Former FBI Agent Reveals How to Stop Crypto Criminals! | Meredith Fitzpatrick

Former FBI agent Meredith Fitzpatrick explains how investigators trace crypto, manage firm risks, and use AI and blockchain tools to fight fraud.

Key Takeaways

Combine on-chain tracing with off-chain OSINT, emails, and communications; use clustering heuristics to build attribution and clear narrative reports for prosecutions and compliance.
Treat crypto asset security like cybersecurity: prioritize critical tech and data, implement operational continuity and transaction friction, and prepare for mandated external audits.
Focus on social-engineering and investment fraud (pig-butchering): educate investors, require regulated custodians, and use due-diligence checklists to spot guaranteed high-return scams.
Recognize cash-out vectors: noncustodial wallets, OTC traders, and privacy coins complicate tracing—coordinate internationally and target off-chain touchpoints to recover funds.
Leverage specialist tools (Chainalysis, TRM, Elliptic) and AI for topology analysis and draft reports, but retain human experts for final legal judgments and complex decisions.
Balance privacy and enforcement: update AML/KYC frameworks as banks enter crypto, clarify agency roles (e.g., Clarity Act), and align international policy on mixers and privacy coins.