On January 18, 2024, the ACAMS South Florida Chapter held its First Annual Awards Dinner and honored local colleagues for making significant contributions to the anti-financial crime (AFC) community. Against the backdrop of an elegant venue in Ft. Lauderdale, industry leaders, compliance experts and law enforcement (LE) officials gathered to acknowledge the efforts of individuals and organizations dedicated to combating financial crime. The ceremony also highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts between financial institutions and LE agencies. Award winners included:

Member Organization of the Year was awarded to Ocean Bank for overall event participation. The award was presented by board member Oscar Enriquez.

• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-Miami was presented with the Law Enforcement Impact Award for recent and ongoing efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking and related illicit financial activity. Anthony Salisbury, special agent-in-charge, received the award on behalf of the HSI-Miami office and noted the importance of industry engagement and public-private partnership efforts to combat financial crime.
• Michael (Mike) Buckley was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his more than 20 years of federal LE leadership. He most recently served as a deputy special agent-in-charge with HSI-Miami, where he had operational, administrative and programmatic oversight over the HSI-Miami North Division, which includes El Dorado Task Force South. Other notable AFC leadership roles during his career included supervising the HSI’s Illicit Finance and Proceeds of Crime Unit as well as the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
• William (Willie) Rondon also received the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his federal LE leadership with the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) for over 20 years. He most recently served as director of International Operations (Branch B), overseeing the international operations of IRS-CI regional attachés in Colombia, Mexico, Barbados, Germany and Hong Kong. Other notable AFC leadership roles during his career included serving as chief of staff and assistant special agent in charge in the Miami Field Office.
• Ocean Bank was presented with the Chapter Organization of the Year Award, which recognized the organization’s active participation in chapter events and commitment to AFC learning. Barbara Brick, director of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and compliance, accepted the award on behalf of Ocean Bank and noted the importance of leadership support for effective financial crime risk management.
• Gustavo Acevedo received the Chapter Member of the Year Award for his long-standing and active participation in chapter events and commitment to AFC learning. Acevedo currently serves as the BSA/AML officer for Sunstate Bank and is based in Miami.
• Recent chapter board members Brian Frankel (Payoneer) and Alex Egan (Kaufman Rossin) were both presented with the Board Member Service Award, which recognizes volunteer contributions made by board members to the chapter and the broader South Florida AFC community.

A Chapter Board Member Service Award was awarded to Brian Frankel for being an outgoing chapter board member. The award was presented by Jocelyn Baez.

Member of the Year was awarded to Gustavo Acevedo for overall event participation. The award was presented by board member Sissy Oliver.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Willie Rondon for over 20 years of service with Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. The award was presented by board member Natalia Mollica.

The Law Enforcement Impact Award was a awarded to HSI Miami for recent fentanyl-related casework and support to multiple chapter events. The award was presented by board member Elena Sutton to Anthony Salisbury.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Michael Buckley for over 20 years of service with HSI. The award was presented by board member James Stultz.

The ACAMS South Florida Chapter board members from left to right: Brian Frankel, Nicholas Schumann, Natalia Mollica, Sissy Oliver, Elena Sutton, Jocelyn Baez, Oscar Enriquez, James Stultz and Jay Fisher.

Pictured from left to right: David Jacobs, Freddy Suarez, Kevin Ceballos, Karla Monterrosa-Yancey and Ammon Yancey.

During the event, chapter board co-chair Nick Schumann of HSBC delivered opening remarks about South Florida’s centrality for financial crime and noted the importance of working across the public and private sectors to proactively share information. Several new chapter board members were announced, each of whom played important roles in coordinating the awards dinner, including Elena Sutton of Crowe, Natalia Mollica of Amerant Bank, Oscar Enriquez of Kaufman Rossin and James Stultz of Deloitte. Chapter leadership also discussed the chapter’s 2024 programming efforts, which include a mix of virtual and in-person learning events covering top and emerging AFC topics and trends. In-person events are being planned for May and September 2024. Members of the ACAMS Chapters team, David Jacobs, Freddy Suarez and Kevin Ceballos, as well as Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, editor-in-chief of ACAMS Today, also attended the awards dinner.

Sissy Oliver-Adams, CAMS, CGSS, associate director, Protiviti

Nick Schumann, CAMS, U.S. head of Financial Crime Framework, HSBC, USA,