Consumer Fraud Expert Witnesses

Sidney Blum, CPA, CFE, CPEA, CFF has over 30 years of professional experience in the areas of Forensic Accounting, Intellectual Property Economic Damages, Royalty Audits, and General Economic Damages. Leading contract terms and licensing expert. 2017 California CPA of the Year & 2012 Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year. 

Background - A financial damages expert witness with particular strength in patents, trademarks, copyrights, DMCA, toys, entertainment, oil & gas, malpractice, breach of contract, and consumer products. He served as Chief Audit Officer at Beats Electronics, nine years as an accounting firm Partner including five as a Big 4 Partner, and staff experience with Fortune 50 companies Occidental Petroleum, Unocal, and the Walt Disney Company where he was a member of the internal audit departments. While with Ernst & Young, he led fraud and forensic investigations nationally for their internal audit practice. Vice Chair (2016-2017) Board of Regents of the 80,000 member Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Lead more than 1,500 financial investigations. 

Litigation Support - As a Financial and Economic Damages expert witness, Mr. Blum has worked on matters from simple to several billion dollars complex litigations. He has testified on more than 40 occasions, equally for plaintiffs and defendants, in a wide variety of State, Federal, and USITC matters. Mr. Blum is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Professional Environmental Auditor, and Certified in Financial Forensics by the AICPA. 

Areas of Expertise:

Complex Financial Litigation Patents Copyrights Trademarks False Advertising Malpractice Royalty Auditor Competence Royalty Disputes Wrongful Termination Construction Defect Film Distribution

Unfair Competition Oil & Gas Pipelines Personal Injury Product Liability Breach of Contract Business Interuption Class Action Lanham Act Trusts & Estates USITC DMCA

View Sidney Blum's Consulting Profile.

Shuster & Company, PC is a full-service Forensic & Business Valuation Accounting Firm serving clients throughout the United States and occasionally throughout the world. They are dedicated to providing our clients with professional, personalized services and guidance in a wide range of financial, business, and forensic needs. Their professional services include:Forensic Accounting - Business Valuation - Divorce Matters- Accounting & Tax Issues
Principal, Steven J. Shuster, CPA/ABV/CFF/CGMA, CVA, FCPA and his team provide litigation support services for a number of forensic accounting issues. They are experienced in identifying, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting financial and accounting data and information; applying the relevant data and information to a legal dispute or issue, and rendering an opinion as to their analysis. They have been accepted as experts by the Courts on numerous occasions and have served as consultants for plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil and criminal legal matters.

With a track record of helping counsel unravel challenging financial and economic issues in disputes, they provide valuable insight and clarity, helping their clients during every stage of a contested matter, from early case assessment and discovery to case strategy, damages analysis and settlement services.

Areas of Expertise:

• Damage Analysis - Assist attorneys and clients in calculating damages in litigation cases or rebutting claims by opposing counsel.
• Family Law and Divorce Support - Business Valuations, spousal and child support matters, asset tracing, income characterization and calculation and division of assets.
• Fraud Investigation Consulting - Investigate alleged misconduct, and measure the financial implications of disputes.
• Lease Review Services - Analysis of commercial real estate leases and conducting lease reviews of rent, operating expenses, common area maintenance (CAM) expenses and real estate taxes to identify potential financial savings on behalf of tenant.
• Assisting Claims Adjusters - Business interruption, inventory loss, extra expense, lost earnings / profits, subrogation, product liability, general liability.
• Malpractice - Compare activities performed by the professionals to applicable professional standards and practices.

CV Available Upon Request.

Gale Prince, CFS, brings 50 years of Food Industry experience to the table, starting in 1967 at the Jewel Companies until his retirement from The Kroger Co. as its Director of Corporate Regulatory Affairs. A Certified Food Scientist (CFS) by the Institute of Food Technologists, Mr. Prince is widely known for his involvement in industry and regulatory activities and in addressing Global Food Safety issues. He has been called “The Dean” of product recalls having managed several thousand in his career and is noted for his knowledge of food safety and regulatory requirements.

Litigation Support - Mr. Prince has food safety managerial experience in food manufacturing, food retail, and food service operations to assist in legal cases involving food. Has extensive experience in hazard analysis of all types of foods and in establishing preventive control programs.

Mr. Prince has broad working knowledge of Federal and State food regulations regarding food safety, food packaging, labeling, and food specifications. He has extensive experience in consumer products and food recalls along with product litigation related to product recalls and contamination and understanding of food fraud, economic adulteration practices on product tampering in both domestic and international marketplaces.

Mr. Prince's services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include record review, thorough reports, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Food Safety Food Recalls Food Regulations Food Fraud Food Contamination Food Labeling

Food Processing Food Hazards Food Codes Food Service Food Retail HACCP

View SAGE's Consulting Profile.

EJ Janik, CPA, CFF, CFE is a Certified Public Accountant with 37 years of professional experience. He specializes in financial audits, compilations and reviews, consulting for commercial litigation, antitrust matters, engineering and construction matters, real estate, and bankruptcy / business reorganizations matters. Mr. Janik holds a Master of Science in Accounting from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Commerce from Rice University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Janik has provided over 150 financial audits and consulted in over 685 business disputes. He has provided expert testimony in over 80 matters including trial testimony in 48 trials or hearings in 8 states. Mr. Janik's accounting services include Damages/Lost Profit analysis, Forensic Accounting, Fraud Investigations, Fact Finding, Financial Analysis, and Expert Witness Testimony when necessary.

Litigation Experience:

Antitrust/Pricing Issues Audits Bankruptcy Analysis Business Interruption Business Valuation Construction Claims Contract Disputes Cost Determinations Criminal Investigations Damage Analysis/Critiques

Debt & Capital Analyses Dispute Resolution Due Diligence Environmental Claims Feasibility Studies Forensic Accounting Fraud Investigation/Analysis Hazardous Waste/Remediation Insurance Claims

Lost Profits Mergers & Acquisitions Real Estate Royalties, Commissions, Income Solvency Superfund/Environmental Claims Tracing Valuations Wastewater White Collar Crimes

Mr. Janik is also uniquely qualified to measure construction claims and damages. With over 11 years of construction experience, he has accumulated over 13,000 Engineering and Construction (E&C) auditing hours, 10,000 E&C consulting hours, and 15,000 E&C supervised hours.

Construction Claims Services include:

Acceleration Change Orders Costs Defective Plans Differing Site and Concealed Conditions Direct Costs Disruption Evaluating Claims

Indirect Costs Overhead Payroll Fringe Burdens Profit Pre-Qualification Filings Superfund / Hazardous Waste Sites Terminations Other Construction Issues

View EJ Janik's Consulting Profile.

*Ryan Fraud and Forensic Recovery, LLC is not a CPA firm.

Mary Wickens, JD, CFE, CHC has over 35 years experience in the Healthcare Insurance, Managed Care, and Compliance Industry. Her experience includes advising and counseling health care providers, insurers, government contractors, and others in compliance, ethics, fraud and abuse, Medicare, Medicaid and Federal Employees Plan, managed care, and other matters. Background Experience - Ms. Wickens is a former compliance officer for a major health insurer and former legal and compliance specialist for a CMS Medicare Program Safeguard Contractor. Also a former operations director for government programs (Medicare Part C, Medi-gap, and FEHBP) for a major HMO, she is experienced with government audits and investigations, commercial audits, as well as self-reporting and internal investigations. Ms. Wickens has decades of experience as in house counsel to HMOs and health insurers. She has drafted, developed, negotiated, and implemented numerous healthcare provider-payor contracts, and developed and implemented codes of conduct, ethics programs, compliance programs and numerous corrective action plans. Litigation Support - Mary Wickens provides litigation support, including skilled expert services, reports and testimony in federal False Claims Act cases, arbitrations, and provider-payer disputes. She is an experienced testifying expert, responsive to the needs of counsel, with excellent report writing skills. Ms. Wickens' services are available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. Areas of Expertise:

Medicare False Claims Act (FCA) Health Insurance HMO Medicare Advantage Provider / Payor Disputes Claims Audits and Appeals Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans (FEHBP)

Medicare Part D Government Audits DME Home Health Care Hospice Managed Care Contracting Anti-Kickback Compliance Self-disclosures

View Mary Wickens' Consulting Profile.

Stacy A. Kinsel, CPA/ABV/CFF, CFE, has been engaged in Forensic Accounting and Economic Damage Analysis for over 20 years.

Ms. Kinsel earned both her Masters Degree in Accounting and Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California. A Certified Public Accountant in the State of California, Ms. Kinsel is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) by the AICPA. She is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

Litigation Support - Ms. Kinsel has been involved with the preparation and/or review of over 1,000 damage claims. She has been qualified and testified as an expert witness in both Federal and State courts on forensic accounting matters and economic damage calculations.

Ms. Kinsel's services are available to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defendant and include preparing expert witness and rebuttal reports, advising in cross-examination of other witnesses as well as critique of other experts’ testimonies and reports, providing expert witness testimony, and participating in alternate dispute resolution proceedings. Her expertise includes the analysis and measurement of economic damages resulting from:

Business Interruption Losses Commercial Litigation Disputes Loss of Earnings Calculations Employee Fidelity or Theft First Party Property Claims Corporate Fraud Third Party Claims Product Liability Matters

Family Law Wage & Hours Claims Professional Liability Partnership Disputes Elder Financial Abuse Thefts of Cash / Inventory Financial Statement Manipulation Fraudulent Expenses

View Stacy Kinsel's Consulting Profile.

Andrew F. Richards, CFS is a recently retired federal agent with over 25 years’ experience investigating White Collar Crimes. As head of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, he handled almost every type of scheme and scam committed on businesses, government entities, and individuals. Prior to his federal experience Andrew was a Reading (PA) police officer for five years in. He has a BA in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Criminology.

As a National Fraud Subject Matter Expert (SME) for USPIS and supervisor of the Financial Crimes/Major Crimes section, a nationally recognized multi-agency task force, Mr. Richards supervised task force members from the FBI, US Secret Service, US Treasury- Inspector General, US Attorney’s Office, PA Attorney General’s Office, and many more. He has covered criminal conduct in both the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Northern District of West Virginia.

Areas of Expertise:

Internal and External Corporate Investigations Fraud and Theft Investigations Whistleblower / Qui Tam Actions Corporate Fraud Commercial Corruption Investment Fraud Health Care Fraud Worker's Compensation Fraud Mortgage Fraud

Vendor Fraud Extortion Bribery Insurance / D&O Insurance Fraud Political Corruption Employee Investigations Identity Theft Surveillance Computer and Asset Recovery

View Andrew Richards' Consulting Profile.

Dr. Laurie Hoeltzel, PhDc, a Forensic Document Examiner, has studied handwriting examination and apprenticed under some of the leading court-qualified Forensic Document Experts in the United States. She spent 11 years serving her country in the United States Air Force, including three tours of duty in Iraq, while obtaining a Bachelors degree and Document Examination Certificates.

Litigation Support - Dr. Hoeltzel has reviewed numerous signatures and handwritings, examined case documents, and rendered an opinion on cases in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington D.C., and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is court qualified and attorney recommended. With over 20 years of experience, she is available for depositions and court testimony when necessary, Dr. Hoeltzel offers her expertise to counsel for both plaintiff and defendant NATIONWIDE!

Areas of Specific Training:

• Handwriting Identification
• Signature Comparison
• Distinguishing Forged Signatures Techniques
• Disguised Handwriting
• Altered Numbers
• Anonymous Writing
• Factors that Affect Writing

Disputed Documents or Signatures Analysis on: Wills, checks, contracts, deeds, account ledgers, mortgages, loans, notary disputes, and medical records.

Investigation and Analysis for: Questioned signatures, suspect documents, forgeries, identity theft, robo-signing, anonymous letters, bond authentication, alterations, obliterations, erasures, typewritten documents, altered medical records, graffiti, handwritten numbers, suicide notes, and computerized and handwritten documents.

Colorado Office Telephone: 720-724-8077 Website: www.denverhandwritingexpert.com

Texas Office Telephone: 832-827-3052 Website: www.houstonhandwritingexpert.com

East Florida Office Telephone: 954-745-0752 Website: www.floridahandwritingexpert.com

West Florida Office Telephone: 727-213-5722 Website: www.floridahandwritingexpert.com

Peter Wade is a Federal court qualified expert in Postal Procedures and Postal Inspection Service policies, investigative methods and techniques. He has twenty-five years of experience with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, eight years as a postal inspector and seventeen years in supervisory and policy-making positions. Mr. Wade also has two years of experience as postmaster of San Juan, PR. He has provided expert opinions in numerous federal and state court matters regarding postal criminal investigative procedures and USPS policies and procedures.

Dr. Larry Chiagouris has a rare combination serving as a senior Fortune 500 executive and as an accomplished academician. He has provided expert testimony and written opinions on damages, marketing, advertising, intellectual property issues (including the use of survey research) for plaintiffs & defendants at major national & local firms.

Experience summary:

• Experience evenly divided between plaintiff and defendant engagements over 25 cases

• Several cases include elements of intellectual property issues

• Majority of cases involve elements of consumer behavior or survey research

• Majority of cases involve elements of advertising related strategies and tactics

• Majority of cases involve elements of Internet related tactics

• Majority of cases involve written opinions and depositions

• Written and oral testimony in several Federal District Court jurisdictions

• Engaged by both large multinational law firms and small boutique firms

• Class action cases evenly divided between plaintiffs and defendants

Selected by Agency Magazine as one of 10 best and brightest researchers. He brings extensive experience as a Senior Marketing, Branding and Research Executive responsible for directing major assignments for companies such as AT&T, Campbell Soup, Kraft, Miller Brewing, Peugeot, Pfizer, Prudential and Visa.

He has a Ph.D. in Marketing, is Past Chairman, Advertising Research Foundation and Former Director of the American Marketing Association.

Mr. Bob Lawson,  AIF®, CFE®, MRFC®, LUTCF®, is a Securities & FINRA Expert Witness retained for FINRA arbitration, mediation, and federal/civil court litigation. Mr. Lawson possesses over 35 years of experience within the securities and insurance industries. In 1988, Mr. Lawson founded Barrington Capital Management, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisory firm and Insurance Agency, and currently serves as the President and Chief Compliance Officer and President of Barrington Financial Consulting Group, Inc, as a Securities Expert Witness and Consulting Experts. 

In addition, Mr. Lawson serves as a FINRA Mediator and presides as a FINRA & NFA Dispute Resolution Chairman for disputes concerning public and private investors, financial services professionals, broker-dealers, and dually-registered investment advisers. Claims often arise regarding breach of fiduciary duties, employment disputes, conflicts of interest, churning, unsuitable investments, and failure to supervise, among others. Mr. Lawson also serves as a public mediator and is a Qualified Neutral under Minnesota Rule 114 of Standard Practice in Mediation and Arbitration. His breadth of experience includes managing and supervising FINRA broker-dealer branch offices as a Registered Securities Principal, Options Principal, and Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Lawson also has considerable experience with insurance products including variable annuities, fixed and indexed annuities, long term care, and life insurance. Mr. Lawson possesses numerous accolades and is certified as an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE®), Master Registered Financial Consultant (MRFC), and a Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF®). Retaining Mr. Lawson as an Expert Witness and Litigation Consultant will clarify and address relevant issues pertaining to your case from an insider's point of view. Upon a thorough examination and analysis of the case material, Mr. Lawson’s conclusions and opinions are impartial, objective, and predicated upon years of industry expertise and experience. Expert testimony and reports are supported by thorough and detailed research through case-specific analysis.

Areas of Expertise:

• FINRA & SEC Regulations
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Promissory Notes
• Securities Fraud Investigations
• Ponzi Schemes
• Options, Stocks & Bonds
• Due Diligence
• FINRA Arbitration
• Professional Malpractice
• Economic Damages & Losses
• Employment Discrimination & Termination

Services:

• Litigation Consulting
• Unbiased Case Analysis
• Discovery Review & Recommendations
• Portfolio Risk Reports
• Securities Fraud Investigation
• Damage Calculations
• Expert Testimony

View Bob Lawson's Consulting Profile.

  

Profile: 47+ yrs experience in financial, mortgage & business institutions including 17+ President, CEO & Director & 6+ director of a mortgage company. 15+ years of leadership/ directorships in national & state trade associations. Over 500 federal & state nationwide cases i for FDIC, FannieMae, financial institutions, mortgage companies, businesses, non-banks, individuals. Services provided: consulting, depositions, reports, affidavits & court testimonies.

Expertise: Financial Institutions, Mortgage Institutions, Business, Real Estate. Residential mortgage loans,construction loans, commercial real estate loans, business loans, SBA; Operations; Fraud; Lender Liability; Policy & Procedures; Fiduciary Duties, D & O conduct, Other. Reports, depositions & court testimony in Federal, Bankruptcy & state courts.

• 500+ nationwide cases working both for defendants and plaintiffs.


• 20+ years of in-house, industry, and outside expert witness experience.


• 75+ depositions taken and 35+ court appearances in both Federal and state courts.


• Clients: FannieMae, FDIC, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, Viacom, Wells Fargo Bank, State of CA, Bank of America, Amex, Citicorp Mortgage, Washington Mutual, Bank One, Long Beach Mortgage, EMC Mortgage, JPMorganChase Bank, PacifiCare, Beal Bank, Avnet, Fidelity Title & First American Title.


• Approximately 50% of cases are for financial institutions, 40% against financial institution and 10% are other.


• Serving clients nationally— 40% plaintiffs and 60% defendants.


• Resume, fee information and references provided on request.

Archuleta & Associates Investigative Services, a Division of Archuleta & Associates, Inc., has been providing investigative services within various industries since 1982. They are the overwhelming leaders within the CA Central Valley.

The clientele of Archuleta & Associates, Inc. consists of every level of business, from both the private and public sector. Due to the wide range of services provided and their 25 years within the industry, they have worked with an extremely diverse and vast clientele base, from the largest of litigation firms to the smallest of personal clients.

Robert A. Archuleta launched his career as a Private Investigator in 1983, after five years as an officer, investigator and sergeant for the Lodi Police Department, followed by stints as an engineering contractor and a deputy U.S. Marshal. Among his other clientele, Mr. Archuleta has been as an Expert Witness for the Department of Consumer Affairs for the State of California.

Services Include:

Accident Reconstruction AOE / COE Civil Litigation Copyright Infringement Criminal Defense Criminal Prosecution General Engineering GPS Location / Tracking

Insurance Bad Faith Insurance Defense Seminar Training Surveillance Traffic Reconstruction Video Evidence Voice Stress Analyzation Workers Compensation

Thomas A. Tarter, President of The Andela Consulting Group, Inc., Management, Financial and Advisory Services Involving Corporate Governance, Management, Compensation, Financial and Banking Matters.

He has served on boards, assisted in corporate restructures and provided advisory services to a diverse group of clients including corporations, law firms, financial institutions and government agencies - including U.S. Small Business Administration and FDIC. Involved in over 1000 cases - national and international.

Areas of Expertise:

• Bank Operations -Check processing forgery, kiting,ID Theft, Ponzi schemes
• Lending Standards - Commercial and R/E Loans
• Consumer and Subprime Lending, Underwriting, Loan Servicing, Foreclosures / Credit Damages
• Guarranties/Lender Liability
• FCRA and Collection Practices
• Bankruptcy