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

SEDA Experts is a boutique consulting firm specializing in Financial Services. They provide superior independent advice, data analytics, valuation, and expert testimony services to financial institutions and law firms in both litigation and business contexts.

Their experts have unmatched industry experience in a vast array of financial services practices. With over 30 years as global managing directors at leading financial institutions and consulting firms, each of their experts is dedicated to applying exceptional real-world economic, financial, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges.  

SEDA Experts provides independent advice, financial consulting, data analytics, valuation, and expert testimony services to financial institutions and law firms in both litigation and business contexts.

Services:

Expert Witnesses Testimony and Report Litigation Process Support Mediation Class Certification Consulting

Complex Data Analysis  Damages Calculations Engaging World Class Expert Advisory Services

Richard A. Marin, Managing Director, a former finance senior executive with over 40 years of industry experience, and a former clinical professor at Cornell University, is a world-class testifying expert. Mr. Marin is a Finance, Real Estate, and Venture Capital industry executive who is currently the CEO of Low Emissions Resources Corporation.  He also is involved in managing private equity investments, consulting on major commercial real estate and attractions projects, and an expert in the retirement field.

Mr. Marin was previously a senior executive at three major financial institutions; Bankers Trust Company, Deutsche Bank and Bear Stearns.  His initial career spanned corporate finance, sales and trading, structured products, emerging markets, processing, and several other disciplines. Later in his career, he focused on building and running large asset management businesses in both the traditional and alternative spaces and in the institutional and high net worth markets. He also served as Chairman and CEO of AFI (USA), a major distressed commercial and residential property developer, for whom he restructured over $2B of liabilities. 

Mr. Marin has been a successful financial entrepreneur, involved in founding several venture capital firms (Beehive Ventures and Green Visor Capital) and a hedge fund (Ironwood Global).  He served as CEO of the New York Wheel, a $650 million development project, from 2012 to 2017.  He is currently the CEO of Low Emission Resource Corporation, a start-up scientific research & development company working in the areas of hydrogen and ammonia production. 

He is a published author of Global Pension Crisis: Unfunded Liabilities and How We Can Fill the Gap (Wiley & Sons, 2013), Mater Gladiatrix (Lulu Press, 2017) and Gulag 401k: Tales of a Modern Prisoner (Lulu Press, 2017). View full Vitae.

 Areas of Expertise: 

Asset Management Alternative Investments Private Equity Investments

Securities Lending Retirement and Pensions Real Estate / Project Financing

Kenneth Simmons, Managing Director, has over 30 years of industry experience as Executive Vice President at leading financial institutions, and at regulatory agencies such as OCC and FDIC. He is a Review Board Member and Faculty member at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, and the North & South Metro Atlanta Compliance Roundtable Founder and Chairperson at the Community Bankers Association. 

He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Origin Bank, and in a similar position at Hamilton State Bank. During his career he was responsible for all aspects of Regulatory Compliance, he devised comprehensive BSA/AML Programs including complex layers of investigations and an enhanced monitoring system to exceed Supervisory Expectations, and developed comprehensive risk assessments, audit schedule and compliance testing programs addressing regulatory inventory of risks.

Mr. Simmons served the Office of the Comptroller Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as Compliance/ BSA Specialist Bank Examiner. During his tenure with the OCC he was the functional Examiner-in-Charge (FEIC) on complex BSA & Compliance examinations, and the Supervisory Review Examiner for BSA/AML, fair lending, and CRA examinations. 

He evaluated effectiveness of AML systems (such as FCRM, Bankers Toolbox, and FIS (Prime) and formulated opinions on the use of such systems. He also worked directly with Supervisory office and legal staff regarding BSA/AML violations, MRAs, and consent order issuances, providing guidance and direction to financial institutions regarding resolution of these matters.

In addition, he served as the General Audit Manager for a multi-billion dollar financial institution, and he served as a Compliance Officer for several financial institutions.  View full Vitae.

Areas of Expertise:

Finance Anti-Money Laundering Bank Secrecy Act Compliance

Financial Crimes Risk Management Regulatory Compliance AML / BSA Risk Management

Kevin D. Oden, Managing Director, has unrivaled Financial Risk Management expertise and over 30 years of financial markets experience with leading financial institutions firms Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, holding executive positions. 

Mr. is an innovative risk manager and entrepreneur with a strong track record of leading risk teams to the forefront of industry practice. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Risk Management Association (RMA) and on the RMA Journal Editorial Advisory Board and the financial technology firm Scienaptic Systems.

During his career, he managed small and large teams (as many as 4000) across a number of risk disciplines including market risk, counterparty risk, model validation, risk model development, operational risk, cyber security, financial crimes and compliance. Developed an industry leading practice in model risk management with patents pending on several innovations in system design. Highly successful at building working relationships with business leaders as well as U.S. and foreign regulators. 

Mr. Oden has over 30 years of industry experience, including risk management, trading, sales, portfolio management. Superior quantitative background and communication skills provide a unique ability to deliver risk insight to all stakeholders and influence decision making throughout the firm. He was a member of Wells Fargo’s management committee and Asset Liability Committee (ALCO). 

Dr. Oden was an Executive Vice President and Head of Operational Risk and Compliance within Corporate Risk at Wells Fargo & Co., managing second-line risk activities across information security, financial crimes risk, model risk, operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, and technology risk. Prior to this he was the Chief Market & Institutional Risk officer for Wells Fargo & Co.  View full Vitae.

Areas of Expertise:

Market, Credit and Counterparty Risk Operational Risk Risk Model Development and Validation

Risk Management and Compliance Portfolio Management Asset and Liability Management

Leon Royer has over 40 years of Banking experience, 30 years of which were in executive management positions in banks ranging in size from community banks to multi-billion dollar, multi-state banking organizations.

Please see his attached CV for a detailed description of his activities which span virtually all areas of Lending and Bank Management.

Litigation Support - As an Executive responsible for all phases of Lending, Lending Disciplines, and Credit Assessment, Mr. Royer has special expertise in determining Borrower Creditworthiness.  In addition, he possesses a keen interest in assessing the appropriateness of Lender Behavior. He has outstanding references upon request.

Robin Byrant has over 30 years of experience in the Banking Industry. Mr. Bryant started his career in a retail bank, followed by three investment banks and an international bank. His experience also includes the activities and procedures of non-banks such as building societies and centralised lenders. In two of the banks in which he worked he devised systems and procedure manuals and wrote the lending policy for one of the banks.

Mr. Bryant has been providing advice and banking expert witness evidence in respect of disputes involving banks and other lenders for nearly twenty years. Most of the cases have been in the English High Court but he has also provided evidence for courts in overseas jurisdictions. Advice and evidence has been provided for and on behalf of banks and other lenders or for those opposing them. The majority of the work has been in connection with professional negligence where allegations of a bank’s contributory negligence are raised.

Mr. Bryant is a member of the Academy of Experts and a founding member of the Expert Witness Institute, where he was a member of the Blom-Cooper working party drawing up guidelines for experts. He has acted in over 250 cases and been cross examined 14 times.

Areas of Expertise:

• Banking practice and operations
• Retail banks, Building Societies and Centralised Lenders
• Corporate lending
• Property / Real Estate sector lending
• Personal lending
• Residential loans
• Buy to Let loans
• Commercial loans
• Investment / merchant banking
• International banking
• Trade Finance
• Loan documentation
• Lending manuals
• Credit analysis
• Debt recovery

Areas of Expertise:

Bank Governance Commercial Credit Underwriting Real Estate Financing Collections Loan Workouts Regulatory Response Credit Review and Examination

Due Diligence Consent Orders Lender Liability Breach of Good Faith Wrongful Defaults Control and Interference Duress and Coercion.

Michael F. Richards is a Banking Expert Witness and Consultant with more than 34 years of experience. His experience as a Founder, President, and Director of two De-Novo banks and the head of a work-out department for a regional bank give clients and attorneys a crucial behind-the-scene understanding of all aspects of banking. 

Mr. Richards' experience in heading a work-out department provides a wealth of knowledge in litigation testimony from the perspective of a bank officer. He has extensive experience in Lending, Lender Liability, Banking Operations, Regulatory Oversight, Policies, Procedures, and Standards of Care in the Banking Practice. Mr. Richards' represents both Plaintiffs and Defendants. Over the past 7 years he has been retained in over 95 cases in 33 different states. 

Areas of Expertise:

• De Novo Start-ups / Fundraising
• Banking Practices, Policies, and Procedures
• Standards of Care
• Bank Officers’ / Directors’ Conduct, Actions, Negligence
• Banking Operations
• Credit Analysis
• Loan Review
• Loan Documentation
• Bank Regulations / Law
• Commercial and Real Estate Lending Practices
• Consumer Lending Practices
• Forensic Commercial Loans
• Lender Liability
• Loan Participation and Documentation
• Troubled Debt Restructuring Practices, Workouts, Forbearance
• Collection Practices
• Loan Commitment Issues
• Loan Guarantee Issues
• Bank Credit Administration and Credit Policy Issues, Customs and Practices
• Real Estate Appraisal
• Bank Fraud
• Bankruptcy, Fairness of Interest Rates "Cramdown"

Pat McElroy, Jr. has more than 40 years of experience in the Banking Industry as a Regulator, Banker and Consultant. He has provided various management, lending, operational and regulatory services to financial institutions throughout the United States. Mr. McElroy has extensive experience as an expert witness and has been qualified in civil, criminal and bankruptcy proceedings. He is courtroom seasoned and also has high profile case experience. 

Areas of Expertise:

Bank Policies and Procedures Forgery Fraud Lender Liability Lending Related Matters Bond Claims

Regulatory Compliance Credit & Collections Ordinary Care Employee Crime Industry Standards Bankruptcy Proceedings

John A. Rodgers, III, Esq., principal of John Rodgers & Associates, has over 40 years of experience in various positions in the field of Trusts and Estates. For more than 15 years, he has been providing fiduciary litigation consulting, dispute resolution, and expert witness services for cases involving:

 Trusts - Estates - Investment Management

He is a graduate of Cornell University, The University of Virginia School of Law, a memberof the Illinois Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, and has held FINRA Scurities Licenses Series 7,24 and 63

Litigation Support: Having worked for such companies as U.S. Trust Company, Wachovia, and Prudential Securities, Mr. Rodgers' expertise in the banking, trust, and investment industry give him a unique perspective and credibility in a court of law (see Blog Entries & Recent Cases). He also managed a regional bank trust department for 10 years requiring close familiarity with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Regulation 9 concerning regulatory compliance and audit operational issues. 

Qualified as a testifying expert under the Frye Test, Daubert Standard, and Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 702, Mr. Rodgers has worked with more than 90 law firms in 22 states with about 60% of his activities focused on plaintiff beneficiaries of trusts and 40% on defendant trustees, primarily corporate fiduciaries, in both federal and state courts. His services include thorough examination and reporting, the development of damage models, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. Mr. Rodgers is also available via Skype for trials and depositions.

Areas of Expertise:

Breach of Fiduciary Duty by a Trustee Breach of Trust by a Trustee Appropriateness of the Trust Investments?

Trust Administered according to its Terms? Beneficiaries Treated Fairly in a Split Interest Trust? Damages Calculations

James B. (Jay) Hibert was in the Commercial Banking Industry for over 30 years before leaving to form his own company, a real estate lending and consulting company. The company provides services to banks, non-banks, and individuals in need of creative financing solutions.  Still an ACTIVE lender in the industry, Jay stays updated on current customs and practices annd has transacted hundreds of real estate and non-real estate loan negotiations in times of economic growth as well as downturns in the economy. His extensive credit background arms him with the understanding of how banks and other lenders operate internally.  

Litigation Experience - Mr. Hibert has been providing expert witness and consulting services since 2010. He has been designated over 90 times as an expert in 12 different states concerning matters relating to commercial lending, real estate, construction finance, SBA lending, brokerage, hard money lending and investment issues. His experience includes both Federal and State court cases where he has provided deposition testimony, trial testimony and arbitration testimony. 

Jay is a licensed Real Estate Broker (CalBRE #01523) and for 10 years his company was a California Finance Lender and Broker through the California Department of Business Oversight. He is experienced in trial and deposition testimony and his services are available to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. 

Key areas of expertise in litigation work include:

• SBA Real Estate Lending
• Hard Money Lending
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice/Lender Liability
• Broker Standards of Care and Fiduciary Responsibility
• Loan Underwriting and Credit Administration
• Loan Process and Bank Loan Restructure/Workout Process
• Note Valuations/Collateral Review
• Litigation and Discovery Consulting
• Banking Operations/Administration
• Expert reports adherent to Federal Rule 26
• Loan Syndication/Secondary Market Loan Sales
• Title Insurance Cases
• Private Money Lending

*****Experienced in trial and deposition testimony*****

View Jay Hibert's Consulting Profile.

Financial Management Consulting Group is an affiliation of well-experienced consultants serving banking interests throughout the country. Our years of experience, as bankers, as bank consultants, and as regulators provide valuable insight into case matters. We can assist both from the industry perspective and from the regulatory perspective, offering a comprehensive assessment and well-supported opinion. We have qualified as experts in numerous State and Federal jurisdictions and on numerous banking-related matters. We are dedicated to providing clients with quality, results-oriented service.

Areas of Expertise:

• Lender Liability
• Depository Standard of Care
• Lender Standard of Care
• Check Fraud and Scams
• Fidelity Bond Claim
• Failed Bank Analysis

View Mr. Finn's Consultant Profile.

Danny F. Dukes and Associates, LLC is a Forensic Accounting Firm that specializes in expert witness and litigation support services. We have investigated fraud and various financial transactions. We are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of laws pertaining to banks, financial transactions and lending transactions.

Our founder, Danny F. Dukes, has spent over 30 years in the financial institutions and mortgage industry. Danny understands all aspects of mortgage and financial institution transactions including policies and best practices.

As a consultant, he has assisted community banks with investment management, asset liability management, investment banking, compliance issues, internal audit, bank operations, bank policies, and generally accepted accounting principles. He has assisted in a capital raise for de-novo banks. He has also served as a lead on the selection of data processing solutions and transition teams for mergers and acquisitions. 

Assisted in over 30 cases

Areas of Expertise:

Bank Fraud & Embezzlement Bank Operations & Practices Cash Management Check Processing / Check 21 Check Kiting Deposit Accounts Electronic Transactions / ACH, ATMs Embezzlement

Loan Administration Money Laundering Payment Processing & Fraud Detection/Prevention Royalty Audits Damage Computation Claims Analysis Determination of Compliance Divorce

John B. Schnure, President of Cambria Associates, has 40 years of experience in Banking, Bank Management, Lending, Loan Review Due Diligence, and Commercial Real Estate. He has worked with Cambria Associates for over 25 years and has worked with over 100 banks as clients over the years.

Background - Mr. Schnure holds an MBA from Columbia University with majors in International Business and Real Estate, and a BBA from University of Cincinnati with a major in Finance. He has post-graduate study at Dartmouth College and University of Virginia Business Schools. Mr. Schnure has been President and CEO of three Chicago area banks/thrifts, and prior to that was Vice President of The Northern Trust Company in commercial lending and management.

Litigation Support - John B. Schnure has successfully completed 15 expert witness engagements in the last 3 years in banking, lending, and/or real estate. The clients he represented prevailed in each case. His expertise is available to counsel representing both debtors and creditors.

Areas of Expertise:

Bank Fraud Banking Negligence Due Diligence Loan Policies Banking / Regulatory Practice Violations Underwriting Closings Servicing Loan Review / Administration Regulatory Repair

Role of Auditors Insider Transactions Workouts Bankruptcy Fiduciary Duties Landlord / Tenant Disputes Check Kiting Lender Liability Loan Document Compliance Commercial Real Estate Lending

View Cambria Associates' Consulting Profile.

Brian H. Kelley is a seasoned Banking Executive, Lender, and Attorney with over 30 years of experience in lending, top management, and legal positions for both regional and larger commercial banks in California, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon. He has served as the CEO of three successful community banks and the head of a Multi-Billion Dollar lending group with a large international bank.

Litigation Support - Mr. Kelley provides expert testimony and litigation support to attorneys representing financial institutions, businesses, and individuals. His expert witness services include analysis of key issues, case strategy, depositions, opinions, and court testimony.

Mr. Kelley's expertise has been called upon in State, Federal, Bankruptcy, and Arbitration Courts, having testified on behalf of FDIC, major banks, and financial institutions. He is a qualified expert in eights states and the District of Columbia.

Areas of Expertise:

Consumer and Commercial Lending Loan Underwriting Bank Operations Bank Compliance Federal and State Regulation Credit and Collection Practices

Bank Governance Lender Liability Loan Policy and Guidelines Loan and Credit Review Loan Workout Loan Modification and HAMP Programs

Education / Training: BA and JD from Brigham Young University. Extensive professional course experience in loan underwriting, credit analysis, corporate finance, lending practices, etc.

Degrees / Certifications: Admitted to the California, Utah and Hawaii Bar Associations. Past Director of Western Independent Bankers, California Bankers, American Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers of America.

View Brian Kelley's Consulting Profile.

Bank Resources and Solutions, a division of FIRSINC, is an executive management consulting group that has provided Financial, Operations, and Regulatory / Compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, attorneys and regulatory authorities since 2008. Litigation Consulting, Forensic Research and Expert Witness work are an important focus of our services. We have worked with attorneys and regulators on suits throughout the United States. Their work has included both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, vendors and regulators.

Areas of Litigation Support Expertise: Board of Direcotrs and Executive Management Administration, , Commercial, Residential and Consumer Lending, Bankruptcy Suits, Employee Criminal Actions / Bribery, Branch Operations, Bank Secrecy Act Policies / Procedures, Wire Transfers, New Account Fraud, Trust Account Fraud, Bank Negligence and Foreign Checks.

 Mark C. Riley is an experienced and successful former Bank Chief Executive Officer whose background includes leading the turnaround of two banks that had been operating under regulatory agreements upon arrival. Mr. Riley’s relevant experience was overseeing all areas of his banks including the development, approval, and implementation of effective risk management programs. For example, as CEO, Mr. Riley was involved in all phases of lending from business development to credit analysis and underwriting to overseeing loan approval and review process, providing due diligence of client bank loan portfolios, developing and overseeing workouts of nonperforming loans. This is particularly important in Expert Witness support as Mr. Riley’s background will carry more weight than technical specialists such as Loan Officers. Using loan officers, analysts and even lending group managers can provide the technical side of lending (underwriting, documentation, recordation and related nuts and bolts). As a Bank CEO & Director with lending expertise, Mr. Riley can provide all of that, but more importantly to a lawsuit, is knowledge of Director Loan Committees and their response to weaknesses that occurred in the technical side and what actions did they take to ameliorate or exacerbate the problem. Mr. Riley has provided Expert Witness services, including consulting, reports, depositions and testimony, to attorneys representing the FDIC, banks, bank clients, and related companies. 

Susan E. C. Riley is an experienced Senior Officer whose background includes the total responsibility for creating and managing the enterprise-wide systems of two denovo banks. Her relevant experience also includes creating and managing the Human Resources Department, Compliance, IT and IT Security, BSA/AML, ACH, Vendor Management, and related contract negotiations and Retail Bank Management. As co-founder of Bank Resources and Solutions, Mrs. Riley has analyzed, recommended, and implemented complex banking software within tight guidelines. She has established a solid reputation as a “no nonsense, identify the challenges, develop effective strategies and get the solutions in place” administrator. Mrs. Riley has provided Expert Witness research and consultation in client v. bank and bank v. client related matters.

View Bank Resources and Solutions' Consulting Profile.

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