Meredith
Fitzpatrick
Partner and Head of Cryptocurrency
Meredith Fitzpatrick is a leading subject matter expert in cryptocurrency and helps clients navigate complex crypto investigation and AML compliance needs. She is a former FBI Special Agent with deep experience investigating cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering, market abuse, and financially motivated and nation-state enabled computer intrusion incidents, and was an early member of the FBI's elite Virtual Currency Response Team.
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Meredith has extensive experience working complex, multinational investigations, as well as liaising with cryptocurrency and FinTech platforms to provide AML and cybersecurity guidance. During her time in the FBI, she successfully investigated matters involving darknet marketplaces, non-compliant cryptocurrency exchanges, on-chain money laundering typologies, investment schemes, hacked or stolen funds, state-sponsored computer intrusions, and use of cryptocurrency by Russian intelligence agencies and North Korea. As a member of the FBI’s Virtual Currency Response Team, she provided subject matter expertise for the FBI’s largest cryptocurrency money laundering cases and hands-on tracing training to FBI agents, prosecutors, and law enforcement partners.
She holds multiple certifications for blockchain analysis tools including Chainalysis Reactor Certification (CRC), Chainalysis Ethereum Investigations Certification (CEIC), TRM Crypto Fundamentals Certification (TRM-CFC), TRM Certified Investigator (TRM-CI), TRM Advanced Crypto Investigator (TRM-ACI), and TRM Crypto Compliance Specialist (TRM-CSS).
At FRA, Meredith uses her investigative experience and deep ties in the crypto and blockchain intelligence industries to support organizations resolving issues associated with cryptocurrency and emerging financial technology. See Selected Matters for further details.
- Cryptocurrency Exchange: Currently supporting a multi-year US compliance monitorship of a global cryptocurrency exchange, leading the transaction monitoring, market surveillance, and internal investigations efforts.
- Cryptocurrency Liquidation Support: Supported the court-appointed liquidators of a bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, which included conducting a forensic lookback to identify suspicious fund flows indicating insider knowledge and transactions indicating indicia of comingling of business and customer funds.
- Cryptocurrency Market Manipulation Investigation: Supported the analysis and investigation into the potential pump-and-dump of a cryptocurrency token, including an in-depth review and comparison of market making agreements and on-chain tracing of outflows associated with those agreements and exchange listing agreements to identify discrepancies.
- Crypto Investment Scam: Served as the cryptocurrency tracing expert in a "pig butchering" scam investigation, conducting blockchain analysis to assess the financial profile and behavior patterns of the individuals and companies involved.
- Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Assessment: Served as blockchain analytics expert in an investigation of a cryptocurrency platform accused of money laundering and obfuscating the transfer of crypto assets in order to avoid seizure.
- Wash Trading Assessment: Assisted counsel of the co-founder of an altcoin to assess the veracity of allegations that the founders engaged in wash trading to inflate the amount of fees generated on the coin’s blockchain.
- Crypto Gambling Investigation: Served as the asset tracing expert for a cryptocurrency gambling platform involved in a dispute with one of its customers.
Biography
Meredith Fitzpatrick is a leading subject matter expert in cryptocurrency and helps clients navigate complex crypto investigation and AML compliance needs. She is a former FBI Special Agent with deep experience investigating cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering, market abuse, and financially motivated and nation-state enabled computer intrusion incidents, and was an early member of the FBI's elite Virtual Currency Response Team.
Awards & Recognition
