Business Budget / Fiscal / Financial Analysis Expert Witnesses: 10

David Sinai is the President of the Petroleum & C-Store Management Group®, a division of Grand Classic Oil with the corporate office located in Century City, CA. His company Manages and Operates Gas Stations, Convenience Stores, and Car Washes throughout the United States. Mr. Sinai's clients include banks, private owners, dealers, private investors, oil companies, and attorneys. He actively manages a ground team that works seamlessly with clients to enable a smooth take-over of facilities. On average, his team manages and operates over 200 locations monthly. The facilities managed exceed over 5,760,000,000 gallons of gasoline / diesel products and over $2,936,000,000 of convenience store products. Mr. Sinai and his team have provided expert witness testimonial services in all 50 states, in State and Federal Courts, for clients on litigation and/or eviction cases such as:

• Lender and Borrower Disputes
• Oil Company and Operator Disputes
• Oil Company and Related Supply Contract Disputes
• Partnership Income and Expenses Disputes
• Environmental Matters
• Underground UST System Matters
• Site Assessments
• Valuation and Recovery
• Phase I and Phase II Matters

Mr. Sinai was recently a guest speaker on October 17th, 2014 as lead consultant for a group of attorneys on IRWA Right-of-Way education (California Inland Empire Chapter 57) that was coordinated by Law Offices of Best Best & Kreiger, LLP., Law Offices of Murphy & Evertz LLP., Law Offices of Brissman & Nemat, and Pierce Law Firm On the matters related to Metro Mega Projects, Eminent Domain, and Right Of way. 

View David Sinai's Consulting Profile.

Keegan Linscott & Associates, PC is a full-service accounting firm with more than 27 years of experience providing expert services as Certified Public Accountants, Certified Fraud Examiners, Forensic Accountants, and Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors.

KLA's litigation support team assists clients and their attorneys to prepare for the financial and economic facets of settlement or trial proceedings. They perform in-depth analyses and provide clear and detailed explanations of findings. They assist attorneys as consultants or in the court in a wide range of cases and investigations. Their role can involve fact-finding, discovery, settlement negotiations, trial support, and expert witness testimony.

The professionals at KLA have testified as experts in Federal, District, Bankruptcy, State, and Tax Courts, as well as before arbitration panels. They have the proven ability to develop and communicate compelling analyses of accounting, economic and financial information to judges and juries in plain, simple language through affidavits, written reports, oral testimony, and trial graphics.

Litigation Support Services:

• Analyze damages involving commercial litigation and damages involving individuals, including lost profit analysis, owner disputes, employee/employer disputes, personal injury, and business interruption claims
• Evaluate the opposing party's financial damages report to uncover any hidden facts or missing information in a business damages case
• Divorce litigation, including analysis of sole and separate property issues
• Locate hidden assets
• Analyze preference claims, inter-company transfers of assets, and fraudulent conveyances

Christopher G. Linscott, CPA, CFE, CIRA, is a Director of Keegan Linscott & Associates and is the Director of Litigation, Forensic Accounting, and Bankruptcy Support Services.

Mr. Linscott was previously employed with the international CPA firms of Coopers & Lybrand (now Price­water­houseCoopers), and Peat Marwick (now KPMG). He has more than 30 years of ex­perience in public accounting.

Mr. Linscott specializes in the areas of Litigation Support, Bankruptcy Reorganization, Fraud Investigations and Prevention, and Business Consulting. He has served clients in industries including construction, health care, home builders and developers, law firms, manufacturing and distribution, non-profit, professional services, real estate, restaurant franchises, retail service, and wholesale.

Mr. Linscott is a Member of the Arizona Society of CPA's, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and a Director of the Board of Directors at Bashas’.

View Keegan Linscott & Associates' Consulting Profile.

Huggins Actuarial Services, Inc is a full-service independent consulting firm with more than 100 years of experience providing innovative and clever solutions to a wide range of Actuarial and Risk Management challenges. They offer a wide range of tactical consulting services providing valuable assistance in the day-to-day operation of your firm, as well as strategic consulting to inform decision-making on matters of extreme gravity.

Litigation Support - Huggins’ credentialed actuaries have extensive industry experience providing expert witness testimony as part of legal proceedings or for valuation services. Their actuaries are renowned industry experts, providing credible unbiased advice to the client. An actuary providing expert testimony performs an important service to the forum, the finder of fact in the forum, and the public by providing information that can be critical to resolution of disputes. This may include explaining complex technical concepts so they can be understood by the audience to whom the testimony is directed.

Clients are usually a law firm, insurance entity, or an individual person. Huggins undertakes insurance and reinsurance litigation and arbitration support projects and provides assistance as the client may request, and will generally consult with, advise and assist the client. Huggins’ expert actuaries work with the client to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the case in order to formulate the best possible strategy. Clients typically request the following services:

Areas of Expertise:

Ronald T. (Rusty) Kuehn,  FCAS, MAAA, CERA, CPCU, ARM, FCA, is a Consulting Actuary with Huggins Actuarial Services, Inc. and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and the International Actuarial Association. In addition, Mr. Kuehn holds the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) designation, the Chartered Property-Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.

Mr. Kuehn is professionally active; he has served as the chairman of the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS), which is jointly sponsored by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the American Academy of Actuaries and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. He has also served on the on the Casualty Practice Council of the American Academy of Actuaries, the CAS Examination Committee and Committee for Consultants’ Interests, and as past President, Education Chairman and Board Member of the Casualty Actuaries of the Mid-Atlantic Region (CAMAR).

In addition, Mr. Kuehn has served on the Insurance Services Office Private Passenger Automobile Subcommittee and the Homeowners Subcommittee. Mr. Kuehn has also served as a Member of the Conference Task Force on Public Policy Debate of the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice. He currently serves on the Board of the Insurance Society of Philadelphia (ISOP), and he is a member of the ORSA subgroup of the ERM Committee of the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council of the American Academy of Actuaries. His over 45 years in business have given him a thorough knowledge of the property-casualty business both from a company and consulting viewpoint. See Full Bio and Consulting Experience.

Grover M. Edie, MBA, FCAS, MAAA, CERA, CPCU, ARM, ARP, is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, a Certified Enterprise Risk Analyst, a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, an Associate in Risk Management, and an Associate in Research and Planning. 

Prior to joining Huggins, Mr. Edie was Vice President and Chief Actuary at GMAC Insurance Company, where he oversaw all actuarial activities including pricing, loss reserving, and enterprise risk management in personal auto, commercial lines, auto extended service contracts, assumed reinsurance and other miscellaneous lines of insurance. He introduced Economic Capital Modeling to the organization during his tenure. His previous employers include Erie Insurance Group, John Deer Insurance, and the Insurance Services Office.

Mr. Edie has over 25 years of actuarial experience. He started his insurance career as an underwriter. The primary services Mr. Edie provides to his clients includes Economic Capital Modeling, Enterprise Risk Management, profitability analysis, rate level reviews and filings, and loss reserve analysis. See Full Bio and Consulting Experience.

Kim E. Piersol, FCAS, MAAA, is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Prior to joining Huggins, he served as Senior Vice President & Chief Actuary for Crum & Forster Insurance Companies. Prior to that he served as Group Vice President & Chief Actuary for CNA Insurance Companies, and was a consulting actuary for KPMG LLP, Arthur Andersen LLP, and CFO of AIG Risk Management (AIGRM). 

Mr. Piersol is professionally active; he has served on the American Academy of Actuaries Environmental Liabilities Work Group, the NAIC Technical Advisory Committee on Catastrophe Reserves, the Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Bureau Actuarial Committee, and has been a Director and Treasurer of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS). He also served on the Professional Liability Actuarial Subcommittee of the Insurance Services Office (ISO). He has also served as a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army Field Artillery. His over 40 years in the actuarial field have given him a thorough knowledge of the property-casualty business both from a company and consulting viewpoint. See Full Bio and Consulting Experience.

View Huggins Actuarial Services, Inc.'s Business Consulting Profile.

Robert Bates, JD, CPA, CFE, CVA, has over 30 years of Financial Management and Accounting experience as a Controller and CFO in various industries. He has been in several industries, including telecom, media, retail and financial services in addition to having consulting experience at startups in the software, technology, and life sciences fields. 

Mr. Bates specializes in International Accounting, Software Issues, and Obtaining Financing. The CFO of a public company, he has completed due diligence accounting/reporting for 12 acquisitions, including performing Business Valuations and dealing with FAS 142 issues. Mr. Bates has handled accounting for complex debt instruments including warrants, beneficial conversion feature, and other derivative issues. He has also been responsible for SEC reporting: 10Q’s and 10K’s. 

Litigation Support - Robert Bates has worked with dozens of lawyers on over 50 cases in various states. Sometimes he provides financial support for a client in litigation, or pre-litigation, and other times he provides a report, such as a damages calculation, which can be used in litigation. He also has experience providing testimony in depositions and trials. 

Legal Services:

• Unbiased Case Analysis
• Discovery Review & Recommendations
• High-Impact Demonstrative Exhibits
• Strategy and Tactics Conferences
• Damage Calculations
• Cash Flow Analysis Reports
• Profit and Loss Analysis

View Robert Bates' Consulting Profile.

Michael D. Pakter CPA, CFF, CGMA, CFE, CVA, MAFF, CA, CIRA, CDBV focuses on accounting, forensic accounting, financial analysis, financial forensics, economic damages, business valuation and investigations. He has experience in lost profits / earnings, business interruption claims, analysis of financial transactions and balances, Court-ordered accounting, bankruptcy, fraud examinations, investigations and the reconstruction of incomplete, misstated and/or falsified financial information.

Litigation Support - Mr. Pakter provides consulting and litigation support services to trial lawyers, trustees, examiners, receivers, business owners and managers and units of federal, state and local government. Many engagements combine financial analysis, economic damages determination, valuation issues, tracing procedures and/or other applications of Financial Forensics to assist in resolving complex commercial litigation and business disputes. 

Experience - Mr. Pakter has more than 40 years of experience in forensic accounting, investigations and litigation services in numerous industries and diverse engagements, including more than 20 years of experience in economic damages and business valuations.  State, Federal and Bankruptcy Courts, as well as arbitrators, have recognized me as an expert in forensic accounting, economic damages, business valuation, CPA malpractice and bankruptcy core proceedings.  Mr. Pakter is a Certified Public Accountant with multiple additional certifications in economic damages, financial forensics, business valuation and bankruptcy core proceedings.  He focusses his professional practice on forensic accounting, lost profits, lost earnings and other economic damages, business interruption, fraud/financial investigations, bankruptcy core proceedings and litigation support.

Carlo Scevola & Partners is an International Fiduciary Company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with branches in six continents. We specialize in International Planning, Strategic Consulting and Wealth Management. Our clients trust us for everything from setting up an Offshore Company to Mergers and Acquisitions to Business Finance and Asset Protection. 

CS&P’s customer-centric methodology ensures that each client gets a custom-tailored solution which addresses that business’ individual objectives and requirements. Our team has expertise in every functional category and every important geography. From finance to operations to human resources to marketing – from the Americas to Europe to Africa, Asia and Oceania – CS&P can bring together experienced executives who know how to advise you and will make your enterprise a success. All this while always protecting your privacy. 

Services Offered: Business and Strategic Consulting

• S.W.O.T. Analysis
• Pre-investment Feasibility Studies / Competitive Background Assessments
• Business Plan Research, Writing and Production
• Strategy Definition / Implementation
• Reworking of Operating Processes for International Suitability
• Industrial Partnership Scouting / Matching
• Tailor Business Model to Market Environment, Jurisdiction and Local Authorities Requirements 

Corporate Finance:

• Mergers, Acquisitions and CessionsCommercial Due Diligence or Investment / Financial Appraisals
• Company Reorganization and Restructuring
• Financial Feasibility Plans for Industrial Expansion
• Scouting / Recruiting Highly Qualified Financial Management
• Exit Strategies in the event of Buy-outs, Buy-ins, Spin-offs or MBOs, MBIs and LBOs
• Listing on Stock Exchanges 

Offshore Consulting:

1. International Tax Planning
2. Corporate Structuring, Maintenance and Trusts
3. International Contracts Law
4. Jurisdictions
5. Residency and Citizenship
6. International Banking
7. Logistic Support
8. Government Licenses
9. Aircrafts and Vessels
10. Intellectual Property 

CS&P Operates In More Than 80 Countries Around The World.

Jon R. Simon is an experienced Finance and Investment Professional with decades of Consulting, Operations and Investing experience. He has a long and accomplished background in the Hotel and Vacation Ownership Industries where he has advised some of the largest U.S. investment funds, hospitality and gaming companies, and high net worth individuals.

Litigation Support - Mr. Simon addresses major complex commercial litigation at the individual plaintiff or defendant level (typically for the BOD), class action level, and in valuation actions brought in Delaware Chancery Court. Services include interrogatories, litigation strategy, expert witness opinions, expert witness testimony (deposition or trial), mediation assistance; calculation of damages and disgorgement, rebuttal opinions, and valuations.

Hospitality and Shared Ownership Industry Expertise: 

Litigation Experience:

• RCHFU, LLC et al v. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation
• Flora Gillespie and Bruce Gillespie et al, vs St. Regis Club New York Inc., Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Marriott International Inc. et al
• RCHFU LLC, et al vs. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Marriott Vacation Club, Ritz Carlton Hotel Management LLC et al
• Diamond Resorts International (Apollo Global Management) vs Select Plaintiff
• New York St. Regis Club Owners vs Starwood Vacation Club
• Eden Roc LLLP v. Marriott International Inc., et al., No. 651027/2012, N.Y. Sup., App. Div., 1st Dept.)

Background Experience - Jon R. Simon started his career at KPMG where he was elected to the partnership at the age of 31, making him the youngest full equity partner in the United States.  At KPMG he headed the firm’s hospitality and real estate consulting practice for the Southeast US, Latin America and the Caribbean focusing on hotels, mixed-use resorts and shared ownership.  He also served as a national acquisitions partner serving senior roles in some of the largest hospitality industry acquisitions.

Mr. Simon was recruited by Starwood Capital to be CEO of WorldStar Resorts, a hospitality investment company dedicated to the Vacation Ownership Industry.  In that capacity, Mr. Simon quickly grew the company from a start-up to over $100 million in annual revenues and 250 employees by the end of its first full year of operations.

After leaving Starwood, Mr. Simon was one of the 5 founding principals of a late-stage private equity fund oriented to the hospitality industry where he also assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer.  In his first full year, he oversaw the underwriting and closing of over $150 million of direct investments, representing over $500 million of asset value.

View Chasen Capital Advisors, Inc.'s Consulting Profile.

Dr. Cristina Benton is a senior consultant with Anderson Economic Group, directing the Market and Industry Analysis practice area. Her background is in Research and Data Analysis, Community and Economic Development, and Urban Planning.

While with AEG, Dr. Benton has worked on a number of auto dealership franchise projects as well as retail, industry, and market analyses. Among the clients for whom she has worked are Holland Tulip Time Festival, the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Automation Alley. Dr. Benton has also worked with automobile dealerships in matters of sales performance assessments, geographic territory analyses, market opportunity studies, and expert testimony. 

Prior to joining AEG, Dr. Benton worked as a community and economic development assistant with the City of East Lansing, Michigan where she provided analysis and support to the city’s economic development efforts. Prior to that, she was a research assistant at Michigan State University working on the evaluation of economic revitalization programs in Michigan. 

Dr. Benton holds a PhD in geography and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, both from Michigan State University, along with a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. She is a member of the Michigan Economic Developers Association (MEDA).

Litigation Support - Dr. Benton has successfully testified in countless state and federal courts, legislative hearings, and commercial arbitration panels. Her services include thorough reporting, depositions, arbitration, and trial testimony as needed

Areas of Expertise:

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

Education:

• Princeton, 1964 (B.A., Economics, with honors)
• NYU Business School, 1966 (MBA, Top of class)

Expertise: Mr. Purcell has over 50 years of experience in every area of investment banking including the following:

• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Leveraged Buyouts and Recapitalizations
• Fairness Opinions and Fairness Issues
• Adequacy Opinions
• Solvency Opinions
• Bankruptcy issues, including fraudulent conveyance
• Valuations
• Advice to Special Committees of Boards
• Due Diligence and Disclosure Issues
• Fiduciary Issues
• Damage issues and analysis
• Lender Liability
• Fee issues
• Document Interpretation and Standards from investment banking point of views
• Criminal cases involving alleged securities violations and insider trading
• Financing of Debt and Equity (both public and private, taxable and tax-exempt, including structured financings)
• Venture Capital
• Leasing and Real Estate Financing

Background: William H. Purcell has been an Investment Banker for over 50 years. He was a Managing Director at Dillon Read for almost 25 years and has been a Senior Advisor to a number of medium-sized investment banks. Mr. Pucell has been a Senior Advisor and Director of Seale & Associates since 2001, an investment bank in the Washington DC area. He also has served as interim CEO of a public company and has served on Boards of Directors. 

Mr. Purcell is currently Senior Director to the Investment Banking Firm of Seale & Associates, Washington, DC. area. Mr. Purcell has been an expert in more than 200 cases with over 180 Law Firms, including cases for the SEC, IRS and the DOJ. Has testified in court trials and arbitration trials over 40 times. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants. Subjects include all areas mentioned above.

 View Consulting Profile.