Commercial & Real Estate Finance & Financing Expert Witnesses

Kirk D. Kleckner, CPA, MBA, ABV, ASA, CFF is the Managing Principal of ValuationUSA, a boutique Valuation / Litigation Support firm. He is also the current President of Automotive Group Capital and Consulting, LLC - a ten person business specializing in the dealership industry.

Mr. Kleckner is a CPA, MBA and is professionally accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is also a Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and Certified in Financial Forensics from the AICPA (CFF). Mr. Kleckner is a Qualified Expert Witness with experience in complex business litigation.

Mr. Kleckner's experience includes seven years as Chief Financial Officer for a well respected top 50 dealership group. He spent nineteen years with an accounting firm as its Chief Operating Officer, Director of Business Valuation and Litigation Support Services and Shareholder.

Mr. Kleckner's expertise leverages both his professional and hands-on industry experience. His practical experience includes buying, selling and integrating of businesses and organization and owner tax planning.

Mr. Kleckner has experience as an expert witness in various legal actions including class action settlement valuation, ownership dispute valuation and business damage calculations.

Areas of Expertise:

Business Valuation

Litigation Economic Loss / Damage Analysis and Independent Opinions, Expert Witness

Product Warranty and Class Action Settlement Valuation

Dealership - Valuation, Profitability and Practices

Business Interruption, Minority Interests and Fair Value, Ownership Disputes

Estate and Gift Valuation

Succession and Business Owner Wealth Transfer Planning

Acquisition / Merger Advisory

Mining Interest Valuation

Jeffrey S. Rothbart, JD, LLM, founded Stack Real Estate, LLC (“Stack”) to focus on commercial real equity investments, development, capital markets advisory, and expert witness services. Since its inception, Stack has participated in over $1.5 billion in Commercial Real Estate Transactions.

Mr. Rothbart is experienced in real estate acquisitions, development asset, portfolio management, capital markets, leasing, dispositions, and sustainability. He has been involved in office, residential, retail, industrial, hotel, self-storage, medical, and senior-living operations as an investor, developer, adviser, or expert witness.

In addition to his responsibilities at Stack, Mr. Rothbart is also the Head of Investments for Peer Realty and a Principal at both Birchwood Health Care Properties, LLC and Insignia Homes. In his roles for Stack, Peer, and Birchwood, Mr. Rothbart is currently overseeing the syndication of over $65 million in real estate investments, including two residential subdivision developments, retail centers, and multiple senior living acquisitions and development opportunities. He is also LEED-AP for New Construction (v2.2) and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Litigation Support - Prior to forming and participating in several companies, Mr. Rothbart practiced real estate and tax law at a Chicago-based law firm and worked in the legal department of Related Midwest, one of Chicago’s largest multi-family developers. He has been an expert witness in real estate related litigation matters exceeding $300 million and has published over 40 articles on the commercial real estate markets. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant.

Areas of Expertise:

Commercial Real Estate Real Estate Valuation Real Estate Acquisitions Bankruptcy Eminent Domain Real Estate Development / Redevelopment

Landlord / Tenant Disputes Manufactured Homes Mortgages Property Management Real Estate Agency Standards Property Tax Appeal

View Jeffrey Rothbart's Consulting Profile.

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

Salt Hill Statistical Consulting Alan Salzberg is Senior Statistician and Principal of Salt Hill. Dr. Salzberg's focus is statistical analysis, sampling, estimation, and modeling, especially using large or complex datasets. Many of Dr. Salzberg's consulting projects relate to the detection and measurement of bias or fraud. Dr. Salzberg has testified as an expert witness in statistics in multiple venues. Prior to joining Salt Hill, Alan was CEO at Analysis & Inference. He has also held positions at KPMG (in its Economic Consulting group) and at Morgan Stanley. Dr. Salzberg holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also received a Bachelor of Science in Economics. For musings on everyday probability, see Dr. Salzberg's blog: "What are the chances?"

Steven D. Epcar, CPM an Expert in Real Estate and Property Management Issues with 35+ years of experience;including residential, commercial, retail, hotel, condominium and mixed-use properties. Experienced in litigation support including standard of care, partnership conflicts, brokerage issues,landlord/tenant, valuation, personal injury, habitability, environmental, life safety cases. 

Steven is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA).  He serves as a real estate consultant for institutional and private investors, providing an array of services: asset/property management related assignments, organizational assessments, financial feasibility, due diligence,and new development services. 

Previously, Mr. Epcar served as President, Residential Services for Carmel Partners a R/E investment/management firm in San Francisco, Principal/Founding Partner of Ventana Property Services, a West Coast third party management and consulting firm and President,Prometheus Management Group,a development/investment/management firm.

Vaughn C. Pearson has more than 40 years of experience in Executive Lending and Credit Roles in Commercial Banks and Financial Services Consulting Organizations providing knowledge in Corporate Governance, Regulatory Preparation and Response, Lending and Credit Administration, Problem Asset Remediation, Small Business and Commercial Lending.

For over 25 years, Mr. Pearson worked in four mid-sized regional and community banks, serving in senior and executive management roles, including Chief Credit Officer and Chief Lending Officer. He also worked for 15 years in managing consultant roles that included major organizations Hewlett-Packard (formerly EDS), Deloitte, and Computer Sciences Corporation.

Mr. Pearson's activities include five years serving as a special agent for the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Banking overseeing troubled banks typically under consent orders resulting from poor lending and credit practices. He has been vetted by the FDIC for leading asset liquidation teams

Litigation Support - Mr. Pearson represents both plaintiff and defense attorneys in banking and insurance Industries in loan structuring issues; credit underwriting, processes, and controls; and best practices in originating, servicing, and collection of commercial and industrial loans and commercial real estate credits. Casework examples and attorney client comments are provided in website.

Expert witness services include consultations, written reports, depositions, and courtroom testimony. Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA) professional member and has been designated by IMS as an EliteXpert.

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"

Qualfied Expert Witness & Consultant in Hotel and Real Estate Industry Business Issues:

• Market, economic & financial feasibility
• Valuation
• Disputes between owner-operator, borrower-lender, franchisor-franchisee
• Management contracts
• Ground & building leases
• Partnership & JV agreements
• Concession contracts
• Development agreements and loan documents
• Expert witness testimony
• Litigation strategy, consultation and support
• Damage calculations
• Lost profits analysis
• Real estate appraisals
• Deal structuring & workouts
• New development
• Strategic planning
• Market demand assessment
• Acquisition due diligence
• Economic, financial & investment analysis
• Can estimate damages and appraise property values under multiple scenarios
• Trained Arbitrator & Mediator

Winner of the Creative Counselor of the Year for appraising the Grand Canyon.

Catherine Ghiglieri, former Texas Banking Commissioner, has more than 25 years bank regulatory experience, including 18 years with the Comptroller of the Currency. Ms. Ghiglieri has provided banking expert witness testimony in Federal and State Courts throughout the country. Ms. Ghiglieri founded Ghiglieri & Company, a full service consulting firm, which provides strategic planning, management studies, director training, and assistance with bank regulatory agencies. Ms. Ghiglieri co-founded The Bank Directors' College which provided training for bank directors and is co-author of The Ultimate Guide for Bank Directors, The Ultimate Guide for Bank Directors, Revised Edition and Boardroom Strategies for Financial Institutions. 

Services:

Ms. Ghiglieri provides expert witness testimony on the following subjects:

Bank regulatory practices of the FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve, and state banking departments Banking industry standards Banking practices and procedures Federal and state banking laws and regulations Bank fraud and Ponzi schemes Check fraud & check kiting Deposit account procedures Directors' and officers' fiduciary duties Corporate governance Fraud detection procedures Bank internal controls

Qualifications:

Ms. Ghiglieri is the former Texas Banking Commissioner and has over 25 years of bank regulatory experience, including 18 years with the Comptroller of the Currency. As Texas Banking Commissioner, Ms. Ghiglieri was responsible for the supervision of the third largest state banking system in the United States, and the regulation of trust companies, foreign bank agencies, prepaid funeral contract providers, sale of check licensees, and money transmission businesses. She served as statutory receiver for failed trust companies, prepaid funeral contract providers and perpetual care cemeteries. Ms. Ghiglieri directed the statutory modernization of all statutes under the Texas Banking Department, most notably, revision of Texas’ 50-year-old banking laws. She made numerous appearances before the U.S. Congress and the Texas Legislature providing testimony on subjects such as financial modernization, and bank and funeral regulation. 

Education:

University of Notre Dame - BBA in Finance

Georgia State University - JD 

Licenses:

Member of the State Bar of Georgia and the District of Columbia Bar.

Douglas E. Johnston, Jr., is an expert witness in banking and corporate finance. He has 30 years experience across the US in senior management of leading Banking, Private Equity/Mergers and Acquisitions and Real Estate companies.

Trained at a major AAA-rated East Coast bank, honored early in his career as a bank President, and confirmed by regulators in a Class 1 rated bank, Doug Johnston managed five full-service banking offices in Texas and California over 11 additional years, before expanding into mergers & acquisitions as EVP-Finance and Administration and a Founding Father of the largest private company in Los Angeles. He has due diligence, negotiation, documentation, and monitoring experience including as a lender, borrower, buyer, seller, manager and/or co-investor in hundreds of transactions including the service, technology, manufacturing, and real estate sectors across the US and also in Europe, with over $2 Billion in closed transactions. His over 3 decades in banking and finance management includes Bank Operations, Regulations, Credit Underwriting, Financial Statements, Commitments, Loan Agreements, Deeds, Guarantees, Purchase and Sale Agreements, Ventures, and Equity Partnerships, plus analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the parties. Doug is a published author on banking and finance topics since 2008, he is a past President of the Century City Rotary Club, and he is a frequent speaker to Advance Placement high school juniors in South Central Los Angeles under the Youth Business Alliance program.

Litigation Support – Five Management, LLC and Doug Johnston provide complex business litigation support in Banking, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Due Diligence and Lender Liability for counsel representing Plaintiff and Defense. Mr. Johnston has provided litigation support in breach, misrepresentation, fraud and other actions in complex Business, Family and Employment cases since 2010.

Areas of Expertise:

Banking & Lending Policy & Regulations Mergers & Acquisitions Corporate Finance Private Equity Due Diligence Operating Management

Leveraged Buyouts Equity Syndications International Business Foreign Currencies Hedging Commodities Marketing & Development

View Douglas Johnston's Consulting Profile.

Jack G. Cohen has been involved in the Private Money Lending and  Real Estate Industry for over 30 years. He is currently the managing member and director of a private money real estate lending, real estate development, and investment property management company. He is also the San Fernando Realty Real Estate Investment director of the California Bureau of Real Estate. 

Mr. Cohen has experience with commercial, residential, and retail real estate, and construction lending.

Litigation Support: Mr. Cohen has been retained as an expert witness in Real Estate related cases over 50 times since 1990. He represents both Plaintiff and Defense and is experienced with complex cases. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Private Money Lending Credit File and Qualifications  Appraisals Evictions Foreclosures Industry Standards Title Reports Property Management

Tenant and Landlord Issues Brokers and Investor Relation Finance and Documentation Sales and Leasing Insurance Claims Loan Servicing Escrow

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.

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 40 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: Mr. Purcell 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. 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 100 cases with over 100 Law Firms, including cases for the SEC, IRS and the DOJ. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants. Subjects include all areas mentioned above.

 View Consulting Profile.