Welcome to our trusted partners and providers page. The AMLA is about serving others and meeting member and industry needs. The AMLA partnership page is a resource to our trusted partners that you may contact to help meet your professional needs. We encourage you to contact Mary Meile for referrals or other assistance.
Website: http://www.bfkn.com/fig
Location: 200 West Madison Street, Suite 3900, Chicago, IL 60606.
Outreach: Domestic & Global
Contact: John Geiringer at john.geiringer@bfkn.com
Phone: +1.312.984.3217
The Barack Ferrazzano Financial Institutions Group has 30 bank lawyers representing over 250 financial institutions around the country, addressing the entire spectrum of industry-related legal issues. Our lawyers devote significant time to BSA/AML/OFAC matters, including defending examinations and enforcement actions, advising on new products and services, and training officers and directors.
We are consistently ranked as a top law firm nationally in bank mergers and regulatory issues, and we formulate creative solutions, emphasizing relationships, service and stability. For more information, see our website at Practices, or contact AMLA Advisory Board member and Midwest Chapter President John Geiringer.
For more credentials, visit John’s Professional Page.
Website: http://www.ferrariassociatespc.com
Location: 1455 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20004
Outreach: Domestic & Global
Contact: Erich Ferrari at ferrari@ferrari-legal.com
Phone: +1.202.280.6370
Ferrari Legal is a boutique law firm specializing in OFAC related representations. Erich Ferrari serves on the AML Advisory Board. The firm handles matters ranging from general counseling, OFAC licensing, defending against OFAC investigations, and penalties. We are one of the few firms who understand OFAC and how they operate. We service clients on five continents in a variety of complex OFAC matters involving high profile clients and high stakes transactions. We have the experience and knowledge to successfully guide you through the increasingly complex web of OFAC administered regulations.
While U.S. persons are required to comply with OFAC regulations, many are taking such efforts without any true understanding of what the regulations say. This is the equivalent of playing in a game where you don’t know the rules. As such, OFAC compliance is often a case of the blind leading the blind. Imagine how much stronger your compliance program will become once you truly understand the regulations you seek to comply with. It’s time to step out of the darkness; we shine the light on OFAC.
In addition to our representations, our firm serves as a thought leader on OFAC related legal issues. Click Sanction Law to read about the latest trends in OFAC administered sanctions.
Website: http://amlexperts.com/services/
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Outreach: Domestic & Global
Contact: Connie Fenchel at consult@amlexperts.com
Phone: +1.800.956.3919
Free Initial Consultation!
AML Experts Inc. is an independent consulting firm specializing in anti-money laundering, the Bank Secrecy Act, and customs matters. Connie Fenchel is one of our founding AMLA Advisory Board Members. Connie Fenchel works with banks, non-bank financial institutions, U.S. and foreign agencies on anti-money laundering, regulatory compliance issues, border controls and trade facilitation. The following services are offered:
Clients include: Banks, Credit Unions, Savings and Loans, Currency Dealers/Exchangers, Money Transmitters, Check Cashers, Money Order Issuers, Securities Brokers, Insurance Agents, Casinos, and Government Agencies.
Website: http://www.tcaregs.com
Location: 2846 North Mildred Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Outreach: Domestic
Contact: Melissa M. Hoeft, CAMS Director at m_hoeft@tcaregs.com
Phone: +1.800.934.7347
Founded more than two decades ago, in 1991, and featuring a staff of professionals who collectively have more than 400 years of bank compliance experience, TCA’s unique approach to compliance and risk management blends bank compliance, operations and budgets.
Although the company’s services cover the ever-growing list of compliance demands, AMLA members likely will relate best to TCA’s BSA Review and Resource Team. Made up of six extremely focused compliance professionals, the TCA BSA Review and Resource Team is a select force of highly skilled compliance authorities that know how to help banks manage BSA, AML and OFAC issues. TCA also specializes in automated monitoring system (AMS) validations.
Overall, TCA’s services include both on-site and virtual reviews of bank compliance programs regular e-publications that (1) provide alerts to client banks when regulatory demands change and (2) feature perspective and insights on rules both new and old topic-specific training for bank staff, management and Directors, toll-free access to the TCA staff and a Visiting Compliance Manager service that helps banks adjust compliance staffing on a cost-effective basis.
Nearly 300 banks across the country use TCA services.
TCA’s compliance professionals are former bankers who know how compliance impacts banking activities and are willing to share their expertise with TCA clients. Many staff gained valuable experience managing bank compliance operations; others held positions as IT specialists, CFOs and in-house counsel. Still other TCA compliance staff joined our team from the regulatory establishment.
Communications and continuing education are an important part of the TCA staff-and-service commitment. Regular TCA University sessions face-to-face whenever possible but enhanced with remote connections when necessary give staff an opportunity to discuss how client banks might best respond to changing regulatory initiatives. TCA founder Tom Thomas often joins these discussions to share insights he has gained as a Director and Audit Committee member at a Chicago-area bank.
Many staff members have earned banking’s most prestigious designations: Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, of course; Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager; Certified Fraud Examiner; Certified Ethical Hacker; Certified Penetration Tester, and Certified Information Systems Security Professional.
Website: http://www.saltmarshcpa.com
Location: One Tampa City Center 201 N. Franklin St., Ste 2720 Tampa, Florida 33602.
Outreach: Regional
Contact: Kristen Stogniew at Kristen.stogniew@saltmarshcpa.com
Phone: +1.813.287.1111
Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund is proud to continue its Partnership with the AMLA!
We are a regional accounting firm, specializing in key industries, including financial institutions, not-for-profits, government, construction, manufacturing and distribution, real estate and other commercial businesses. We serve clients throughout the Southeast with a team of 17 shareholders and over 100 professional staff from our offices in Tampa, Orlando, Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola.
Our Financial Institutions Expertise
Since 1944, Saltmarsh has been providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to a wide range of financial institutions. We currently serve approximately 120 financial institutions, ranging in size from $20 million to over $3 billion in total assets. As industry specialists, we know the financial, operational and regulatory challenges you face, and we have the solutions you need.
Our programs of particular interest to AMLA members include:
BSA Independent Test – A regulated institution’s compliance with the BSA and its related regulations remains a high priority area for banking regulators. Our program follows the FFIEC exam manual guidance and performs a risk-based testing and review of the institution’s policies, internal control procedures and training, as well as record keeping and reporting required under the BSA, OFAC, CIP and USA PATRIOT Act’s requirements.
AML Systems Model Validation – Regulators expect an institution to periodically validate the AML systems and models being relied on to identify, detect and prevent money laundering. Our approach follows inter-agency guidance, and involves obtaining an understanding of the institution’s risk profile and how it uses the solution in its overall BSA program. We test the model’s accuracy in capturing transactions from core sources/data feeds, and test its methodology for establishing and applying filtering criteria in alerting on suspicious activity and assigning risk ratings, as applicable. Of particular value, we assess whether the established criteria are reasonable for the institution, and include higher risk products, customers, and geographies, as appropriate. As needed, we help management work with the vendor to obtain enhancements or revise system parameters so they are appropriate for the institution.
AML System Support Groups, Anti-Money Laundering/Fraud Workshops, Training
Like the AMLA, one of our most important objectives is to help our clients, and the industry in general, stay current on fraud and money-laundering trends, software systems, and regulatory expectations. On a regular basis, we facilitate remote and in-person networking among our clients and friends. For example, we host AML system groups for those who use the same AML software solution, which helps each of them better understand the system and use it to its fullest potential. We also host and facilitate AML/Fraud Workshops for attendees to discuss recent cases they have uncovered, which teaches detection and investigative techniques as well as emerging trends. We also host or provide educational forums to explain complicated fraud or money laundering schemes, and provide expert activity detection and investigation advice.
Our People
Unique to our firm, two shareholders make compliance concerns their primary focus areas. Kristen Stogniew oversees the firm’s provision of BSA and Compliance services. She has had a successful law and consulting practice in banking operations and regulatory compliance for 20 years and is a regular speaker at the Florida Bankers Association’s BSA and Compliance schools, the Florida School of Banking, AMLA, and other regional compliance associations. Alex Hager is the former Commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and he routinely assists our client base in complex regulatory matters. As our client, you may find access to Alex to be a great benefit to our overall relationship. And, our team of BSA field consultants each have a significant amount of experience and in-house and external BSA training and enjoy helping our clients maintain regulatory compliance and address the many BSA changes and challenges facing the financial institution industry.
Other Financial Institution Services
In addition to our BSA services, Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund offers financial institutions a full line of outsourced and co-sourced solutions, including External Audit; Tax Return; 401(k) Audit; Internal Audit; Trust Audit; FDICIA Controls Review; Loan (Credit Quality) Review; ALLL Methodology Review; Interest Rate Risk/Asset Liability Management Review; IT Audit/Vulnerability Assessment/Penetration Testing; Liquidity Review; ACH Controls and NACHA Compliance Audits; Loan and Deposit Compliance Audit, Mentoring or Monitoring; Fair Lending Reviews; and HMDA or Flood “Scrubs”.
Please let us know if we can help your institution succeed in BSA and compliance!
Kaufman Rossin 
Website: http://kaufmanrossin.com
Location: 2699 S. Bayshore Drive Miami, FL. 33133.
Outreach: Domestic & Global
Contact: Jason Chorlins, CPA, CFE, CAMS, CITP at jchorlins@kaufmanrossin.com
Phone: +1.305.857.6744
Kaufman Rossin’s financial services team includes more than two dozen accounting and risk advisory professionals who specialize in helping domestic and international financial institutions identify, develop, and implement solutions to address operational and regulatory risks. As regulation continues to increase and the landscape gets tougher, it’s more important than ever for financial institutions and other businesses to have consultants they can rely on.
Tough problems? That’s our specialty.
Our services include the following:
Proclaiming Justice To The Nations 
Website: http://www.pjtn.org
Location: P.O. Box 682711 Franklin, TN 37068-2711.
Outreach: Domestic & Global
Phone: +1.615.778.0202
Toll free: +1.877.779.0202
Laurie Cardoza-Moore is a successful leader, businesswoman, wife, mother of five, and founder and President of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN).
Laurie has over 20 years’ experience in private enterprise, grassroots mobilization and community leadership. Laurie’s career faced a turning point on 9/11 when she decided to focus her media and lobbying expertise on American security and Israel. She is an accomplished advocate who has represented issues related to families, women, children, faith and country.
Laurie is currently spearheading the formation of a coalition to expose the anti-Semitic, anti- American, anti-Israel, and anti-Christian content in all K-12 textbooks. The coalition will identify flawed textbook review procedures and recommend methods for local communities to review students’ textbooks and propose corrective legislation.
Laurie is an accomplished media veteran and has been part of over 500 film and video productions as both on-screen talent and producer. Laurie has also been seen and heard by millions of people on Christian television and radio appearing on over 120 TV and radio programs in 2014, including Fox and Friends and the Hannity Show. Her articles have been published on WND.com and FrontPage Magazine.
Through Laurie’s tireless work and leadership, PJTN now has the capacity to reach hundreds of millions of Christians and people of conscience around the globe. Each year that number grows as Laurie has secured PJTN as the world’s only pro-Israel organization with the support of the NRB and access to the United Nations.
