common indicators of elder financial exploitation are frequently missed across BSA, fraud, payments, and frontline operations allowing abuse to continue and exposing institutions to lawsuits, enforcement actions, and reputational damage. Attendees will explore real-world scenarios involving unusual payment activity, behavioral changes, third-party influence, and repeated high-risk transactions that should have triggered intervention.
1:15 PM PM to 2:15 PM
From Transactions to Arrests: Following the Financial Trail of Terrorism
DAVID PETERSON – Moderator
Chief Innovation Officer, First National Bankers Bank
Panelists
CHRIS HERSEY, Senior Special Agent, U.S. Department of Treasury
CHRISTOPHER COX, Special Agent, U.S. Department of Treasury
NORA HUFFMAN, Senior Stakeholder Liaison, Internal Revenue Service
DAVID BRANT, Special Agent, Office of Investigation, Office of Inspector General
Domestic and international terrorism, along with ideologically motivated violence, continue to evolve and both leave increasingly complex financial footprints. Financial institutions play a critical role in identifying and reporting the activity that helps law enforcement detect, disrupt, and prevent these threats. In this session, law enforcement leaders will share insights into current domestic and international terrorism trends, including how extremist activity is funded, organized, and concealed within the financial system. Speakers will discuss what investigators are learning from recent cases, how financial data and SAR reporting are used to connect networks and trace illicit activity, and where banks have made a meaningful difference in advancing investigations. The session will highlight real-world examples of effective collaboration between financial institutions and law enforcement that led to disruptions and arrests. It will reinforce how timely reporting, strong documentation, and proactive engagement directly support public safety efforts.
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
2:15 PM to 3:15 PM
Human Crime: The Blind Spot in Banking
IAN MICHELL
Founder and Board Chair
The Knoble
Human trafficking activity can flow through routine banking relationships and payment behavior, even when exploitation remains hidden from view. This session focuses on how financial institutions can strengthen identification of potential human trafficking including what to look for during onboarding and ongoing monitoring, how to differentiate higher-risk indicators from benign explanations, and how to document observations clearly to support effective escalation and reporting.
3:15 PM to 3:30 PM
Break
Ballroom A,B,C – Lobby Level
3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Breakout Session 1
The Last Click and the First Call: A Wire Fraud & Recovery Workshop
KELLY ROZIER, AAP, APRP
Manager
Regulatory Compliance, Payments, and Financial Crimes
Stout
This hands-on workshop uses real-world wire fraud cases to examine what happens at the most critical moments including the final approval before a wire is released and the first actions taken once fraud is discovered. This session breaks down how small process gaps and missed red flags can lead to significant losses. Attendees will walk through end-to-end wire fraud scenarios, identifying what was missing before the wire was sent and evaluating the immediate steps that impact recovery once fraud occurs. The workshop will highlight effective controls, escalation protocols, and recovery best practices, including coordination with internal teams, financial institutions, and law enforcement.
Ballroom D – Lobby Level
3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Breakout Session 2
Tell the Story Right: A Workshop on Building Strong, Defensible SARs
SCOTT ROSENBAUM, CPA, CFE, APRP, CAFP
Director
Regulatory Compliance, Payments, and Financial Crimes
Stout
This interactive workshop uses real-world case studies to walk BSA and AML professionals through complex high-risk activity and SAR decision-making. Participants will analyze scenarios involving elevated customer risk, unusual transaction patterns, and evolving suspicious activity. Through guided discussion, attendees will determine when SAR filing is appropriate, identify key risk indicators, and document defensible SAR decisions. The session will also highlight common missteps, common examiner scrutiny, and lessons learned from actual cases.
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
8:15 AM to 9:15 AM
Turning Red Flags into SAR Cases
CHRISTOPHER COX
Special Agent
U.S. Department of Treasury
This session offers an inside look at how Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are used to identify, investigate, and connect complex financial crimes. The speakers will discuss how SARs support multi-agency investigations, reveal emerging fraud patterns, and help law enforcement and regulatory partners detect illicit activity. Attendees will gain insight into the practical value of SAR reporting, the importance of strong narratives and timely filings, and how collaboration between financial institutions and law enforcement can strengthen efforts to combat fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes.
9:15 AM to 10:15 AM
Preventing Fraud: Moving More to Prevention Than Reaction
PATRICK SMITH
Senior Vice President of Fraud Operations
American Bankers Association
The rapid rise in fraud losses is forcing financial institutions to rethink how and where controls are applied. No longer can institutions rely solely on post-transaction reviews and recovery efforts. Today’s fraud environment demands stronger, smarter controls at the front end of the transaction lifecycle. This session explores how increasing fraud activity across payments, accounts, and digital channels is driving a shift toward proactive risk management. Attendees will discuss early risk identification, customer due diligence, transaction validation, and real-time decisioning as critical controls for fraud prevention. The session will also examine how Payments, Fraud, and BSA teams must work together to balance speed, customer experience, and risk while meeting regulatory expectations.
10:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Break
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Inside the Investigations: Fraud Cases That Changed Institutions
KRISTA BRADFORD
Federal Bureau of Investigation
DAVID BRANT
Special Agent, Office of Investigation
Office of Inspector General
This session explores real-world case studies involving internal fraud, financial misconduct, and other criminal activity affecting financial institutions. Participants will hear about the collapse of a billion-dollar bank failure and several high-profile PPP fraud investigations, including one of the earliest arrests tied to misuse of relief funds for luxury purchases. These examples highlight how weak controls and poor oversight failures can create opportunities for fraud and criminal conduct.
Sand Castle & Sand Dollar – Lobby Level
12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
Lunch & Learn Session
(Lunch Buffet)
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
1:15 PM to 2:15 PM
Crypto Scams
GARY WARNER
Director of Threat Intelligence
DarkTower
Crypto-enabled fraud continues to evolve, with criminals increasingly using traditional financial institutions as entry and exit points for illicit activity. This session focuses on how scams such as pig-butchering, romance fraud, and money-mule schemes intersect with bank accounts, payments, and customer behavior long before funds ever reach a crypto platform. The speaker will discuss common red flags tied to crypto off-ramps, including unusual wire and ACH activity, rapid movement of funds, peer-to-peer payments, and transactions involving crypto exchanges and intermediaries. The session will emphasize how crypto exposure often appears in otherwise “normal” customer activity, making detection challenging without strong CDD, monitoring, and cross-team coordination.
2:15 PM to 3:15 PM
Case Study: Loan Participation Control Failures and the Ripple Effect
TERRI SANDS, CAMS-Audit, CFE, ACT, AAP
Managing Director
Regulatory Compliance, Payment and Financial Crimes
Stout
This case study examines a significant loan fraud scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in losses and subsequent legal exposure for multiple parties. While this event surfaced through litigation, the warning signs were present much earlier across several areas of the financial institution. The session will highlight missed indicators across departments such as retail, lending, credit administration, operations, BSA, and fraud monitoring, and explain how these breakdowns compounded the institution’s risk.
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
8:15 AM to 9:15 AM
How AI is Impacting BSA and Fraud Programs: Positives and Dangers
CHARU SHARMA
Cofounder and CEO
Fenrock AI: AI Agent for Financial Crime Compliance
MICHAEL SHARMA
Cofounder and CTO
Fenrock AI: AI Agent for Financial Crime Compliance
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming BSA/AML and Fraud programs, offering new opportunities to enhance monitoring, detection, and efficiency but not without risk. Learn how financial institutions are using AI within BSA today, where it is adding value, and where it can introduce new challenges. This session will focus on the benefits of AI-driven tools, including improved alert quality and operational efficiencies, alongside key dangers such as model risk, data bias, transparency concerns, and regulatory expectations.
9:15 AM to 9:30 AM
Break
Ballroom A,B,C,D – Lobby Level
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Under Siege: Bank Fraud, Insider Crime, and Emerging Financial Threats
CHRIS HERSEY
Senior Special Agent
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Office of Inspector General
DAVID BRANT
Senior Special Agent
Office of Investigation
Office of Inspector General
This 60-minute panel will explore current and emerging threats in bank-related financial crime, including bank fraud, check fraud, AML/BSA issues, account takeovers, mortgage fraud, Treasury check and IRS refund check fraud, and bank insider fraud. The panelists will discuss fraud trends, enforcement priorities, and practical lessons for identifying and responding to risks facing financial institutions.
10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
“Should Have Known”: The High Cost of Weak CDD
SCOTT ROSENBAUM, CPA, CFE, APRP, CAFP
Director
Regulatory Compliance, Payments, and Financial Crimes
Stout
Inadequate CDD is one of the fastest paths to examiner criticism. Misses can lead to MRAs/MRBAs, consent orders, civil money penalties, and requirements to look back and refile SARs. If the customer risk is not properly identified, suspicious activity may go unreported or poorly documented. Late, incomplete, or missing SARs are a major red flag for regulators and law enforcement. Weak CDD can pull an institution into criminal investigations, subpoenas, and litigation even when the institution was not intentionally involved. “Should have known” is a phrase no one wants to hear. This session will focus on how to apply risk-based thinking, when to challenge customer-provided information, when to escalate, and how to adjust risk ratings based on what is learned.