Bates Welcomes Our New Experts and Consultants

Ana Suárez

Chief Compliance Officer, BD and IA Compliance, AML and Risk, Policy & Procedures, Regulatory Filings

Ana Suárez is an Affiliate Expert with Bates Group based in Puerto Rico, with vast experience in Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisory Compliance. Before joining Bates, Mrs. Suárez was the Chief Compliance, Risk, and AML Officer for Santander’s Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisory Puerto Rico office for more than 25 years. She has additional experience in legal matters including prior testimony as a key witness in enforcement actions. Mrs. Suárez has served on Executive Committees for Grupo Santander Puerto Rico and supervised dual employees on its Private Banking Miami Office. At Santander, she was the Assistant Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisor. Mrs. Suárez also served as the Chief Compliance Officer for Oriental Financial Services, a subsidiary of Oriental Financial Group (OFG), where she established and supported compliance functions including policies and procedures, customer communication review, sales supervision, MSRB regulatory filings, Web CRD and FOCUS Reporting, and employee trading.

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Lorraine Lee

Former Regulator, Statutory Disqualification, FINRA Eligibility Proceedings

Lorraine Lee is an Affiliate Expert with Bates Group with over 30 years of securities industry experience. She began her career in 1987 at Drexel Burnham Lambert.  For nearly 20 years, Ms. Lee worked at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA” - formerly NASD), specifically in the area of statutory disqualification, and she participated in countless statutory disqualification matters impacting individuals and broker-dealers. During her tenure at FINRA, she managed the statutory disqualification program and served as its associate director. Statutory disqualification is an extremely broad and nuanced area of securities regulation, and due to her experience, knowledge and expertise, Ms. Lee has become recognized as a skilled and proficient subject matter expert in this area.

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Tanya Durkee Urbach

Former State Securities Commissioner, Ponzi Scheme, Securities Fraud, IA and BD Regulatory Compliance

Tanya D. Urbach is an Affiliate Expert with Bates Group who provides expert witness testimony on state and federal regulation of securities and on regulatory compliance and supervisory issues related to broker-dealers and investment advisers. As the former Deputy Commissioner of Securities for Vermont, Ms. Urbach prosecuted regulatory investigations into securities fraud. Prosecutions included internet-based securities fraud, identity theft and Ponzi schemes, broker-dealer and investment adviser misconduct, including point of sale violations, market timing in mutual funds and variable annuities, market manipulation, and abusive short-selling. While in private practice, Ms. Urbach represented broker-dealers, investment advisers, registered representatives, and other securities professionals in civil disputes and regulatory matters regarding violations of state and federal securities laws, violations of rules of regulatory and self-regulatory organizations, and financial fraud. She has also routinely provided compliance advice and counsel to broker-dealer and investment advisory firms. She has represented banks and credit unions in banking and trust litigation, including defending consumer claims under fair debt collection statutes, the Truth-in-Lending Act, Consumer Protection Act, breach of contract, and common law fraud. 

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Need a Consulting or Testifying Expert? Please visit our Expert Search to view our online roster of Bates experts and consultants or call us at 503-670-7772 to speak with a Bates representative directly.