Forensic Accountant Bankruptcy Expert Witness

Summary of Background:
C.P.A., M.B.A. and principal of expert forensic accounting business – civil case exposure includes fraud, breach of contract, negligence, intellectual property, wrongful termination or death, and personal injury/accident, within diverse sectors such as restaurant, trucking, retail, banking, insurance and real estate. Case experience also includes partnership, estate, trust, family law and malpractice disputes. Review and analysis of financial records, pleadings, deposition testimony, discovery responses, and other evidence to estimate economic damages, lost profits, lost earnings; preparation of accountings and discovery demands where needed; preparation of expert reports and rebuttals of opposing experts; provision of expert testimony as needed.

SAMPLE CASE EXPERIENCE:

Real Estate (Partnership / Property Management / Title / Mold / Insurance Claims):

• For Defendant (co-investor in a large residential owner/builder joint venture) versus co-investor and project manager, prepared complex accounting/ tracing of real estate project cash flows (civil challenge to project manager’s expenditures). Prepared expert report and testified as expert at Deposition re: accounting and other counter-claimed damages – Case settled during trial
• For Plaintiff (minority partner/ owner of commercial office building) versus majority partner/co-owner and property manager, estimated cash outflows from partnership due to speculative securities investments and assessed propriety of financial reporting by property manager. Prepared written expert Declarations for Court and testified as expert re: damages at Deposition – Case settled
• For Plaintiff (former CEO/owner of a jewelry retail business and real estate investment and management corporation) vs. commercial landlord, calculated lost earnings and lost business profits resulting from mold related injuries suffered by business owners (uncorrected water damage and mold) – Prepared export report and testified as expert at Deposition – Case settled at jury selection phase of trial
• For Defendant (general contractor/partner & project manager) versus other partners, prepared complex accounting/tracing of real estate project cash flows (dispute re multiple properties developed with funds from foreign investors) – Case settled
• For Plaintiff (commercial broker/partner), versus developer/co-partner, estimated damages (unfair dealings and lost profits on partnership interests in commercial land acquisition/development deals) – Case settled
• For Expert for Defendant (property manager) versus Home Owners Association (HOA), estimated Damages (breach of accounting duties and conversion of records) – Per expert, case settled
• For Defendant (owner of residential property accused of fraudulently obtaining title) versus former owner of same property, prepared detailed tracing/accounting of property cash flows (breach of oral agreement, fraud and quiet title case) – Two separate similar cases – for first case, prepared expert report – case settled; for second case, prepared expert report and testified as expert at Deposition – case ruled on at trial (per attorney, defendant prevailed)
• For Plaintiff (store-front Church Pastor) versus commercial landlord, estimated Damages and Lost Earnings (loss of congregation due to uncorrected water damage and mold) – Prepared expert report – Case settled
• For major Insurer (national casualty underwriter) versus Claimant, interfaced between claimant/attorney and insurer to limit payout (unsupported claim re: lost income on vacation rental property damaged by water intrusion) – Claim assumed paid with reductions

Estate / Trust:

• For Plaintiff (beneficiary with interest in an estate related trust) versus Trustee, prepared comprehensive economic forecast of lost investment value of trust assets (dispute re assets mismanaged and/or misappropriated for up to 25 years by Trustee following settlement of an estate). Two separate similar cases, both settled.
• For Defendant (trustee of a valuable estate related trust), performed complex accounting of foreign and domestic asset cash flows (estate challenge to trustee’s distributions) – Findings filed with Court
• For Surviving spouse (of deceased partner) versus surviving partners of a restaurant partnership, due diligence review of restaurant operations and cash flows to assist attorney in securing partnership profit sharing agreement (buyout dispute in absence of key-person life insurance) – Case settled
• For Plaintiff (patient hospitalized under Section 5150), traced and analyzed cash flows within Plaintiff’s securities portfolio, determined losses suffered during period of sibling acting under POA – Prepared expert report

Malpractice / Class Action / Employment:

• For Plaintiff (home builder/real estate investor), versus law firm, calculated losses relating to two underlying cases (lost wages case and insurance bad faith case) within a present malpractice case. Damages included lost earnings as well as lost homebuilding profits and rents due to adverse default judgments on the underlying cases which resulted in a bankruptcy and loss of real estate assets – Case dismissed shortly before trial based on a filing date issue (appeal pending)
• For Expert for law firm on a class-action case, assisted expert and attorneys in compiling lost wages for over 120 victims seeking restitution (closure of offshore oil production facility due to an explosion – criminal matter)
• For Plaintiffs (12 employees of a high-profile restaurant in Los Angeles), assisted attorney in preparing preliminary estimate of lost wages/earnings resulting from unpaid tips, unpaid PTO and unpaid Covid-testing hours, and calculating penalties for various other labor code violations. Further assisted at Mediation. Case settled
• For Expert for Defendant (government housing agency) versus terminated employee/attorney, analysis of Deposition testimony/other evidence to limit Damages/Lost Earnings (whistle-blower/fraud related case) – Per expert, jury found for plaintiff yet awarded a significantly reduced damage amount

Valuation / Due Diligence / Loan or Lender:

• For Defendant (majority shareholder & CEO of bankrupt former sub-prime lender) vs. minority shareholder, analysis to rebut opposing expert’s valuation report (dispute re: value of business operations sold prior to bankruptcy) – Testified as expert at Deposition – Case ruled in favor of defendant on Summary Judgment – subsequent related bankruptcy case ruled in favor of defendant
• For Attorney – Due diligence of target legal/technology subsidiary of insolvent pubic parent company, for attorney’s successful business acquisition of same subsidiary
• For Plaintiff (attorney representing self in Pro Per in a dispute with business partner), determined principal, interest and late fee damages arising from partner’s default on a loan, and prepared written expert Declaration for Court – Case settled

Personal Injury / Wrongful Death

• For Plaintiff (Owner-Operator Trucker, victim of long-haul trucking accident), lost profits analysis and assistance at Mediation with insurer (personal injury) – Two separate trucker cases, prepared expert reports, both cases settled
• For Plaintiff (actress/impersonator) versus national beverage manufacturer, estimated Lost Earnings (damage to vocal cords and career, product defect injury) – Testified as expert at Deposition – Case settled
• For Plaintiff (electrician, victim of drunk driving accident), estimated Lost Earnings (loss of career as electrician requiring change of vocation) – Prepared expert report and testified as expert at Deposition – Case Settled
• For Plaintiff – (estate) versus large RX chain and medical providers, prepared preliminary determination of damages suffered by estate due to RX drug-related wrongful death, including lost earnings of deceased and surviving spouse – Prepared expert report – Case settled

Family Law:

• Served as forensic accountant and trial assistant to Respondent (husband) on a complex family law matter. Client had ownership interests in a multi-million-dollar international/Russian dating website and numerous other properties. Client was in Pro Per at trial and without an earlier designated expert; assisted client in-house and during trial in successfully asserting and/or rebutting at least $1.3 million in reimbursement claims.
• For Respondent (husband) – traced and analyzed cash flows of a jointly held window and door business to determine cash available for support, identified misrepresentations on spouse’s Income/Expense Declarations, and prepared written expert Declaration for Court
• For Respondent (wife) – traced and analyzed securities records to determine marital cash outflows resulting from spouse’s on-line securities trading business
• For Defendant/Respondent (in a billing dispute with the retained CPA/expert), reviewed CPA/expert’s report, findings and related billings, consulted with attorney prior to arbitration re factors (in support of and against) both Plaintiff (CPA/expert) and Defendant – Case ruled on in arbitration

Intellectual Property / Anti-trust:

• For Expert for Defendant (prominent foreign beverage manufacturer and its U.S. distributor) versus international competitor, assisted in rebuttal of opposing expert report, including reasonable royalty rebuttal (trade dress infringement case) – Per expert, Court found trademark was infringed but awarded no monetary damages
• For Expert for Plaintiffs (10 independent service operators) versus national energy systems manufacturer, assistance in preparation of expert report (anti-competitive lock-out software) – Per expert, Case settled

Credentials/Education:

• CPA – California
  MBA, UC Berkeley, Finance/Economics (1985), BS, UC Berkeley, Bus. Admin. (1981)
  Life-Only, Accident & Health, Resident Insurance, California
• Corporate Employment History: Served as VP/CFO and board member of an independent bank and as Treasurer and board member of a nonprofit institution, and held several finance, accounting and management advisory positions within large corporations and consulting firms.
• Real Estate Experience: Landlord/Owner of residential rental property, with property management and large-scale renovation experience

Second Languages:
Conversational in Spanish