Financial Analysis & Executive Reporting. QA Review, Data Integrity & Financial Crimes Expertise
JAMES LUCAS
Mercor
Richmond,TX
Work Preference
Desired Job Title
Financial Crimes & Anti-Money Laundering LeadCrypto & Blockchain Compliance / ForensicsFraud Investigation & Risk OperationsQuality Assurance (QA) & Compliance GovernanceAI Training & Compliance Subject Matter Expertise
Work Type
Full TimePart TimeContract WorkGig WorkConsultingVolunteerSeasonal Work
Location Preference
Remote
Important To Me
Career advancementWork-life balanceCompany CultureFlexible work hoursPersonal development programsHealthcare benefitsWork from home optionPaid time offTeam Building / Company RetreatsPaid sick leave401k matchStock Options / Equity / Profit Sharing4-day work week
Financial crimes and risk professional with 12+ years across banking, fintech, and crypto, and a B.Sc. in Economics. Specializes in analyzing complex financial data, including fund flows, transaction patterns, ownership structures, and source of funds, and translating the results into clear, accurate, decision-ready reporting for executives, auditors, and regulators. Experienced second-level QA reviewer who evaluates others' work for accuracy, data integrity, and readability and delivers structured, constructive feedback, with 18 consecutive audit cycles and zero compliance rejections on executive-reviewed narratives. Has presented thematic findings to leadership to drive policy changes, built SQL and Python reporting for stakeholders, and led a team as final escalation point. Currently trains and evaluates AI models on financial crimes compliance work at Mercor, working independently and asynchronously in a fully remote, deadline-driven environment. CAMS and CFE certified.
13
Years of experience
1
Certification
Work History
AI Trainer, Compliance
3 Months
Mercor | 08.2026 - Current
- Design realistic financial crimes compliance scenarios, including EDD reviews, SAR decisions, currency report corrections, and exception lifecycle reviews, used to train and evaluate advanced AI models.
- Write expert reference answers and structured grading guidelines that define exactly what an accurate, well-reasoned compliance determination must contain.
- Review and score AI-generated reports for accuracy, data integrity, regulatory soundness, and clarity, and write detailed failure analyses on the weakest outputs.
- Audit 50+ interlinked case documents and spreadsheets for consistency, catching and correcting data defects such as truncated datasets and conflicting entity names before release.
- Use batch performance data to refine task difficulty against a target threshold, and resolve automated quality-control findings with concise, evidence-based written responses.
- Remote
Senior Fraud Investigator (Consultant for USAA)
1 Year 6 Months
PwC - Pittsburgh, PA | 01.2025 - 07.2026
- Own end-to-end investigations into high-impact fraud cases, including debit and credit card fraud, ACH fraud, identity theft, synthetic identity, and account takeover, from initial alert through final disposition and loss-mitigation action.
- Work daily across Actimize, Verafin, CyberSource, and ThreatMetrix to detect, document, and resolve fraudulent activity, and lead chargeback investigation and dispute resolution through card network processes.
- Author risk assessment narratives and recovery documentation for owner and executive review, translating complex case data into clear, defensible conclusions and meeting governance requirements through 18 consecutive audit cycles with zero compliance rejections.
- Partner across legal, risk, and compliance functions to keep investigative dispositions defensible to internal audit, external audit, and regulators, and support law enforcement partners in the prosecution of criminal actors on high-risk cases.
AML Level II Tracer & QA Reviewer
3 Months
Madison-Davis - Pittsburgh, PA | 10.2024 - 01.2025
- Performed deep-dive thematic reviews to identify procedural gaps and systemic investigator errors, synthesizing the data into clear findings and presenting them to leadership to drive policy enhancements and reduce institutional risk.
- Conducted comprehensive Quality Control audits on high-complexity crypto-transaction monitoring cases, confirming consistent adherence to Coinbase's Internal Quality Rubric and global regulatory standards.
- Audited complex on-chain tracing investigations using Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic, verifying the accuracy of fund-flow analysis, attribution of illicit entities, and risk-based decision-making logic.
- Wrote SQL and Python scripts to automate the selection of high-risk QA samples and generate quality reporting that gave stakeholders a clear view of team performance and trends.
- Reviewed and edited analyst narratives and provided structured feedback, coaching, and office hours, improving SAR narrative clarity, readability, and first-time acceptance.
- Used SQL, OSINT, device fingerprinting, VPN/proxy detection, and behavioral analytics to detect fraud rings, synthetic identities, multi-account abuse, and transaction monitoring anomalies.
AML Analyst (Consultant for Barclays)
2 Years 7 Months
PwC - Houston, TX | 03.2022 - 10.2024
- Investigated transaction monitoring alerts related to wire transfers, correspondent banking, high-risk jurisdictions, complex ownership structures, and rapid fund movements.
- Conducted KYC and Enhanced Due Diligence on high-risk clients, including PEPs, offshore accounts, trusts, and layered corporate structures, to verify source of funds and beneficial ownership.
- Performed sanctions screening (OFAC, EU, UN) and escalated true matches or potential violations in accordance with BSA/AML, FATF, and FCA regulatory standards.
- Prepared comprehensive SARs that turned complex transaction data into clear narratives, patterns, timelines, and supporting rationale for regulatory submission.
- Identified indicators of financial crime such as structuring, unusual wire activity, inconsistent transaction behavior, and potential human trafficking or trade-based money laundering schemes.
Team Lead, AML Investigations
2 Years 1 Month
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange - Dallas, TX | 02.2020 - 03.2022
- Led and mentored a team of AML analysts, conducting weekly performance reviews and technical coaching.
- Managed the daily alert queue across blockchain analytics tools, ensuring SLAs were met without quality compromise.
- Served as final escalation point for complex investigations involving obfuscation techniques.
- Collaborated with Compliance Engineering to refine alert logic, reducing false positives by 19% while capturing high-risk activity.
- Conducted regular audits of filed SARs/STRs to ensure compliance with global regulatory standards.
- Monitored ecosystem shifts, including NFT money laundering and liquid staking derivative vulnerabilities, incorporating emerging typologies into team detection strategy.
Blockchain Transaction Monitoring Analyst
1 Year 8 Months
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange - Dallas, TX | 05.2018 - 01.2020
- Conducted continuous on-chain monitoring of BTC, ETH, LTC, and ERC-20 transactions using Chainalysis Reactor, TRM Labs, and Elliptic Navigator to detect potential money laundering, darknet activity, ransomware payouts, SIM swap fraud, and sanctioned wallet exposure.
- Identified layered transactions using mixing services and exchanges (Tornado Cash, Wasabi Wallet, ShapeShift, Changelly) and cross-chain bridges (BTC to ETH to XMR) to uncover obfuscation methods.
- Filed high-quality crypto SARs with FinCEN concerning darknet vendors, OFAC-sanctioned addresses, DeFi exploits, hacked exchange funds, and ransomware groups including LockBit and Conti.
- Executed Enhanced Due Diligence for high-net-worth OTC clients.
Enhanced Due Diligence Analyst
4 Years 2 Months
Truist Bank - San Francisco, CA | 01.2014 - 03.2018
- Conducted EDD reviews on high-risk clients including PEPs, foreign nationals, non-resident aliens, MSBs, and crypto-linked entities.
- Identified suspicious transaction patterns such as structuring, funnel accounts, shell entities, and trade-based money laundering, and prepared SARs filed with FinCEN.
- Reviewed high-volume transactional activity exceeding $100K monthly for potential money laundering or sanctions risk.
- Collaborated with OFAC, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and compliance officers to resolve escalated alerts and update customer risk ratings.
- Played a pivotal role in onboarding and refreshing high-risk corporate and personal accounts under the updated CDD Rule (2016 to 2018).
- Provided documentation support during internal audits, OCC examinations, and regulatory reviews.
Education
B.Sc. - Economics
Novena University
Skills
Blockchain Forensics & Typologies: Chainalysis Reactor
TRM Labs
Elliptic Navigator
Cross-Chain Tracing
Mixing Service Analysis
NFT and DeFi Risk
Financial Analysis & Reporting: Funds-Flow & Transaction Analysis
Source of Funds & Ownership Analysis
Certification
- CAMS, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist
- CFE, Certified Fraud Examiner
Timeline
AI Trainer, Compliance
Mercor
08.2026 - CurrentRead more
Senior Fraud Investigator (Consultant for USAA)
PwC
01.2025 - 07.2026Read more
AML Level II Tracer & QA Reviewer
Madison-Davis
10.2024 - 01.2025Read more
AML Analyst (Consultant for Barclays)
PwC
03.2022 - 10.2024Read more
Team Lead, AML Investigations
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange
02.2020 - 03.2022Read more
Blockchain Transaction Monitoring Analyst
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange
05.2018 - 01.2020Read more
Enhanced Due Diligence Analyst
Truist Bank
01.2014 - 03.2018Read more
Novena University - B.Sc., Economics
Read more