In response to the continued rise of payment card skimming, the United States Secret Service conducted one of its most expansive enforcement efforts to date, launching a nationwide initiative aimed at identifying and removing illicit skimming devices before stolen data could be used for fraud.
What is Card Skimming and How Does it Work?
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In December, the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a $3,500,000 civil penalty against Paxful, Inc. and Paxful USA, Inc. (“Paxful”), pursuant to a consent order.
Paxful is an exchanger of convertible virtual currencies (“CVC”), operating both a CVC wallet service and a marketplace for peer-to-peer (“P2P”) buyers and sellers of CVC.
On January 9, 2026, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a series of new federal actions focused on schemes to defraud federal aid programs. Treasury’s announcement follows a series of high-profile investigations involving alleged fraud tied to federally funded programs, such as the Feeding Our Future scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program in
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its latest Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) this month, reporting data from banks and other financial institutions showing that, following a recent surge, the number of reported ransomware incidents and payment amounts dipped slightly in 2024. High-profile ransomware attacks frequently appear in the news and
We blogged earlier this year about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s February 5, 2025 memorandum focusing the U.S. Department of Justice’s attention squarely on Mexican cartels, and about subsequent steps the Trump Administration has taken to follow through on that prioritization. In the latest such effort, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
On October 9, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) jointly issued updated Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, clarifying the circumstances under which financial institutions must file suspicious
On October 9, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a renewal of its Geographic Targeting Order (“GTOs”), which require U.S. title insurance companies, including their subsidiaries and agents, to collect, retain, and report specified information regarding certain non-financed residential real estate transactions involving legal entities. The new GTO is effective from October 10
On September 29, 2025, FinCEN issued a Notice and Request for Comment (the “Notice”) on a proposed information gathering exercise – A Survey of the Costs of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Compliance (the “Survey”). Specifically, the Survey is intended to gather information on direct compliance costs
On August 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an advisory (FIN-2025-A003) alongside a comprehensive Financial Trend Analysis (“FTA”), shining a spotlight on one of today’s most significant illicit finance risks: the integration of Chinese Money Laundering Networks (“CMLNs”) into the operations of Mexico-based transnational criminal
On August 6th, 2025, following a four-week trial, a jury found Roman Storm, the founder of a crypto mixing service called Tornado Cash, guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The jury was deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict on the two more serious charges against Storm: conspiracy to