Overview
Liz Boison is a partner and member of Chapman's Compliance, Regulatory and Payments Group. She advises state and national banks and credit unions, financial technology companies, investment companies, and other financial institutions on compliance, examination, and enforcement matters. A former federal prosecutor, bank regulatory enforcement attorney, and senior counselor, Liz leverages her financial regulatory counseling and litigation experience to help clients prevent and resolve criminal and civil anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, and consumer protection matters.
Liz guides financial institutions, boards, and individual executives through confidential bank regulator interactions, exams, enforcement matters, and remediation involving the OCC, NCUA, FDIC, NYDFS, and Federal Reserve Board, including referrals to DOJ. She prepares bank and non-bank institutions, fintechs, and Web3 companies for M&A transactions, audits, and market monitoring/rulemaking activity. She counsels fintech companies at the beginning stages of compliance program development and throughout the full product life cycle, advising along the way on marketing and consumer protection strategies and bank partnerships. In the cryptocurrency space, she advises on US licensing and regulatory questions related to digital wallets and digital identity.
Working in the United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) Criminal Division, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), at a US Attorney’s Office, and as part of the DOJ’s specialized digital assets and cryptocurrency enforcement team, Liz led investigations and court proceedings relating to international money laundering, sanctions, consumer protection, and bribery, including matters under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and various criminal fraud statutes. She has handled global resolutions among federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the United States Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as well as foreign regulators and state attorneys general.
Prior to the DOJ, Liz served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Director and Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As one of the earliest members of the CFPB's Office of Enforcement, Liz led some of the agency's first litigation in US district court. Prior to the CFPB, Liz managed a national bank's online banking products, and ran strategic partnerships at a fintech startup.
Practice Focus
- Banking and Financial Services
- Commercial Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Compliance, Regulatory and Payments
- Consumer Finance Litigation
- Consumer Financial Services
- Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, and Blockchain
- Financial Institution Regulation
- Fintech and Marketplace Lending
- Payment Products and Systems
Memberships
Digital Asset Law Committee, American University Washington College of Law
Admitted
District of Columbia
New York
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Education
American University Washington College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2005
Georgetown University, B.A., cum laude, 1998
Insights
Publications
- Comment Letter to the US Department of the Treasury (FinCEN/OFAC) on behalf of The Digital Chamber, "Response to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuer Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Program and Sanctions Compliance Program Requirements," June 9, 2026
- Comment Letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of The Digital Chamber, "Request for Information Regarding National Securities Exchanges and Alternative Trading Systems Trading Crypto Assets," April 17, 2026
- Comment Letter to the US Department of the Treasury in Collaboration with The Digital Chamber, "GENIUS Act Implementation Comments - ANPRM," November 4, 2025
- Comment Letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of The Digital Chamber, "Comments to SR-NASDAQ-2025-072," October 14, 2025
- "NYDFS Extends Blockchain Tracing Guidance to Banks," Client Alert, September 23, 2025
- Comment Letter to the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, "Senate Banking Committee Digital Asset Market Structure Request for Information," August 5, 2025
- "Mid-Summer Developments in Crypto Legislation and Regulatory Guidance," Client Alert, July 23, 2025
- "Bank Prudential Regulators Now in Alignment After Federal Reserve Rescission of Past Crypto-Related Guidance," Client Alert, May 8, 2025
- "SEC Staff Issues Statement that Stablecoins are Not Securities," Client Alert, April 15, 2025
- Contributor, "The Regulation of Marketplace Lending: A Digest of the Principal Issues," Chapman and Cutler LLP, 2025
- "Money Moves: Following the Money Beyond the Banking System," The Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice, Vol. 67, No. 3, 2019
Presentations
- Co-Chair, Practising Law Institute, Annual AML and Sanctions Program (2022–present)
- Forum Member, Cambridge Forum on Sanctions & AML Compliance (2022–2026)
- Panel Chair, "The Next Wave of Financial Products and Their AML/CFT Implications" and "Whether and How to Focus Your Program in a De-Regulatory Environment," Practising Law Institute's Anti-Money Laundering 2026, May 13, 2026
- Panelist, "Digital Assets Disputes," ACAMS US Capital Chapter April 2026 Digital Assets Forum, April 30, 2026
- Co-Presenter, "Bankruptcy Remoteness of Custodied Assets – An Updated Primer for the Digital Age," Practising Law Institute Briefing, April 29, 2026
- Moderator, "Current and Potential Changes in Policy, Regulation, and Enforcement," American University Washington College of Law Digital Assets Conference, March 31, 2026
- Panelist, "CLARITY Act & Regulatory Framework," FO256 Digital Assets Summit for Family Offices, March 30, 2026
- Moderator, "Building Institutional Trust at the Intersection of Crypto and TradFi," DC Blockchain Summit, March 17, 2026
- Panelist, "Digital Assets Disputes - How We Got Here and Where Are We Going?," Women in Housing and Finance Luncheon, March 3, 2026
- Presenter, "Choosing Your License: Federal, State, or Bank Sub – Supervision, Preemption, and Timing," ACI's Payments Stablecoins: Law, Licensing & Compliance Forum, January 30, 2026
- Panelist, "From Pilot to Priority: The Reality of Tokenization," The Chicago Bar Association's Futures & Derivatives Committee Meeting, December 17, 2025
- Co-Presenter, "Digital Assets Update: GENIUS Act, CLARITY Act, RWA Tokenization," Structured Finance Association Technology & Innovation Committee Meeting, July 23, 2025, and Legal Counsel Committee Meeting, September 29, 2025
- Presenter, "Crypto Crime Crisis – Can You Stop the Launderers?" 24th Annual Canadian Forum on Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime, June 25, 2025