LEO Crypto Summit

Brad Smith is the Deputy Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the U.S. Department of
the Treasury and previously served for five year as that office’s Chief Counsel. He received his B.A.
with high honors from Michigan State University and his J.D. with high honors from the University
of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of The University of Chicago Law Review and
graduated Order of the Coif. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable David M. Ebel on
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After his clerkship, Brad became an associate at
Covington & Burling LLP, before joining the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. He
subsequently served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, with a portfolio that focused
heavily on national security issues. Immediately before joining Treasury, Brad was a Deputy Legal
Adviser to the National Security Council at the White House.

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Claudia Quiroz is the Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), which is now a permanent section in the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), where Claudia also serves as Acting Deputy Chief.  She has been a federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney in the Northern District of California since 2014.  Claudia has investigated and prosecuted numerous cases involving the misuse of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, including cases involving darknet markets, DeFi platforms, money laundering, hacks and computer intrusions, and securities and financial fraud.  She has also investigated matters involving trade secrets, white-collar offenses, and organized crime.  Claudia received her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2007.  While at UW Law, Claudia served as Symposium Editor, Articles Editor, and Diversity Chair of the Wisconsin Law Review.  Following law school, Claudia clerked for Hon. Micaela Alvarez in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Jarod Koopman was named the Executive Director of Cyber and Forensics for IRS-Criminal Investigation in June 2021. In this capacity, Jarod established a new investigative section within CI and continues to focus priority on cybercrime and digital forensics. His primary function is the oversight and management of all cyber-related activities at a global level. This consists of close interaction with public/private sector, industry, and other law enforcement partners both domestic and international.

Jarod began his career in 2001 as a Special Agent in New York before being selected to the Accelerated Senior Leadership Program (ASLP) in 2011.  As such, Jarod took multiples roles involving increasing levels of leadership – Supervisor (New York), Senior Analyst (Washington DC), Assistant Special Agent in Charge (Chicago), Special Agent in Charge (Detroit) and Director of Cyber Crimes (Washington DC).

Carlos Orozco is a US federal law enforcement officer and senior program manager within the IRS - Criminal Investigation Division’s Office of Cyber and Forensic Services. In this role, Mr. Orozco focuses on supporting criminal investigations of cyber enabled crime that fall within the jurisdiction of the Criminal Investigation Division. In his various roles, Mr. Orozco has gained firsthand experience in conducting and supporting complex, multi-jurisdiction financial investigations including those involving the illicit uses of virtual assets. Previously, Mr. Orozco was the unit chief over the Washington DC based Cyber Crimes Unit, IRS:CI’s leading investigative unit into the illicit uses of virtual assets.

Lawrence Scheinert is the Associate Director for Enforcement, Compliance, and Analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In this role, he oversees OFAC’s enforcement, compliance, and private sector outreach programs. Mr. Scheinert previously served as a Senior Advisor to the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and before that as the Director of the Office of Special Measures at the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Mr. Scheinert also previously worked as a corporate and securities associate at the international law firm of White & Case LLP. Mr. Scheinert has a degree in finance from Lehigh University, a law degree from University of Florida, and an LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown Law.

Minh Nguyen is the Deputy Chief of DEA's Cyber Unit based out of DEA Headquarters in Arlington.  With 26 years and counting, he has extensive experience with international counter-narcotics operations, serving over 10 years in overseas assignments.  His duty stations with the DEA include: New York, Miami, Austria, Philadelphia, and Thailand.  

Commissioner Goldsmith Romero was sworn in as a CFTC Commissioner on March 30, 2022, after being nominated by President Joseph Biden in September 2021, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  Prior to becoming a CFTC Commissioner, Commissioner Goldsmith Romero served for a decade as the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP), a role for which she was nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on March 29, 2012. In that role, she led a nationwide federal law enforcement agency and watchdog over TARP, a program where the U.S. Government became a shareholder in banks, the automotive industry and insurance industry; owned, exchanged, and traded in corporate securities and derivatives; and administered foreclosure relief for consumers.

Commissioner Goldsmith Romero also served on the staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  She served on the Executive Staff during the financial crisis, as counsel to SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro and Chairman Christopher Cox. In that role, she advised the Chairs, and served as a liaison to SEC commissioners and staff. For four years she served as senior counsel in the SEC’s Enforcement Division, where she investigated securities law violations, including related to financial institution fraud, insider trading, hedge funds, and retail investor fraud. Prior to her service at the SEC, Commissioner Goldsmith Romero served as an associate and counsel at law firms, and served a federal judicial clerkship.

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Zia M. Faruqui was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge on September 14, 2020.  He received a B.A. and J.D. from Georgetown University. Following law school, he was a litigation associate at Willkie Farr in Washington, D.C., where he focused on government investigations and general commercial litigation.  Judge Faruqui then served for twelve years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in St. Louis and Washington D.C.  While there, he prosecuted cases involving terrorists use of cryptocurrency, North Korean weapons proliferation, darknet sites dedicated to child exploitation, and the theft of antiquities.  He also represented the Department of Justice at numerous conferences across the globe on financial crimes, cryptocurrency, and national security issues.

Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Christopher Wong has worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for eight years, supporting many of the FBI’s most successful cryptocurrency cases. SSA Wong currently works in the FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit (VAU), spearheading efforts to reduce illicit activity in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. He has provided impactful, strategic support to counter North Korea’s illicit revenue generation through cryptocurrency-related crime. He has also investigated many other largescale cryptocurrency thefts. He regularly travels around the world to train law enforcement (LE), prosecutors, and judges from dozens of countries, building strategic relationships and the global LE community’s ability to combat cryptocurrency crime. Before joining VAU, SSA Wong worked as a Special Agent in FBI’s Chicago Division where he worked on cases related to intellectual property (IP) and China’s use of nation state actors to acquire IP. His efforts resulted in the indictment and designation of a number of North Koreans and key enablers supporting North Korea’s illicit revenue generation. SSA Wong was the FBI’s lead agent on the joint investigation that culminated in the arrest and successful prosecution of the individuals responsible for the 2016 Bitfinex heist. That investigation led to the seizure of approximately $3.6 billion in cryptocurrency, the largest US Government seizure to date. Before joining the FBI, SSA Wong served for 13 years as a Special Warfare Combat Crewman in US Naval Special Operations.

Kevin O’Connor is Section Chief, Virtual Assets and Emerging Technology, at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In over ten years at FinCEN, he has led numerous complex investigations of financial institutions to ensure their compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing laws and regulations. He also serves as a co-leader of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence’s Virtual Currency Strategic Impact Unit. He was named FinCEN’s 2018 Distinguished Employee of the Year.

From February 2013 through October 2014, Kevin served as the Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, where he worked on a broad range of domestic and international projects utilizing Treasury’s unique authorities and capabilities to further U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. He received the Secretary of the Treasury’s Honor Award in October 2014, an award from the the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence for his collaborative work on virtual currency in 2017, and the Diane K. Wade award as part of FinCEN’s top team in 2018.

Ari Redbord is the Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs. Prior to joining TRM, Ari was the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary and the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the United States Treasury. Ari worked with teams from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and other Treasury components to use sanctions and other regulatory tools to effectively safeguard the financial system from illicit use by terrorist financiers, weapons of mass destruction proliferators, drug kingpins, and other rogue actors, including Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela. In addition, Ari worked closely with regulators, the Hill and the interagency on issues related to the Bank Secrecy Act, cryptocurrency, and anti-money laundering strategies. Prior to Treasury, Ari was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for eleven years where he investigated and prosecuted terrorism, espionage, threat finance, cryptocurrency, export control, child exploitation and human trafficking cases.

Chris leads a team of unmatched investigative talent from former law enforcement and private sector organizations, including U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), UK’s National Crime Agency, and Federal Police of Brazil. Prior to joining TRM, Chris spent 13 years at the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) as a special agent. Chris led some of the most notorious cryptocurrency-related criminal investigations including the largest seizure in government history and the “Welcome to Video” takedown. Chris was instrumental in establishing an inter-agency cryptocurrency strike force with the Washington, D.C. United States Attorney’s Office and has briefed policy makers at the highest levels of government on cryptocurrency and cyber issues. Additionally, Chris and his team’s case work and methodologies were cited extensively in DOJ’s “Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework”. Chris was a recipient of the Secretary’s Honor Award, from the Secretary of the Treasury (2020), Chief’s Investigative Excellence, from Chief, IRS-CI (2020), and the Meritorious Service Award, from the Secretary of the Treasury (2019).

Special Agent Erin Burke serves as the Division Chief (DC) for the Public Safety and Border Security Division within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Countering Transnational Organized Crime Directorate.  DC Burke has been with HSI for over 17 years and has a vast array of experience in all types of criminal investigations to include child exploitation, human trafficking, narcotics, financial crimes, and gang investigations.  DC Burke leads HSI’s counter-narcotics efforts spearheaded the implementation of HSI’s Strategy for Combatting Illicit Opioids. DC Burke has a master’s degree in forensic science from the George Washington University.

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Bryan has been employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent since 2002 and currently serves as the Section Chief for the FBI’s Cyber Criminal Section where he is responsible for the FBI’s investigations and operations against cyber criminal actors and threats.  Prior to his current role, Bryan served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge over the Cleveland Field Office’s Cyber/White Collar Branch, Unit Chief over the FBI's Money Laundering and Bank Fraud unit, and in 2011-2012 as the FBI’s Detailee to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where he assisted both agencies in insider trading, market manipulation, and investment fraud matters.  His experience crosses over financial crimes, cyber, and virtual currency and he has initiated a number of private sector outreach efforts to better leverage the complementary knowledge of both.  Prior to the FBI, Bryan worked as a consultant for Accenture and Deloitte & Touche and is a graduate of Bradley University with a degree in Accounting.

Matt O’Neill is a Special Agent with the US Secret Service (USSS) assigned to the Criminal Investigative Division. Matt started his career in 1998 in New Haven, CT. He transferred to the Vice President’s Detail in 2003 until 2007 when he transferred to the Manchester Resident Office. In 2017, Matt transferred to HQ and created the agency’s Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC) as a centralized fusion center for agency investigative operations. He directed the agency’s Asset Forfeiture Branch, which seized over $1.7B in illicit proceeds during his tenure. Matt recently returned to the GIOC to lead the agency’s global cyber investigative operations portfolio.

Jennifer Vander Veer is the Product Strategy Lead at TRM Labs. In this role, she applies her deep knowledge of law enforcement capability requests on a global scale and catalyzes that information under a unified platform where law enforcement partners can bolster their investigative capabilities. Prior to joining TRM, Vander Veer was a Special Agent with the FBI, where she specialized in cyber matters and was a subject matter expert in blockchain intelligence and cryptocurrency tracing on the FBI’s Virtual Currency Response Team. In her 14 years at the FBI, she led investigations into foreign and domestic criminal activities ranging from state-sponsored network intrusions and economic espionage to major cryptocurrency exchange compromises and ransomware attacks leading to several arrests and seizures of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency. Before joining the FBI, she developed and oversaw the e-commerce division of a retail chain in New England and worked with the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories and Silicon Graphics. She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.S in Engineering from Swarthmore College, and GIAC GCIH and GSEC certifications.

While at the FBI, Mr. Armstrong was the Unit Chief of the Bureau’s Counterterrorism Finance Targeting Unit (CTFTU) where he led teams that leveraged financial intelligence to initiate and enhance illicit finance investigations. In addition, Mr. Armstrong was the program manager of the Virtual Currency Evolving Threat team, where he led some of the largest cryptocurrency-related investigations including the dismantling of three terrorist financing cyber-enabled campaigns, involving Hamas, ISIS, and al-Qaeda. He received the FinCEN Director’s Award in 2022 for that work. In addition, Mr. Armstrong received the 2020 FinCEN Director’s Award for his work investigating North Korean cybercriminal and proliferation activity, the 2022 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Award, the Homeland Security Director’s Award, and numerous others.

is a member of the Global Investigations team at TRM, where he specializes in complex investigations involving mixing services. Prior to joining TRM, Nick spent 12 years as an intelligence analyst at the FBI. While at the FBI, Nick played a key role initiating and executing the US government's largest investigations and disruptions of North Korea's trade-based money laundering networks. These cases resulted in the indictments of dozens of North Korean agents, the first-ever extradition of a North Korean national to the United States, the seizure of tens of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, and pioneering case law on the use of the USA Patriot Act to obtain international financial records. Nick is the recipient of two FBI Director's Awards (2013 and 2017), the FBI's highest award for investigative excellence. He is also the recipient of two FINCEN Director's Awards (2018 and 2020), and two National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director's Awards (both awarded in 2016).