April DeValkenaere is CEO of Fortress Forensic Investigations (www.protectyourfortress.com); providing justice for at-risk victims of financial exploitation through evidence analysis and forensic accounting investigations. April is a Certified Financial Crimes Investigator (CFCI), State Bar of Wisconsin Certified Paralegal (SBWCP) and, certified as a Crypto Currency Investigator (CCI). April is the Wisconsin Chapter President of International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) and on the Attorney General’s Coordinated Community Response Team.

She has been recognized as a WEAAD Warrior (World Elder Abuse Awareness Day) by the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) for her efforts in teaching law enforcement how to investigate elder financial exploitation crimes both at Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) in Pewaukee, WI and as a consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. April is also an integral part of the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Cyber Crimes Investigation Unit.

When police officers experience trauma on a daily basis, it is only natural for those events to have an impact on their personal and professional lives. As a police veteran of 19 years with the Chicago Police Department, I understand the adversities of the job including the psychological, emotional, and physiological challenges experienced by members of law enforcement.

My goal is to inform officers of the traumas, triggers, and suicide risk factors that can affect them. By providing officers with the knowledge of stress and adversities to trauma, we can provide them with the tools for self-care and the capacity to advocate mental health resources. This will offer our first responders with the ability to be more proactive and resilient which reduces the likelihood of being in crisis.

Currently Mary is the President of Macha, and an Accredited ACH Professional and a National Check Professional (NCP). Mary has been President of WACHA/Macha for 29 years. Mary is also President of Payment Advisory Resource (PAR) a subsidiary of MACHA. Mary has served on the NACHA (National ACH Association), Marketing Committee, the NACHA Board of Directors and chaired a Nation-Wide Direct Deposit Campaign in 1998 and participated on the Federal Debit Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

In addition, Mary has chaired many national rule making committees for NACHA
and has served on many panels. Mary has participated in developing a program with the State Bar Association of WI and participated on a program for the state to change legislation on Financial Elder Abuse. She is actively working with the CFPB in establishing networks and speaking on Financial Elder Abuse. Mary speaks nationally at the NACHA conference, and other conferences nationwide. Currently, Mary also participates in the following NACHA Committees:

• Steering Committee for NACHA’s Innovative Alliance
• Government Relations Advisory Group

Mary also has participated in the Faster Payments Coalition and is a member of the Faster Payments Council and is on an Advisory Board. Mary has 40 years of experience in the Financial Industry. She has worked as a branch manger, cash management officer and manager of operations deposit and loans and training coordinator. Mary holds a Certificate from Carroll College in Not for Profit Management and a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Carroll College.

Robert Villanueva, Executive Vice President

Robert Villanueva currently leads the Cyber Threat Intelligence Division of Q6 Cyber. Mr. Villanueva joined Q6 Cyber after 25 years of dedicated service in the United States Secret Service, where he specialized in transnational cybercrimes, access device fraud, network intrusions, and identity theft data breaches affecting the private sector. During his tenure, Mr. Villanueva was assigned to various offices, including Miami, Europe, Latin America, and Washington D.C., and served in both investigative and undercover capacities around the world.

Mr. Villanueva founded the U.S. Secret Service’s Cyber Intelligence Section, which coordinates global cyber operations. Mr. Villanueva also headed the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami Electronic Crimes Task Force, which counts 800+ members from the private sector, academia and local/federal law enforcement. Mr. Villanueva has conducted extensive research on computer botnets and malware development attributed to foreign actors. He has led numerous projects for the U.S. Secret Service in partnership with Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, and various private sector companies.

Mr. Villanueva presently serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors of various organizations and universities, including Florida International University, The Florida International Security Association, The Florida International Banker’s Association and The International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators.

Principal Risk Specialist, Cyber and Analytics Unit, Member Supervision at FINRA since 2017. As a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and CISA certified auditor, Tim leads complex cybersecurity investigations and performs integrated audits of FINRA member firms to assess compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practices. With over 15 years industry wide experience Tim has been providing real life consultative guidance on cybersecurity and information security controls across financial services industry, retail services and healthcare industry. Tim’s current role includes providing value-added, practical advice to member firms on cybersecurity controls aimed at protecting investing public and maintaining market integrity.

Molly’s banking career began more than 15 years ago when she started working in the deposit operations area of a small bank. She quickly excelled, learning all aspects of the operational side of banking. Through this experience and as fraud tactics evolved, she discovered a passion for fraud prevention, detection, and loss recovery. As the Fraud Risk Manager at CrossFirst Bank, Molly oversees the development and implementation of fraud risk management strategies. Understanding the potential for substantial penalties for breaching imposed warranties, Molly has gained expertise in payments regulations by obtaining the Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP), Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), and National Check Professional (NCP) designations.

Detective Teerink began his law enforcement career in 2010 following a 14-year career as an attorney in Washington, DC and Kansas City, MO, practicing primarily in international trade and export control law. Since joining the Leawood, KS Police Department, he has served as a patrol officer, warrant officer, field training officer, and is now in his fifth year as a detective, specializing in financial crimes.

Detective Teerink holds a Master’s of Law (LL.M) from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Iowa, and Bachelor’s Degrees (B.A.) in German Studies and Political Science from Wartburg College. He is a Certified Financial Crimes Investigator (CFCI) with the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI), and has completed the Certified Investigator (CI) and Crypto Fundamentals Certification (CFC) with TRM Labs Academy. Detective Teerink attended the U.S. Secret Service’s Digital Currency Course at the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) in January 2023.

Josh Planos, APR is the Vice President of Communications & Public Relations for the Better Business Bureau of the Midwest Plains, a spokesperson for the International Investigations Initiative, and a freelance writer for publications including New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press and Nebraska Broadcaster’s Association, and he was named to Midlands Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class and honored as one of “The Next 100” leaders. Noteworthy mentions of his work appear in the Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, California Western International Law Journal, and numerous university law schools worldwide. At BBB, Planos oversees and executes all communication efforts, including alerts, investigations and programs.

Michael Paoletti is an experienced investigator, serving as a Senior Principal Investigator in FINRA’s Cyber Enabled Fraud (CEF) Unit, investigating a wide range of cyber incidents impacting investors and FINRA member firms. Prior to joining FINRA in 2023, Michael served in an operational capacity for twenty-nine years as an investigator with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office/Investigations Bureau in Chicago, Illinois. During his tenure, Michael investigated cyber related crimes and conducted computer and mobile forensics for several years as a Task Force Officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Chicago Division, Cyber Crimes Unit and Violent Crimes Against Children Unit.

Mr. Robert Whitaker served in Federal, State, and international law enforcement for 23 years. He now serves as the Law Enforcement Affairs for Blockchain Intelligence Group. Mr. Whitaker has previously served as a Supervisory Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and has held several senior executive management positions in the blockchain industry. Mr. Whitaker has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Mr. Whitaker is a Certified Bitcoin Professional and is regarded as an expert witness in cryptocurrencies.

As a Global Investigator at TRM, Casey Dougherty is responsible for working complex international investigations that span the entire digital asset space. Casey also responds to law enforcement requests for assistance related to cryptocurrency tracing and obfuscation of funds. Prior to joining TRM, Casey served as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. Beginning his career in the Kansas City Field Office, Casey primarily worked digital forensics, network intrusions, and assisted other agencies as part of the Cyber Fraud Task Force. Most recently, Casey was assigned as an Agent-Instructor at the National Computer Forensics Institute where he taught curriculum related to cryptocurrency, dark web, ransomware, and other cyber investigative topics to law enforcement.

Highlight: Casey has been involved in Bitcoin since 2010. Casey is an avid fisherman,
homebrewer, and loves the sport of strongman!

Mr. John Bryant serves as a Cybersecurity Advisor for Region 7 (IA, KS, MO and NE) for the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Integrated Operations Division. Based in Kansas City, Missouri he supports the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) mission of partnering with industry and government to understand and manage risk, strengthening the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure. He is lead in Region 7 for DHS/CISA’s K12 cybersecurity working group. Mr. Bryant provides Cybersecurity resource briefings, Cybersecurity assessments, and Incident Response planning to the nation’s sixteen critical infrastructure sectors and state, local, tribal, and territorial
government entities.

Mr. Bryant was the Army University CIO before joining CISA. He holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Organizational Development and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Technology from Upper Iowa University. He is a member of (ISC)2 and is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) in good standing for the past 10 years.

Jeremy Bloxson has been an investigator with Capital One for over 6 years. He’s based out of Chicago but travels the country speaking at conferences and testifying in all matters related to financial fraud.  When he’s not investigating, he enjoys playing poker, basketball, and with his daughter, Casey.

Caitlin Piasecki is a U.S. Postal Inspector Mail Theft Program Manager, assigned to the Criminal Investigations Group, at National Headquarters.  Inspector Piasecki was previously assigned to the Bellmawr, New Jersey office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) where she primarily worked financial crime investigations.   Inspector Piasecki served as the USPIS liaison at Homeland Security Investigations’ National Bulk Cash Smuggling Center in Williston, Vermont for 14 months.  Inspector Piasecki has a background in financial fraud and criminal analysis, is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), and an Executive Board Member with the East Coast Gang Investigator’s Association (ECGIA).   Inspector Piasecki is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) within USPIS, assigned to a working group tasked with developing an advanced financial crimes training program.  Before her role with the USPIS, Inspector Piasecki worked at Standard Chartered Bank, an international correspondent bank, where she investigated complex financial cases, reviewed and filed Suspicious Activity Reports, and trained investigators locally and abroad on investigative techniques.  Inspector Piasecki graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College of New Jersey and continued her education at Rutgers University where she earned a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.