Meet the FTC Experts

Justin Muscolino is the CEO & Co-Founder of Fintech Training Center, where he helps companies build stronger compliance training programs. With over 20 years of experience—including roles at FINRA, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and Macquarie—Justin brings a practical understanding of how to meet regulatory expectations while keeping training clear and useful. He's worked with banks, fintechs, and other high-risk industries to improve how they train staff on rules, risks, and responsibilities.

Through Fintech Training Center, Justin focuses on simplifying complex topics like AML, KYC, and consumer protection. He's led training initiatives around the world and works directly with clients to close compliance gaps and reduce risk. Known for being hands-on and results-driven, Justin also serves as an advisor and writer for several industry groups and continues to support organizations in building a culture of accountability.

Lyndon "Lenny" Lewis serves as the Director and Head of Business Development at Fintech Training Center, where he leads strategic growth initiatives and institutional partnerships across the financial services and fintech sectors. With a career spanning risk management, compliance-focused marketing, and financial advisory, he brings a deep understanding of the regulatory and operational challenges facing today's banks, fintechs, and payment companies.

Lenny has built a track record of driving revenue expansion through high-impact engagement programs, data-driven go-to-market strategies, and executive-level relationship management. His experience includes scaling event and partnership ecosystems, optimizing lead generation pipelines, and aligning commercial strategy with evolving BSA/AML, fraud, and risk expectations.

Prior to joining Fintech Training Center, Lenny led marketing and partnership initiatives for fintech and compliance organizations, supporting enterprise sales teams and strengthening market positioning through thought leadership and practitioner-focused programming. His early career in financial advising provides a strong foundation in client needs analysis, regulatory awareness, and financial planning.

At Fintech Training Center, Lenny advances the organization's mission by connecting financial institutions with the training, insights, and expertise required to navigate high-risk environments with confidence and operational rigor.

Mr. Ciccolo is the Founder & President of BitAML, a regulatory compliance advisory firm serving the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry. With over a decade of experience in crypto compliance, Joe has advised several hundred clients—from early-stage startups to large multinational institutions. BitAML's client base spans cryptocurrency exchanges, OTC desks, trading platforms, payment processors, kiosk operators, online marketplaces, hedge funds, and DeFi projects.

A recognized authority in the field, Joe is a frequent speaker at cryptocurrency, fintech, and compliance conferences, and regularly delivers training sessions for compliance officers, executive leaders, and law enforcement. He also consults with traditional financial institutions that bank or partner with crypto businesses, helping bridge the gap between legacy finance and emerging technologies.

In addition to his work at BitAML, Joe serves as the Executive Director of the California Blockchain Advocacy Coalition (CBAC), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association representing the blockchain, crypto, and Web3 industries before the California Legislature, Governor's Office, and state regulatory agencies. In this role, he has testified on multiple occasions before both the California Assembly and Senate, playing a key role in shaping the state's digital financial asset licensing framework and advocating for policy that balances innovation with strong consumer safeguards.

Joe is an active member of the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS) and serves on its Digital Asset Compliance Specialization (DACS) Committee, which developed a professional designation and knowledge framework to equip compliance, risk, and regulatory professionals with the expertise needed to manage AML, sanctions, and financial crime risks in the digital asset and cryptocurrency ecosystem. He is also a regular contributor to ACFCS educational programming, helping advance the profession's understanding of financial crime risks in the crypto sector.

Prior to BitAML, Joe was a founding member of the BSA/AML compliance program at a top 100 U.S.-based online financial institution. He has also held leadership roles in regulatory and AML audit remediation at a top 20 global bank and has experience across various risk management disciplines including vendor due diligence, fraud prevention, and corporate investigations.

Joe holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Anti-Money Laundering Certified Associate (AMLCA) credentials. He is a graduate of Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice.

Christina M. Rea, Esq. is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RayCor Consulting, a regulatory advisory firm specializing in financial crime compliance, money transmission licensing, fintech governance, and AI oversight frameworks.

With over a decade of experience advising fintechs, crypto platforms, sponsor banks, and financial institutions, Christina serves as a fractional Chief Compliance Officer and strategic advisor to firms navigating complex regulatory environments. She has designed and remediated Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), AML, and sanctions programs across both startup and mature institutional settings, with particular focus on high-risk product launches, embedded finance models, and cross-border structures.

Christina is known for translating regulatory expectations into operationally executable frameworks, helping institutions move from policy theory to defensible implementation. Her work spans transaction monitoring architecture, AML and consumer protection program buildouts, governance escalation models, regulatory examination readiness, and board-level risk reporting.

In addition to her advisory practice, Christina develops structured governance frameworks for emerging risks, including AI-driven systems and digital asset infrastructure. She regularly speaks to compliance leaders and financial institutions on regulatory strategy, oversight design, and the evolving expectations of examiners.

Christina holds a Juris Doctor and is admitted to practice law. She is based in New York and works with clients across the United States and internationally.

Valerie Pitka is the founder and CEO of VLP Solutions, LLC, a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Women-Owned small business based in Canandaigua, New York. A military veteran with over 20 years of combined active duty and reserve service, Valerie built her leadership foundation in high-accountability environments where clarity, adaptability, and mission focus were essential to success.

Today, through VLP Solutions, she helps organizations strengthen leadership capability, accelerate onboarding, and successfully navigate change. With more than 15 years of experience in project leadership, organizational development, and executive coaching, Valerie has partnered with public agencies, higher education institutions, and private companies to design and deliver practical, high-impact training and workforce development programs.

Known for her disciplined, results-driven approach and people-first leadership philosophy, Valerie brings a unique combination of military leadership, business expertise, and real-world operational experience. Her work focuses on helping leaders build aligned, accountable teams and creating environments where both people and organizations perform at their highest level.

Rio is the founder and CEO of FCI Tradecraft, an anti-financial crime training company focused on equipping Veterans and public servants.

He began his career in the field accidentally, as many do. In 2000, as a new Army Lieutenant, Rio was assigned a check fraud investigation that sparked a lifelong interest. Since leaving the service, he has conducted investigations, led teams, and taught full-spectrum financial crimes programs and skills development courses for all lines of defense. Having spent more than a decade at Wells Fargo, Rio has a track record of enhancing process efficiency in large institutions.

He is equally at home helping scale small teams or building technology startups from scratch. On the weekends, he travels and finds adventure in the woods of Northern California with his spouse and children.

Molly Hansen is a fintech compliance leader with over 20 years of experience building and strengthening compliance programs in highly regulated financial services environments. She specializes in AML/BSA, transaction monitoring, fraud prevention, and sponsor bank oversight, and has led the development of scalable compliance management systems for both emerging and growth-stage fintech companies. Throughout her career, Molly has worked closely with executive teams and state and federal regulators, successfully guiding organizations through examinations, program buildouts, and periods of rapid expansion. She is passionate about designing practical, risk-based compliance frameworks that protect the business while enabling innovation and sustainable growth.

Joseph Cuanan is the founder of ComplyGraph, a compliance technology platform and fractional Chief Technology Officer firm based in Los Angeles, California. ComplyGraph helps banks and fintechs scale compliance programs with AI-native tools purpose-built for regulatory compliance and a full-service compliance technology team specializing in AI model development, validation, and risk management. Prior to founding ComplyGraph, Joseph led fintech partnerships at a sponsor bank and was a software engineer in various financial services contexts ranging from residential mortgages to commercial real estate.

Tyler Smith advises fintech operators on the licensing and chartering paths that determine how a program scales — from state money-transmitter strategy through OCC, ILC, and trust-charter pathways. He brings practical experience navigating regulatory applications, charter conversions, and the operational reality of running a chartered institution. Tyler helps teams pick the right structure early so they don't end up rebuilding their compliance program after the fact.

With over 20 years in senior finance and fintech operator roles, Derek leads Scalepoint's Fractional CFO practice. His resume includes PricewaterhouseCoopers, Willis Towers Watson, Amazon, Resolve and numerous fractional CFO and advisory roles at early-stage technology businesses. Derek specializes in early-stage Fintechs with complex external funding arrangements. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and holds an MBA from IMD business school in Switzerland.

After spending 28 years in a variety of roles in institutional finance, Jeffrey is focused on delivering his deep experience and learnings, as well as an impressive relationship set, to Scalepoint and our clients. Jeffrey has experience in structured products, capital raising, origination, and business development across institutional start-ups, private equity, and private credit. Jeffrey holds a BS in Engineering from Boston University and an MBA from Columbia University. He is an avid fintech angel investor, advisor, and loves to attend conferences.

Jeroen van Dijk is a Dutch payments expert with nearly 30 years of experience across issuing, acquiring, card schemes, and processing. He began his career in 1997 at what is now Worldline, building deep, hands-on expertise across the full payments value chain.

In 2020, he co-founded PaymentGenes Consultancy, supporting banks, fintechs, merchants, and mobility companies with strategic and operational payments guidance. He now serves as Managing Partner of the PaymentGenes Academy, where he leads industry-recognized training programs. The Academy's flagship Payments Foundation Course has equipped more than 800 professionals with practical, real-world payments knowledge, combining self-paced learning with tailored in-company sessions.

Payments have been his focus for decades — and he continues to help teams and organizations strengthen their capabilities in an increasingly complex industry.

Branan Cooper is a recognized authority in financial services, specializing in Risk Management, Compliance, and Operational Delivery. With over 35 years of experience, he has led large operating divisions within financial institutions and shared his expertise through industry conferences and various publications.

With more than 15 years dedicated to managing teams focused on risk and compliance functions across financial services and closely related industries, Cooper also brings several additional years of direct people management experience. His exceptional commitment to his profession is underscored by a remarkable 29-year track record of not missing a day of work due to illness or injury.

Cooper has a proven history of ensuring that tools and technology used are among the best in the industry. His extensive experience spans Business Risk Process Development and Execution, Third Party Risk Management, Quality Assurance, and Strategic Planning. He is known for his ability to improve quality and productivity, enhance operational efficiency, and provide effective executive leadership. Additionally, Cooper is adept at managing both consumer and business lending functions, maintaining a strong focus on regulatory compliance and risk management.

Cooper earned his undergraduate degree at Duke University. He has also completed the Graduate School of Compliance Management and the Graduate School of Retail Bank Management. He serves on several advisory boards for professional organizations and is an outgoing member of the Duke University Alumni Board.

Andrea Lee Valentin, CFE, CAMS, CFCS, has over twenty-five years of experience in banking and financial services. She previously served as VP of the Prepaid Operations division of US Bank, where she was responsible for the Prepaid Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), bank relations/program management, Reg E dispute processing, complaint response teams, and KYC/CIP, AML, and fraud prevention.

Andrea is a founding member and President of the Financial Fraud Consortium (FFC). She served on the ACFE Scholarship foundation as its chair and previously helped launch and served as an advisory board member to the Northeast Florida Chapter of the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS).

Andrea has a BA in accounting from the University of Central Florida and an MBA in Economic Crime and Fraud Management from Utica College. Andrea currently serves at the SVP, Fraud & Risk for Old Glory Bank.

Becki LaPorte is the founder and CEO of Exodus Partners Group, LLC, a boutique consulting firm focused on financial crime training, prevention, detection and investigations. She is also a Strategic Advisor in Datos Insights' Fraud & AML practice where she conducts research on current financial crime topics. Becki brings nearly 25 years of financial crime compliance and business experience including conducting investigations, developing and delivering comprehensive training, and consulting on program design, development, and implementation.

She has served as the Director, Global Risk and Compliance at Computer Services, Inc., Chief AML Officer at Advisor Group (now Osaic), and Associate Director, Lead Compliance Trainer, Regulatory Operations at FINRA®. She began her career in financial services in the banking industry in various capacities including branch management, operations and training. She is a Financial Intelligence Specialist (FIS) and a Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS) where she is a founding member and also serves on the ACFCS Advisory Board.

She is a graduate of Penn State University and is currently enrolled at PennWest University in the Masters degree program in the field of Criminology, Behavioral Crime Analysis.

Erin O'Loughlin, CFCS, CAMS, is a seasoned financial crime investigator and educator with over two decades of experience spanning intelligence operations, AML investigations, and cyber fraud. She currently serves as Senior Director of Training at ACFCS, where she designs practical, high-retention programs for global compliance teams. Erin's career includes leadership roles at Coinbase, Western Union, and Bank of America, and a decade in the U.S. Intelligence Community. Her expertise bridges traditional financial crime and emerging threats, from TOR-based laundering to blockchain abuse, making her a trusted voice in risk strategy, governance, and cross-sector collaboration.

Tracie C. Kosakowski, Esq., CAMS® is a seasoned legal, compliance, and financial services executive with over 25 years of experience in banking, fintech, and emerging financial technologies. She has held leadership roles including General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Risk Officer, advising institutions from community banks to high-growth startups. Her expertise spans corporate law, risk management, anti-financial crimes, fintech partnerships, state licensing, and regulatory compliance.

As an Independent Consultant and Executive at Solve Group LLC, Tracie guides banks, fintechs, and payment innovators on legal strategy, compliance, and operational growth—helping them scale while meeting regulatory expectations. She is a licensed attorney in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, holds the CAMS® certification, and serves as a Board Member of FinTech Women. A frequent speaker at industry events, she is also passionate about mentoring and education in compliance and financial services.

Elizabeth Owen is a seasoned leader in anti-financial crimes compliance with over a decade and a half of experience building and optimizing BSA/AML, Fraud, and OFAC programs across a range of financial institutions. She specializes in managing high-risk portfolios and driving strategic compliance initiatives that support growth in emerging areas such as Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), fintech partnerships, cannabis banking, and payments.

Liz has led BSA/AML risk management, transaction monitoring, and regulatory readiness programs at institutions ranging from regional banks to tech-forward financial platforms. Known for her hands-on leadership style, she excels at bridging the gap between operational execution and regulatory expectation - helping teams' mature programs while maintaining agility and responsiveness in a rapidly changing environment.

A Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since 2014, Liz is passionate about mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and promoting a culture of ethical innovation. As SVP, BSA Officer at First Bank of the Lake, she leads efforts to advance financial crime compliance in an evolving and increasing digital landscape.

Debbi Roberts is the Founder and Managing Partner of Integrity Resource Group LLC, where she helps financial institutions, fintechs, and online and tribal lending organizations build compliance programs that go beyond box-checking — programs that protect reputations and fuel sustainable growth. With more than 20 years of experience spanning regulatory compliance, business development, and regulatory technology, she brings a rare blend of subject matter expertise and hands-on execution.

Debbi has been engaged by leading law firms on high-stakes CFPB enforcement remediation projects and has delivered industry-wide compliance training to payday and online lenders. Notable engagements include developing a corporate governance structure unifying compliance across 14 lending entities for a tribal lending organization, overseeing a multi-year CFPB Consent Order remediation project, and leading an enterprise-wide Regulation E review for a large fintech lender after a complex post-acquisition system migration. Prior to founding Integrity Resource Group, she served as Director of Regulatory Compliance for CrossCheck Compliance and 360Factors.

Today, Debbi is a trusted partner to executives across banking, fintech, NBFI, online and tribal lending, and consumer finance. Her expertise spans Dodd-Frank compliance, GRC program development, regulatory technology, and risk mitigation controls. She is an active member of the Online Lenders Alliance Legal, Regulatory, and Tribal Working Groups.

Timothy Dunfey is a seasoned attorney and compliance consultant with over two decades of experience in financial services operations and regulatory compliance.

He began his career as a bank teller and progressed to roles such as Compliance Officer for Citibank's Financial Intelligence Unit and Legal and Compliance Officer for a credit card company.

Timothy holds certifications as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

He is a graduate of St. Thomas University Law School, where he co-founded the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review.

Currently, he serves as an attorney and consultant to financial institutions, providing expertise on regulatory enforcement and compliance issues.

Robert Dube Jr. is a two-time graduate of Delaware Law School with over a decade of experience working in anti-financial crimes. In addition to holding a Juris Doctorate degree as well as a LLM in Corporate Law/Finance with a concentration in Regulatory Analysis/Compliance, Robert is also an American Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS).

Robert held multiple positions with the Delaware Department of Justice, Office of Attorney General, including an initial Clerkship reporting directly to the Delaware State Prosecutor. Robert spent considerable time working on countless cases within their criminal division and their fraud & consumer protection division.

Following his time with the Delaware Attorney General's Office, Robert was offered a position with Morgan Stanley as Director of their Global Financial Crimes Advisory Teams. In his role at Morgan Stanley, he had the privilege of helping lead/grow all four of their Financial Crime Advisory Teams, including Bank, Wealth Management, Institutional Securities and E*Trade.

With these experiences in mind, Robert was readily prepared to take the next step in his career, founding FinCrim Solutions, LLC in 2023.

Sandy Knight is a compliance and risk management leader with more than 20 years of experience guiding financial institutions through today's most complex regulatory challenges.

As a Chief Compliance Officer, she oversees enterprise-wide compliance, consumer protection, and regulatory engagement. Specializing in high-risk areas such as UDAAP, AML, and payments, Sandy is known for her ability to translate regulatory requirements into practical, actionable, strategies.

As a speaker, she delivers engaging, real-world insights that equip professionals and executives to anticipate risk, strengthen compliance programs and lead with confidence in a changing financial landscape.

Brian Davis is a fraud prevention leader with over a decade of experience building and scaling fraud programs across fintech, e-commerce, and marketplaces. In his current work, he advises fraud vendors and operators on strategy, tooling, and program maturity, while through The House of Fraud he equips experts with intelligence and strategies to become impactful leaders.

Freddy Massimi is a nationally recognized fraud fighter, program strategist, and anti-human trafficking advisor with over a decade of experience safeguarding vulnerable populations from financial crime and exploitation. Working within a major U.S. financial institution, Freddy leads enterprise initiatives that strengthen fraud prevention frameworks, elevate victim-centered recovery practices, and combat criminal financial networks that enable scams, human trafficking, and organized exploitation.

Freddy is known for developing and delivering high-impact trainings and strategic programs through The Knoble, empowering financial crime professionals to identify and interrupt human trafficking, scams, and exploitation at scale. He also collaborates with DeliverFund, contributing to intelligence-driven initiatives that disrupt trafficking operations by mapping illicit financial flows and strengthening financial institution response capabilities.

An advocate for trauma-informed practices in fraud prevention, Freddy works closely with financial institutions, law enforcement, and victim service organizations to design multidisciplinary response models that blend financial intelligence, behavioral insight, and survivor care. He regularly speaks at national fraud conferences and advises organizations on preventing re-victimization, enhancing investigative collaboration, and building ethical, human-centered fraud prevention programs.

Angela Mele has over 20 years of international financial services experience, having worked at Leeds Management Services in Bermuda, then with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, and most recently, as Head of Compliance + Training of Citi Hedge Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd. Angela left her position with Citi to manage RiskPass Compliance+AML Ltd. Angela is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and is a member of the International Compliance Association (MICA). In addition, she holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Education from York University, and received the designation of Certified Advanced AML Audit Specialist (CAMS-Audit).

Trina DuBose serves as an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, overseeing global internal audit coverage of Third Party risk. With more than 22 years in the financial sector, Trina began her career in retail banking, progressing from Teller to Branch Manager. Her corporate journey started at JPMorgan Chase in 2009, where she managed paper and plastic production for Chase Card Services as a Materials Manager. In 2017, Trina joined Morgan Stanley as a Director in Operations, focusing on Third Party risk management. After leaving in 2020, she returned in November 2022 to lead audit activities related to Resilience and Third Party risk. During her time away from Morgan Stanley, she held various positions managing third party risk, global HR Operations risk, and led consumer banking at a Maryland bank.

Trina holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Towson University (2007) and an MBA from the University of Baltimore (2020). She lives in Gwynn Oak, Maryland, with her husband Herb and their children Asia and Ayden.

In her free time, Trina enjoys traveling and often acts as a chauffeur for her kids.