Who we are

Michael Burns is the founder of Sentinel Financial Crime Consultants, LLC, an investigative firm specializing in financial crime investigations, anti-money laundering (AML), litigation consulting, and cyber-fraud detection and prevention.

With over 27 years of experience, Michael is a skilled financial crime investigator.  His decades of experience as a Special Agent with the United States Department of Treasury encompasses a wide range of financial crimes, including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering regulations, credit card fraud, tax evasion, bank fraud, Ponzi schemes, elder fraud, public corruption, identity theft, healthcare fraud, payroll fraud, fraud against the government, COVID-19-related fraud, securities fraud, real estate fraud, and cyber crimes.  

During the financial crisis of 2008, Michael served as a member of the Los Angeles Field Office, where he was at the forefront of the mortgage meltdown.  He witnessed firsthand the predatory lending practices and fraud that precipitated the collapse of the U.S. housing market.  As an IRS-CI Mortgage Fraud Coordinator assigned to an FBI Joint Mortgage Fraud Task Force, Michael collaborated with numerous federal, state, and local agencies to conduct extensive and sophisticated financial and fraud investigations.

Michael’s specialized expertise in the domains of bank fraud, real estate, and real estate-related fraud rendered him a key member of IRS-CI’s Money Laundering Expert Witness team.  In this capacity, he provided expert testimony, authored opinions, and offered instructional guidance and advisory services.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy from San Diego State University.  He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), an internationally recognized organization in the fields of banking, compliance, risk management, and anti-money laundering.