Securities Litigation Consultants: 8

Craig A. Wolson acts as a Structured Finance and Derivatives Expert Witness and Consultant. He specializes in cases involving credit default swaps (CDS), collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and other types of derivatives and securities.

Background Experience Includes: Acting on behalf of 40,000 investors in $1.6 billion class action suit against bankrupt sponsor of special purpose issuer of notes secured by notes issued by CDO and credit default swaps with sponsor; acting on behalf of class led by two major pension funds against a major bank and numerous large underwriters involving mortgage-backed securities issued by several vehices established by the bank, and securities issued by the bank; acting on behalf of large investment bank defendant in arbitration proceeding brought by another large investment bank involving nine CDOS established by defendant; acting on behalf of large bank that had invested in now-worthless notes issued by SIV established by defendant banks; acting on behalf of large bank against another large bank that had sold the former CDOs and CDS.

Areas of Expertise:

• Securitizations
• Derivatives
• Securities Law and Corporate Finance
• Loans and Credit Facilities
• Due Diligence

During his four decades as a financial problem solver, Ted Phelps has built a reputation for integrity, diligence, and leadership.

Phelps is skilled in the fields of insolvency, reorganization, and restructuring. As a court-appointed fiduciary, he has completed dozens of business receiverships, many of which involved fraud and shareholder oppression issues.

A forensic accountant and testifying expert in the areas of Fraud, Business Valuation, and Economic Damages, Phelps excels in following the money – no matter where the trail leads.

Although it is a necessity in many litigated matters, forensic accounting can be time-consuming and expensive. Experience and sound judgment matter. “I separate gossip from fact,” Phelps says of his work. “I listen to the parties, and I strain out the extraneous and irrelevant. In the end, I come up with a road map showing the detours that led to the problems and the route to their solutions.”

As the founder and president of FVLS Consultancy, Phelps developed and taught a forensic accounting course at California State University, Los Angeles. He currently teaches classes in Accounting and Fraud Investigation at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash.

Phelps earned his M.B.A. from Whitworth University and his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. He also studied Engineering at the United States Naval Academy. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

In addition to founding and leading his own company, Phelps has held leadership positions with several publicly traded and privately held companies, including as Director of Corporate Reorganization at Price Waterhouse. Phelps serves on the board of Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Santa Clarita, Calif., and he is a life member of MENSA and the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association.

View Theodore Phelps' Expert Witness Profile.

DMA Economics, LLC is a world class provider of Valuation Analyses in high-stakes litigation. Their clients include billion-dollar investment funds under SEC investigation as well multi-national firms involved in intellectual property disputes, consumers in product mislabeling cases, and small to mid-sized businesses involved in complex commercial litigation. 

DMA Economics has performed valuations for cases involving Theft of Trade Secrets, Securities Fraud, Product Mislabeling and Consumer Fraud, and Lost Profits and Enterprise Value to name a few. DMA Economics also has extensive experience in the valuation of business interests for non-litigation matters. These include but are not limited to valuations of non-public business interests, for acquisition and regulatory purposes.

 Donald M. May PhD, CPA, Managing Partner at DMA Economics, LLC, possesses over 30 years of Valuation and Economic Damages experience. He implements a broad range of damage analyses and valuations for clients including billion dollar investment funds under SEC investigation as well as smaller businesses concerned with the impact of potential litigation and strategies to reduce potential liability. 

Background Experience - Prior to founding DMA Economics LLC, Dr. May was Managing Director at Berkley Research Group and the Principal in charge of valuation and litigation support services for a regional accounting firm, a Managing Director for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Sloan School of Management. He has performed over 200 valuations of closely held businesses across numerous industries for financial reporting and estate planning. Dr. May has been published in several distinguished academic and practitioner journals such as The Journal of Finance, The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Hedge Fund Law Review, and is currently an editorial board member of The Journal of Business Valuation and Economic Loss Analysis.

View Donald May's Expert Witness Profile.

Convergent Capital Appraisers (CCA), is a full-service Business Valuation firm located in Houston, Texas, CCA specializes in providing its clients appraisals of closely-held operating businesses, family investment entities, and a variety of other financial assets. With clients and businesses located throughout the State of Texas, CCA also works frequently with clients and their advisors from across the United States to international locations, including Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Peru, and Poland.

All valuation engagements undertaken by Convergent Capital Appraisers consider the various elements of appraisal theory developed by The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and are performed under the ASA's Principles of Appraisal Practice and Code of Ethics, as well as the Statements on Standards for Valuation Services No. 1 issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In the preparation of their valuation reports, CCA also conforms to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice "USPAP" as developed by The Appraisal Foundation.

Consulting Services:

• Federal Estate, Gift, and Income Tax Appraisals
• Business Transaction Consulting
• Divorce and Ownership Disputes
• Financial Asset Valuation and Consulting
• ESOP Valuation

Principal, Scott S. Miller, MBA, ASA, ABV, specializes in Business Valuation and Transaction Consulting for small to middle market companies. He has over 35 years of professional business experience that ranges from senior operations management with publicly-traded companies to handling all aspects of operations in small privately-held manufacturing and service businesses.

Along with an MBA from the University of Houston, Mr. Miller achieved the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation from the American Society of Appraisers, the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) certification from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has over 15 years of business / financial asset valuation and consulting experience. 

View Scott S. Miller's Expert Witness Profile.

CMC Advisors Inc. (CMC) provides expert Insurance Consulting and offers clients the upper hand in managing their assets and liabilities. They assist clients in managing investment portfolios by helping to determine if current Financial Retirement plans such as IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, 401(K), Keogh Plans, Pensions and Profit Sharing Plans are meeting retirement goals.

Consulting Areas:

Annuities Life Insurance Term Insurance Single Premium Variable Insurance

Retirement Disability Insurance Consultant Expert Witness Services

Wayne Citron has 45 years of experience as an expert in Forensic Reconstruction of Insurance Transactions. He is an insurance expert and consultant.

Mr. Citron established the Citron Agency and CMC Advisors Inc. in 1972, where his duties included executive and managerial responsibilities, sales, service, compliance with all insurance matters as well as securities laws and regulations. Both firms are leaders in life, health, disability and property and casualty insurance.

Mr. Citron has served as an instructor for Prudential Insurance Company Brooklyn Agency (1973) educating personnel in general insurance matters, underwriting, and insurance law. He has worked with companies including Prudential Insurance Company, United States Life Insurance Company, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, American General Life Insurance Company, William Penn Life Insurance Company, American Life Insurance Company, Chubb Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, Mass Mutual Insurance Company, John Hancock Insurance Company, and American International Group (AIG), among other.

Mr. Citron recently volunteered for Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG) to reopen Super Storm Sandy flood claims and examine National Flood Insurance Policies, as well as deal with FEMA in these matters (2015 & 2016).

View Wayne Citron's Expert Witness Profile.

Bedford and Main Financial Consulting provides services primarily catering to the Broker-Dealer and Registered Investment Advisor communities. Founded in 2012, our fundamental areas of expertise are: Operations, Compliance, and Management. Our core services focus on traditional consulting projects, anti-money laundering (AML) testing and compliance, and expert witness litigation and testimony.

Bedford and Main is listed in the FINRA Compliance Vendor Directory

We enjoy supporting broker-dealers of all shapes and sizes. Our client list includes introducing brokers, correspondent clearing brokers, clearing firms. prop trading firms, Fintech brokers and new broker-dealer start-ups. Our testimonial page speaks for itself: www.BedfordandMain.com/testimonials.

Operations and Compliance Expertise: Our experience is both deeply rooted, yet freshly relevant. With 40 years of hands-on senior experience, our management has been actively building, growing and restructuring broker-dealers. While based in the metropolitan Philadelphia area, Bedford and Main's client base is global. Our “bread and butter” Operations expertise focuses on conversions and project management. While on the Compliance side, we specialize in areas related to Supervision, Anti-Money Laundering, and Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) settlements.

Bedford and Main is a supporter of SIFMA and the Financial Services Institute.

Consulting Specialties Include:

• Conversion Specialist – systems, staffing, back-office, firm mergers
• Strategic Project Management
• Clearing Firms and Securities Processing Platforms
• FINRA Compliance Issues, specializing in:
  • Supervision Issues
  • Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
  • Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC)
• Anti-Money Laundering Independent Annual Tests (FINRA 3310)
• Contract Negotiations
• Broker-dealer Start-ups – FINRA New Membership Application Process (NMA)
• Selling “Shell” Firms and other Mergers & Acquisitions Activity

Our clients appreciate how valuable it is to work with a consultant who has held Series 3, 7, 24, 27 and 63 licenses, and is a FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS). Moreover, the insights we provide resulting from our securities expert witness engagements often prove invaluable.

View John Foster's Expert Witness Profile.

Barrington Capital Management, Inc. provides customized financial solutions for unique financial challenges and objectives. Their expertise is in the development, implementation and ongoing management of a customized and diversified investment strategy. Barrington's mission is to assist in building, enhancing, and protecting personal wealth and maintaining financial security. 

President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Lawson, has over 35 years of financial services experience as an Investment Advisory and Insurance Agency Executive, Securities Principal, and Options Principal. Bob proudly serves as an industry arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the National Futures Association (NFA), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), ERISA (3)-21 Fiduciary, Master Registered Financial Consultant, and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary. In addition to teaching advanced investment strategies and Retirement Planning classes throughout the year. 

Bob Lawson has special expertise in stock options and has presented the following Options Industry Council (OIC) seminars to retail and industry professionals throughout the United States:

Options Basics Options Intermediate Advanced Options

Covered Calls Options Spreads Option Volatility

View Bob Lawson's Expert Witness Profile.

  

William H. Purcell has over 40 years of experience in Investment Banking, Mergers and Acquisitions, and other Finance Issues. He is currently a Senior Director at Seale & Associates, a boutique investment bank with both U.S. and foreign clients. Seale is focused on Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Finance Advisory, and Strategy Consulting.

Mr. Purcell's past client coverage includes such companies as Anheuser-Busch, Hoechst Celanese, Volkswagen, and Metropolitan Life to name a few. He was also appointed CEO of a publicly-traded company going through bankruptcy proceedings. Additionally, Mr. Purcell has been a director on several corporate boards. Through his relationship with Seale & Associates, Mr. Purcell has affiliations with professors at The George Washington University Business School and the University of Virginia Business School. He has been an occasional guest lecturer in investment banking and finance at George Washington University and Monmouth University.

Consulting Services Include

• Mergers and Acquisitions - LBOS and Recapitalizations
• Fairness Opinions
• Adequacy Opinions
• Solvency Opinions
• Valuations
• Damage Issues
• Fiduciary Issues
• Advice to Special Committees of Boards and Trustees
• Due Diligence and Disclosure Issues
• Financing of debt and Equity - Public and Private
• Leasing and Real Estate Financing

View Expert Witness Profile.