Jeremy Kuester, Deputy Associate Director, Policy Divsion
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Jeremy Kuester is FinCEN’s Deputy Associate Director for the Policy Division. Jeremy came to the position with experience from various roles within the Department of the Treasury, as a legislative fellow in the Senate and in the private sector. As the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence Community Integration in Treasury’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA), Jeremy represented Treasury’s counter-financial crime capabilities and authorities to the national security community, oversaw Treasury’s Intelligence Operations Center as well as OIA’s Strategic Briefing Program, and managed other aspects of Treasury’s intelligence program. Prior to that assignment, as OIA’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, Jeremy developed a substantial understanding of FinCEN and OFAC authorities which he used to develop a multilateral strategic plan to align organizational resources. He also integrated his knowledge of international and transnational threats into strategies designed to protect the financial system from threats including terrorism, WMD proliferation, human rights violations, transnational organized crime, narco-trafficking, cybercrime, “kleptocracy,” and pariah states. In the private sector, Jeremy worked with the retail, commercial, and investment banks of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. And, as a Brookings Legislative Fellow in the U.S. Senate, Jeremy covered issues involving the Bank Secrecy Act, corporate governance, and cybersecurity, among other things. Jeremy received his Masters Degree in International Studies from American University, School of International Service and his JD from American University, Washington College of Law after graduating with bachelor degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Vanessa Derenoncourt, Sactions Compliance Officer
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Vanessa Derenoncourt is a member of the Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation team at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In her capacity as a Sanctions Compliance Officer, she advises on a variety of matters relating to both domestic and foreign financial institution compliance with U.S. economic sanctions programs. As part of OFAC’s Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation team, she routinely provides guidance to small, medium, and large financial institutions and international companies regarding in-process transactions, OFAC sanctions programs, and conducts investigations of financial institutions that appear to have violated U.S. sanctions regulations. Prior to joining OFAC, Vanessa was a Team Lead with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s Regulatory Support Section. She served as the Subject Matter Expert for inquiries related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), assisted law enforcement with complex financial investigations, and spearheaded compliance projects related to BSA report submission.
Harry Jimenez
Deputy Special Agent
Homeland Security Investigations
Aristides “Harry” Jimenez is the Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) San Antonio, Texas. Harry is responsible for HIS investigative authorities to combat transnational criminal organizations, including direct oversight of criminal investigations in 48+ counties and managing the operational, financial, and administrative aspects of the HIS San Antonio office, the largest investigative office within HIS. He is responsible for assisting and advising the Special Agent in Charge (SAC), all facility projects in the district, and oversees the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) budget. Harry regularly provides executive briefings regarding significant program and operational developments to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and numerous dignitaries from U.S. Government. He has reviewed proposed legislation regarding anti-money laundering provisions to money service business regulations and provided input as to the potential effectiveness and enforceability of the legislation. Harry routinely represents HIS at congressional delegation, professional conferences, and during media interviews, specifically, as the primary point of contact for all Spanish media outlets. Harry is a 28-year law enforcement veteran who began his career with the U.S. Customs Service Caribbean Air and Marine Branch in Puerto Rico. Harry has held numerous leadership positions in federal law enforcement and has extensive experience conducting narcotics, money laundering, and commercial fraud investigations.
Jon Muschenheim, Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas
Jon Muschenheim graduated from the University of Notre Dame in May of 1977 with a BA in Government and International Studies. He worked full-time as a public transportation analyst while attending law school. He received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Connecticut in January, 1987. Prior to joining the United States Attorney=s office in July, 1997, Mr. Muschenheim practiced criminal defense for ten years in state and federal court in Texas.
As a criminal defense attorney and Assistant United States Attorney, he has been the first chair attorney on a wide variety of criminal cases including more than fifty jury trials in bank fraud, alien transporting, counterfeiting, public corruption, money laundering and narcotics cases. He has prosecuted many multi-defendant, long-term narcotics/money laundering cases, and became an OCDETF prosecutor in September 2000. He served his district as a Senior Litigation Counsel from March, 2005 through March, 2007. From September 2009, through September 2010, he was detailed as the National Drug Enforcement Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys in Washington, DC. In March, 2011, he became the Assistant Deputy Chief for Narcotics Enforcement responsible for the Southern District of Texas= OCDETF program in Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Laredo, and McAllen, Texas. In January, 2016, he chose to return to a line AUSA position and currently prosecutes a wide range of federal crimes including immigration, money laundering, bank fraud, and narcotics offenses.
Mr. Muschenheim has been litigating cases related to the money laundering statute in Federal Court since 1989. Since 2007, he has been a frequent lecturer on financial investigations to law enforcement agents and prosecutors. In September, 2015, he led a week long course at the Guardia Civil, Madrid, Spain, covering international investigations, money laundering, forfeiture, and related topics.
Angela Haun, Special Agent
InfraGard Coordinator
FBI Houston Division
Special Agent Angela Haun entered on duty with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in March 1998. Agent Haun has served in the Chicago Division, the Office of Congressional Affairs and the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters, and the Houston Division.
Agent Haun has received numerous awards for her work at the FBI, including the Director’s Award for Outstanding Criminal Investigation. In April 2015, Agent Haun received a “Citation for Special Achievement,” signed by then FBI Director James Comey, for her dedication and hard work supporting the Houston Members Alliance – one of the most robust InfraGard chapters in the country. Agent Haun received the award for “InfraGard Coordinator of the Year” from the InfraGard National Members Alliance in 2013 and 2016.
D. Richard Goss
Special Agent in Charge
IRS Criminal Investigation
Houston Field Office
D. Richard Goss is the Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Houston Field Office located in Houston, Texas. The Houston Field Office covers the Southern Judicial District of Texas and maintains offices in Houston, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, and Laredo Texas areas. Mr. Goss was named to this position in August 2015 and reports directly to the Director of Field Operations for the Southern Area.
As Special Agent in Charge, Mr. Goss is responsible for planning, directing and evaluating the activities of criminal investigation employees who work to investigate violations of tax and other financial crimes within the State of Texas.
Criminal Investigation’s mission is to serve the American public by investigating potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes in a manner that fosters confidence in the tax system and compliance with the law. Although the core mission of Criminal Investigation (CI) is the investigation of income tax evasion, CI is often called upon by other law enforcement agencies to lend their financial investigative expertise in combating criminal activity in the areas of money laundering, narcotics and terrorist financing as well as violations of currency reporting requirements and most recently cyber-crimes and illegal activities involving identity theft.
Mr. Goss began his career with the IRS in 1996 as a Special Agent in the Los Angeles Field Office. He has held increasingly responsible positions starting with his promotion to Supervisory Special Agent in the Los Angeles Field Office. After his tour in Los Angeles he took a position as a Headquarters Senior Analyst in the Financial Crimes section where he oversaw the Money Laundering program for IRS-CI and served as the liaison to FinCEN and main Treasury. From there he was promoted to serve as the Chief of the Financial Section for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center. He then returned to field operations as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Oakland Field Office. After serving as ASAC in the bay area, he was promoted to a position as the Director of Refund Crimes over Field Operations and Policy for the Eastern United States. Most recently he was promoted to his current position as the Special Agent in Charge for the Houston Field Office.
Tim Barden
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Lauren YoungBlood
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Micah Breimhorst
SVP, Financial Crimes Governance
Wells Fargo & Company
Micah Breimhorst manages three financial crimes governance groups, tasked with governance and oversight of the Wells Fargo financial crimes program. The scope of these groups include policy management, authoring the annual Global Financial Crimes Program Document, training, and general oversight of group and line of business financial crimes programs. Prior this role, Micah was responsible for building the Wells Fargo international financial crimes internal audit team, which included coverage of the 12 international branches, expansion activities, and the overall global footprint. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Micah was an Enterprise Risk Services Manager with Deloitte & Touche LLP, focusing on compliance within the financial services industry.
Christopher Barton-DeJean
VP – BSA/AML Compliance Officer
American First National Bank
Christopher Barton-DeJean has been a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist since 2008 and a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager since 2013. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Houston ACAMS Chapter as Co-Chair and has previously served a term as their Co-Programming Director. He has been a GCAML Forum panelist twice previously; most recently speaking about AML Model Validations.
He is currently responsible for developing, implementing and administering all aspects of American First National Bank’s BSA/AML/OFAC Compliance Program. Since joining in January he has implemented new CDD/ EDD compliance tracking systems, monitoring software and realigned staff enabling greater efficiencies and controls.
Prior to joining American First National Bank in January 2016, Mr. Barton-DeJean spent in excess of 6 years working in various capacities for CommunityBank of Texas inclusive of duties performed with the acquired Vista Bank Texas. Mr. Barton-DeJean was responsible for enhancing and streamlining the effectiveness of Patriot Bank’s BSA/AML program prior to that. He also spent more than eleven years at JP Morgan Chase in progressively responsible risk mitigation and fraud control roles.
American First National Bank is an Asian-Owned FDIC insured institution headquartered in Houston, TX. It has approximately $1.2 Billion in assets and 16 branch locations in Texas, Nevada, and California.
Jorge Raull
Chief Executive Officer
Transnetwork Corporation
Jorge Raull is a founding partner and CEO of Transnetwork Corp; the most diversified B2B electronic domestic and cross-border processing and payment platform in Latin America for money remittances, with over 19,500 locations through the largest retailers and banks in 12 countries.
Mr. Raull has ample experience in the financial services markets, having worked for Citigroup and Banamex for more than 13 years in Mexico, the United Kingdom and the USA. He obtained his MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and is fluent in Spanish, German and English.He is an advisory council member for The University of Texas at Austin for the LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections.
William C. Bliss
Senior Risk Specialist
Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering
Federal Reserve Bank
Mr. Bliss began his career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in 1999 as Safety and Soundness Examiner. During the course of his career with the Federal Reserve, his focus on Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance developed early on and intensified soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As a Senior Bank Examiner, Mr. Bliss led BSA/AML examinations at a wide range of organizations, from small, rural community banks to large, complex banking organizations with international operations.
Mr. Bliss has provided international training on BSA/AML to foreign central bankers and financial regulators under the Federal Reserve’s International Training and Technical Assistance program, and was a lead instructor and Federal Reserve System (FRS) representative on the Content Development Team for the FFIEC’s BSA/AML Workshop. Mr. Bliss also represented the FRS in revising portions of the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual during the 2007 update. After leaving the Federal Reserve in 2008, Mr. Bliss returned in early 2016 after an eight-year career conducting human intelligence operations overseas as an Operations Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency.
Mr. Bliss is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Finance. A member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), Mr. Bliss was originally certified as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) in 2005.
Shirley Roessler
Supervisory Examiner
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Shirley Roessler is a Supervisory Examiner in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Austin Territory. Prior to assuming the Supervisory Examiner position in 2011, she was Senior Risk Management Examiner in the Austin, Texas Field Office. She has worked for FDIC for 26 years, and has conducted BSA/AML exams for the past 16 years. She is recognized as a BSA/AML and Fraud Specialist, and assists the Austin Territory in handling BSA/AML issues. As a Supervisory Examiner she assists in coordinating supervision of approximately 100 banks. She has served as both Case Manager and Examiner-in-Charge for several problem banks, with experience in implementing formal and informal enforcement actions. She holds a B.A. degree in Business from Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas and is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Public Accountant.
Dianne Dennis
Senior Examiner/BSA Specialist
Texas Department of Banking
Dianne is a Senior Examiner/BSA Specialist with the Texas Department of Banking. She began her career with the Texas Department of Banking in 2003 as an assistant financial examiner. In 2005, the department designated a BSA/AML Subject Matter Expert (SME) for each of the four regions, and Dianne became the SME for the San Antonio Region. She received her commission as a Bank Examiner in April 2007. In June 2010, she was promoted to BSA Specialist. As BSA Specialist, Dianne is responsible for examining the BSA/AML compliance programs of the department’s larger financial institutions. She has facilitated internal BSA/AML staff training, and set on regulatory panels for the Texas Bankers Association.
Dianne received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, majoring in Accounting and Finance, and is a June 2010 graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, Dallas, Texas. In February 2011, she earned the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation. Prior to becoming a financial examiner, she worked thirteen years for three state and national financial institutions.
Ruben Perez
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Chief-Human Trafficking/Civil Rights Unit
Deputy Coordinator-Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance
Southern District of Texas
Mr. Perez received his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1974 from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas with a major in Political Science. He studied International Law at the London School of Economics in London, England in 1978. He received his law degree from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas and was admitted to the practice of law in 1980.
Mr. Perez has been a prosecutor since he was licensed as an attorney. He served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Houston from 1980 to 1981. From 1981 to 1992, Mr. Perez was a Harris County Assistant District Attorney in Houston, Texas. He served as Chief Prosecutor and was responsible for the prosecution of all felonies, including death penalty cases. He prosecuted thousands of cases and multiple death penalty cases.
Mr. Perez has served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1992 to the present. From 1992 to 1997, he was assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, during which time he prosecuted international crime organizations trafficking in large scale quantities of narcotics and money laundering. From 1999 to the present, he has been assigned to the Civil Rights Unit and is Chief of the Human Trafficking/Civil Rights Unit. He is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of federal civil rights violations, including bias-motivated hate crimes, human trafficking, and law enforcement misconduct.
Mr. Perez also serves as the District Election Officer overseeing the investigations and prosecutions of election fraud. He has served as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Southern District of Texas. Mr. Perez was named the District’s Deputy Coordinator for the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) formed in August 2004.
Mr. Perez has successfully investigated and prosecuted several high profile cases since his assignment to the Human Trafficking/Civil Rights Unit. The following are some examples of his prosecutions. He was the lead prosecutor in the successful prosecution of five Anglo defendants who burned a cross at the home of an African-American family in Katy, Texas. All five defendants were convicted and all received lengthy prison sentences. He was also the lead prosecutor in the successful prosecution of three Immigration and Naturalization Services Deportation Officers for the deprivation of the civil rights of an illegal alien. One defendant was convicted of excessive force by dousing the alien with pepper spray. All three defendants were convicted of denying medical care to the illegal immigrant, who was paralyzed during an INS raid in Bryan, Texas. The victim died a year later. The prosecution for the denial of medical care in a non-jail setting was the first of its kind in the United States. All three defendants received lengthy prison sentences. He was also the lead prosecutor in the largest human trafficking case ever prosecuted in the continental United States. Over one-hundred victims of human trafficking were rescued and eight defendants were prosecuted. All eight defendants have been sentenced to prison sentences. He was also responsible for the prosecution of two ASkinheads@ who brutally beat a Hispanic man simply because he was using a gasoline station. Both were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. He was also the lead prosecutor in a precedent setting human trafficking case where ten defendants were sentenced to prison and their assets forfeited with the goal of liquidating the forfeited assets to help the victims. Recently, he was responsible for the successful prosecution of fourteen defendants (U.S. v. Hortencia Arguello-Medeles aka “Tencha”, et al) who operated a sex trafficking ring. All have been convicted and sentenced to prison and fifteen properties with a value of $2.5 million have been forfeited with the goal of using these monies to help the victims. The lead defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. More recently, he was responsible for the successful prosecution of an international sex trafficking ring. This prosecution involved six defendants. He prosecuted five defendants in 2005. The lead defendant was a fugitive, He was arrested in March 2010 in Mexico. He was extradited to the United States in June 2014 in a precedent setting cooperation of Mexican and American authorities. He was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. More recently, he was also a prosecutor in the successful of three gang members in Corpus Christ, Texas who brutally beat an African American, homosexual male because of his race and sexual orientation. All received lengthy prison sentences.
Mr. Perez has received numerous civic and professional awards. He was the Texas State University 2012 Alumni Achievement Award Recipient. Some of his other notable awards include three Executive Office for United States Attorneys’ Director’s Awards, one of which was for his work in coordinating the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance; commendations from the United States Attorney; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. He has served as an instructor for the Department of Justice Criminal Trial Advocacy Program and often speaks at law enforcement seminars, area schools, and universities. He has taught Human Trafficking classes both in the United States and also internationally in Mexico City, Mexico; Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico; Kyrgyzstan; Guadalajara, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; Paraguay; Puerto Rico; and San Salvador, El Salvador. He is also a frequent lecturer on Civil Rights issues in many forums.
On a personal note, Mr. Perez is a dedicated husband to his wife, Marisela. They have been married for over thirty-eight years and are the proud parents of two children.
On a final note, he is a proud member of the Tejano Music Hall of Fame.
Lucy Tan
Special Agent
Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation
Lucy Tan has been a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) since 2004. Special Agent Tan started her career in Chicago and transferred to the Houston Field Office in 2010. As a special agent, she has conducted numerous criminal investigations involving tax crimes, money laundering, health care fraud, human trafficking, drugs and other related offenses. She is currently assigned to develop investigations involving violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Special Agent Tan has been a member of the Human Trafficking Task Force since 2011.
Suzanne Bradley
Special Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent (SA) Suzanne Bradley entered on duty with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in November 1990. Upon graduation from the FBI Academy, she was assigned to the FBI Houston Field Office. From 1991 to 2004, SA Bradley was assigned white collar investigations related to mail fraud, credit card fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft. In that time period, she was also assigned to the Secret Service Fraud Task Force from 2000 to 2004 which addressed Nigerian fraud schemes as well as other fraud in the Houston, Texas, area. In 2002, SA Bradley received the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award for the work she produced on the task force. From 2004 to the present, SA Bradley worked human trafficking investigations and was a member of the Human Trafficking Task Force. As a member of the task force, SA Bradley has investigated some of the largest human trafficking rings in the U.S. In her last two human trafficking cases prosecuted, one defendant received life in federal prison without the possibility of parole, and the other defendant received forty years in federal prison.
Kate Langston
Special Agent
U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service
Special Agent Kate Langston is currently assigned to the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Houston Field Office, since 2011. In addition to serving as the forensic “cyber-tech” for the field office, she conducts and coordinates the international human trafficking investigations with a nexus to passport and visa fraud. Before working with DSS, She began her career in law enforcement in 2002 as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) where she was stationed in Houston, Los Angeles and then DC. With USSS, she protected the President and Vice President of the United States and visiting foreign heads of state. She is a certified cyber forensic examiner and has conducted numerous investigations related to financial crimes, identity theft and network intrusions. She graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and then earned a Master of Science degree in Forensic Chemistry from the University of Alabama – Birmingham.