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

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.

Peter W. Leibundgut, Esq., has 30 years of transactional, public, and private commercial and real estate finance, legal and bank consulting experience. He currently provides a range of financial services to borrowers and domestic and foreign private and institutional investors in connection with structuring, placing, and conducting due diligence in Commercial and Real Estate Financing Transactions.

Mr. Leibundgut has decades of experience performing due diligence investigations, structuring, closing and restructuring public and commercial financial transactions on behalf of lenders; county, state and federal authorities and issuers; underwriters; finance companies; private equity and hedge fund investors; and borrowers.

Litigation Support - Mr. Leibundgut serves as an expert witness and provides litigation support in cases involving contract disputes and complex public and commercial finance matters centering on debtor and creditor rights. He has served as an expert, provided litigation support, rendered expert reports, and testified in cases involving several billion dollars over the last seven years. Three of his cases were nationally recognized and several were cases of first impression. Mr. Leibundgut has also represented the FDIC in forensic commercial loan review.

Areas of Expertise:

Ponzi Schemes Lender Liability Legal Malpractice Whole Bank Acquisitions Shared Loss Matters Fraud and Gross Negligence Niche Lending Contract Expertise Factoring Securitizations Bonds Syndications Healthcare

Commercial Real Estate P3s Transportation Purchase Orders Public and Private Offerings Letters of Credit Secured and Unsecured Transactions Bank Policy and Procedure Bankruptcy Derivatives Equipment Leasing Microfinance Aircraft and Vessel Finance

View Peter Leibundgut's Consulting Profile.

Richard Payne is a Mortgage Banking Expert and Managing Partner for Payne Advisory, LLC. He has served as lead advisor for the RTC at Prudential Securities for Mortgage Securitizations and on the Regional Advisory Boards of both FNMA and Freddie Mac. Mr. Payne has also served as President and CEO of several large and small cap mortgage banking firms. 

Areas of Expertise:

Expert Witness services Put-Back Reviews Mortgage Risk Evaluations Loss Mitigation Strategies Merger & Acquisition Advisory Operational Overviews Credit Reviews Branch Reviews

Warehouse Evaluations Board of Director Training Government Relations Hard Money Lending Mortgage Capital Markets Distressed Asset Reviews Specialty Servicer Reviews

Payne Advisory, LLC, has thirty years of Wall Street and Main Street experience and assists Companies to proactively address mortgage crisis issues. Its consultants include Lisa Jones who specializes in all aspects of residential mortgage banking, state and federal regulatory compliance, underwriting, credit risk and loss mitigation.

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.

James B. (Jay) Hibert has been an active lender in the Commercial Banking Industry for over 30 years. Prior to forming Market Street Financial Solutions, Mr. Hibert joined the founding team of a San Diego Business bank as a Senior Vice President, and one of the owners of the privately held banking company. During this time he formed and managed the Bank’s Real Estate Loan Department. He also managed the bank’s largest real estate portfolio and was instrumental in developing secondary market relationships for the bank. Still an ACTIVE lender in the industry, Jay 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 65 times as an expert in 7 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 (BRE) and his company is 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:

• Specialty Niche in SBA Real Estate 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

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

View Jay Hibert's Consulting Profile.

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.

Gerald M. Levy, real estate and banking consultant, serves as arbitrator and mediator of real estate and construction disputes and expert witness on practice standards for real estate lending, construction lending, commercial lending, credit risk, loan guarantees, brokerage, due diligence, negotiation of transactions, landlord/tenant disputes, ground and space leases, restructurings and workouts,real estate fraud analysis, corporate real estate, and real estate valuation.

He is Professor at NYU and was Managing Director, Real Estate Finance Division, Chase Manhattan Bank; and Senior Vice President and General Manager, Real Estate and Corporate Services Division, Chemical Bank.

Mr. Levy holds the MAI, CRE, and FRICS designations and is a neutral for American Arbitration Association. He is a New York State Licensed Real Estate Broker and a New York State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser.

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.