BSA Coalition Webinars
Learn from BSA/AML Experts. No registration fee.From SARs to Sentencing: How Your Reporting Powers Prosecutions
May 20, 2026 | 11:00 AM–NOON EST
Registration Fee: None
Every Suspicious Activity Report tells a story, and sometimes, it helps close a case. In this session, former federal prosecutor Amanda Wick, who served for three years as the SAR Review Team Coordinator for the Northern District of Alabama and as a national subject matter expert on the SAR AUSA program for the U.S. Department of Justice, will share an inside look at how prosecutors and law enforcement use SARs to build investigations, uncover criminal networks, and secure convictions. Drawing on real-world cases, Amanda will walk through how specific SAR fields, narrative details, and timely filings become critical evidence in complex financial crime cases. Most importantly, this session explains how BSA and compliance professionals are often the first step toward holding criminals accountable and why diligence, accuracy, and persistence in compliance are essential to fighting financial crime.
Amanda Wick served nearly a decade as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, specializing in money laundering and cryptocurrency. She worked at FinCEN, was Chief of Legal Affairs at Chainalysis, led financial investigations for the January 6th House Select Committee, and founded the Association for Women in Cryptocurrency. She transitioned to Board Director in 2025 and is now Head of Americas for VerifyVASP. Her debut book won multiple awards in 2025.
Patrick Graves is a Fraud Investigations Manager at U.S. Bank, bringing more than 20 years of experience across the financial services industry. A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), he has held roles spanning Internal Audit, Anti-Money Laundering Investigations, and Fraud Investigations. During his 10-year tenure at U.S. Bank, he has played a key role in strengthening investigative and fraud risk capabilities. Patrick is a graduate of The Ohio State University.
David Tyree is a retired 25-year veteran of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He served in domestic and overseas DEA assignments in Europe and Africa and was designated a federal-court Subject Matter Expert in money-laundering detection and drug-trafficking investigations. After retiring (April 2023), he was Senior Specialist, Internal Audit at Charles Schwab Bank, then Chief of Compliance at Asset Reality, Inc., and Director, Financial Crimes and Investigations at Valid8 Financial. He is now Director, Financial Crimes Strategy at DataWalk.
Steve Gurdak
BSA Coalition Advisory Board Member
Supervisory Analyst
Northern Virginia’s Financial Initiative