Disguised Financial Crimes

Answer:

FAKE COIN

Written by Thea Miller-Priddy and Eno Thomson-Tribe.

After untangling each of the knots and identifying them with the Rolfsen Knot Table and identifying the scientific names of the species, solvers can index the first number of the Rolfsen code into the genus of the lizard and the second number into the species:

LizardRolfsen CodeFirst letterSecond letter
Furcifer Angeli61FA
Holbrookia Lacerata84KE
Eurycea Longicauda52CO
Elgaria Kinglii63IN

Reading the first letters and second letters in the given order yields our answer, FAKE COIN.