Anti-Money Laundering & Financial Crimes.
Experienced AML/BSA investigations, financial-crimes analysis, transaction monitoring, SAR review, and investigative quality assurance across banking and broker-dealer environments.
AML Experience Built on Legal & Financial Knowledge.
Leslee A. Byron is a Florida attorney and experienced AML and financial-crimes professional with more than 20 years of combined legal and financial-services experience.
Her background spans banking, broker-dealer operations, securities, regulatory compliance, and internal investigations. She has conducted and reviewed complex AML investigations, analyzed transaction-monitoring alerts, evaluated customer and account activity, and prepared clear, fact-supported investigative conclusions and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) narratives.
AREAS OF EXPERIENCE
AML & Financial Crimes Experience.
Leslee’s experience spans the full lifecycle of AML and financial-crimes investigations, from initial transaction monitoring and customer due diligence through investigative analysis, SAR reporting, and quality assurance.
AML INVESTIGATIONS
Thorough. Clear. Defensible.
Leslee approaches AML investigations with one practical standard: another investigator, quality reviewer, auditor, or regulator should be able to understand what occurred, what was reviewed, and why the conclusion is supported.
Her investigative experience spans banking and brokerage activity and includes the review of customer information, transaction patterns, financial-crime risk indicators, law-enforcement matters, and potential SAR filings.
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Review transaction-monitoring alerts and identify the activity, behavior, or pattern that triggered further investigation.
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Evaluate customer profiles, expected activity, account relationships, KYC information, Customer Due Diligence (CDD), and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD).
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Analyze transaction patterns, counterparties, sources and uses of funds, account relationships, and other relevant activity to identify potential financial-crime risk.
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Conduct adverse-media and public-record research and evaluate indicators associated with money laundering, fraud, organized crime, narcotics activity, human trafficking, human smuggling, and other financial crimes.
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Determine whether activity should be closed, escalated, or considered for SAR filing and prepare concise, fact-supported investigative documentation and SAR narratives.
Quality Assurance & Investigator Support.
In addition to conducting AML investigations, Leslee has performed second-level reviews of broker-dealer AML cases and provided investigators with practical quality-assurance feedback.
Her reviews focus on whether the investigation adequately addresses the alert, relevant customer and transactional activity has been evaluated, identified red flags have been appropriately analyzed, and the final disposition is supported by the evidence.
She also evaluates whether SAR narratives clearly explain who, what, when, where, why, and how, and whether case documentation is complete, consistent, and capable of withstanding further review.
Her feedback style is direct but approachable, with an emphasis on strengthening investigator judgment, improving written analysis, and reducing preventable revisions.
FINANCIAL-SERVICES BACKGROUND
Legal, Banking & Securities Experience.
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BANKING & BROKERAGE
At Bank of America and Merrill, Leslee conducted AML investigations across banking and brokerage activity using Mantas alerts and other investigative resources. Her work included transaction analysis, KYC and EDD review, SAR-related decision-making and writing, law-enforcement matters, and second-level quality reviews.
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REGULATORY INVESTIGATIONS
As an Attorney Investigator with Wells Fargo, Leslee supported regulatory-remediation investigations involving Wells Fargo Advisors, conducted interviews, reviewed records and account activity, and prepared investigative findings and SARs.
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SECURITIES & COMPLIANCE
Her additional experience includes portfolio trade surveillance at Deutsche Bank/DWS, institutional contract negotiation at BNY Mellon, and earlier work as a trader and compliance liaison at JPMorgan Chase. Leslee is also a former FINRA Series 7 registered representative.
Frequently Asked Questions.
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Leslee's experience includes AML/BSA investigations, transaction monitoring, banking and broker-dealer activity, SAR writing and review, KYC, CDD, EDD, financial-crime research, quality assurance, regulatory remediation, and internal investigations.
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Yes. Leslee has conducted and reviewed AML investigations involving brokerage activity and has performed second-level quality reviews of broker-dealer AML cases.
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Yes. Her experience includes SAR-related decision-making, preparation of fact-supported Suspicious Activity Report narratives, and review of investigative documentation.
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Yes. Her AML work has included reviewing customer profiles, expected activity, KYC information, Customer Due Diligence, and Enhanced Due Diligence as part of financial-crime investigations.
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Her investigative work has included indicators associated with money laundering, fraud, organized crime, narcotics activity, human trafficking, human smuggling, and other potentially suspicious financial activity.
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Yes. Leslee has performed second-level AML case reviews and provided investigators with feedback regarding investigative scope, red-flag analysis, dispositions, SAR narratives, and documentation quality.
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Yes. Her experience includes matters involving law-enforcement requests as well as FinCEN Section 314(a) and 314(b).
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Leslee completed ACAMS Anti-Financial Crime training in 2026 and previously completed iCapital AI Insight AML coursework covering suspicious-activity surveillance, broker-dealer compliance, foreign customers, KYC, CDD, EDD, transaction monitoring, and financial-crime typologies.
PROFESSIONAL INQUIRIES
Discuss an AML Opportunity.
Leslee is available to discuss appropriate AML, BSA, financial-crimes, investigative, quality-assurance, and compliance opportunities where her legal background, financial-services experience, and investigative knowledge can provide meaningful support to organizations and teams.