Financial Planning Expert Witnesses: 12

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

Maurice Lieberman, CLU, ChFC, RHU, LUTCF, has over 40 years of experience specializing in Insurance and Financial Planning.

Mr. Lieberman holds three professional designations from the American College, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Registered Health Underwriter. He is a Life Insurance Training Council Fellow, and a member of the American College of Financial Services Professionals, Forensic Expert Witness Association, and the American College of Forensic Examiners International.

Background Experience - Mr. Lieberman started as an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life and then advanced in his career to manage brokers. He successfully built agencies for Aetna, and Principal Financial Group. He was later promoted to Regional Director for New England Financial, and CSAA Life. Over the years he mentored hundreds of insurance agents, brokers, financial planners and agency managers to build their own successful careers and agencies. He was also a member of the Million Dollar Round Table and utilized his selling and management experience to train insurance agents, brokers and financial planners in advanced areas of estate, business insurance, and financial planning.

Litigation Support - . Mr. Lieberman has utilized his financial planning and insurance industry knowledge to consult with attorneys for over the past 12 years. He consults with attorneys and assists council in trial preparation regarding issues of life insurance and annuity coverage analysis, coverage disputes, and company practices. He has been called upon to be an expert witness in insurance litigation cases for both plaintiff and defendant.

Areas of Expertise:

Life Insurance Coverage Analysis Annuity Coverage Analysis Coverage Disputes Company Practices Life Insurance Products and Services

Contract Analysis Regulations Compliance Best Practice Principles Life Insurance Underwriting Procedures

View Maurice Lieberman's Consulting Profile.

Keegan Linscott & Associates, PC is a full-service accounting firm with more than 20 years of experience providing expert services as Certified Public Accountants, Certified Fraud Examiners, Forensic Accountants, and Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors.

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

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

Litigation Support Services:

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

Christopher G. Linscott, CPA, CFE, CIRA, is a Director of Keegan Linscott & Associates and is the Director of Litigation, Forensic Accounting, and Bankruptcy Support Services. Mr. Linscott was previously employed with the international CPA firms of Coopers & Lybrand (now Price­water­houseCoopers), and Peat Marwick (now KPMG). He has more than 25 years of ex­perience in public accounting. Mr. Linscott specializes in the areas of Litigation Support, Bankruptcy Reorganization, Fraud Investigations and Prevention, and Business Consulting. He has served clients in industries including construction, health care, home builders and developers, law firms, manufacturing and distribution, non-profit, professional services, real estate, restaurant franchises, retail service, and wholesale. Mr. Linscott is a Member of the Arizona Society of CPA's, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and a Director of the Board of Directors at Bashas’.

Eric A. Lee, CFE, CIRA, is a Principal and Phoenix Practice Leader in the Consulting Services group of KLA. A Certified Fraud Examiners, he serves in testifying expert and consulting expert roles in litigation, forensic accounting, fraud and investigation services, and criminal matters both in the United States and internationally. Mr. Lee has extensive experience conducting complex financial analysis and forensics related to multi-million dollar fraud schemes, analysis of complex financial accounts and transactions, fraudulent transfers and conveyances, analysis of securities transactions, international investigations, and loss and damages calculations. Prior to his career in consulting services, Mr. Lee spent more than seven years as a Special Agent with the Federal government. During his tenure as a Special Agent, he investigated criminal and civil violations relating to fraud, money laundering, theft and embezzlement, public corruption, and tax evasion. Mr. Lee has prepared expert reports, affidavits and disclosures, and testified/presented as an expert in Federal, State, and Tribal jurisdictions

View Keegan Linscott & Associates' Consulting Profile.

Tony Wayne, CPA, CFF, CVA, CIRA, is a Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years of private industry senior operations experience.

Background - After a diverse career spanning 15 years in Big 8 public accounting/consulting and private industry, Mr. Wayne founded IronHorse in 1998 with an emphasis on complex turnarounds and restructuring consulting, crisis management, advisory services, CFO services, and litigation support. IronHorse is an ideal solutions resource for the closely held, family owned middle, or small-market industrial firms in transition serving a six-state region including Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Visit their website at www.ihorsellc.com.

Litigation Support - Mr. Wayne is available to advise boards of directors, senior management, and corporate counsel in all litigation matters that can impact business practices, profitability, and continued viability. He maintains rigorous compliance with certifying and credentialing bodies and their regulations and scrutinizes the facts behind complicated forensic accounting and valuation issues.

He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, including the Business Reorganization Committee and Fraud Task Force. In addition, he is a member of the American Institute of CPA’s, the Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors, the National Association of Valuation Analysts, and the Turnaround Management Association,

Mr. Wayne's services include expert witness assistance (consulting and testifying), solvency opinions, rebuttal expertise, case assessment management, and services in other areas of dispute and pre-complaint, complaint, discovery, pre-trial, and settlement consulting.

Forensic Services Include:

• Fraud prevention, detection and response
• Financial Reporting Fraud and Irregularity Forensic Audits
• Electronic Evidence Analysis
• Preservation and Securitization
• Ponzi Scheme Analysis
• Asset Searches, Public Records Searches, and Related Party Search and Documentation
• Pink Sheet and Other Stock Scams
• Private Placement Fraud Analysis & Investigations
• Borrowing Base and other Bank Fraud Examinations/Investigations
• Criminal Investigations

Valuation Services Include:

Family Law Mergers and Acquisitions-Buy & Sell Side Advisory Estate Tax Returns E.S.O.P Valuations Disputes Buy / Sell Agreements Distressed Business Valuation Plan of Reorganization Valuation

Liquidation Plan Valuation Lost Profit and Damages Computations/Valuation Solvency Opinions Goodwill and Intangible Asset Fair Value Impairment Valuation Lender & Private Equity Due Diligence / Portfolio Valuations Exit, Succession, Wealth and Estate Planning Valumetric Modeling and Template Development

View Tony Wayne's Consulting Profile.

One of the industry's leading law firm services experts, Michael J. Garibaldi, CPA, ABV, CFF, CGMA, has a strong background providing efficient and affordable solutions to the many complex issues facing the legal profession today.

A Certified Public Accountant licensed by the State of New York, Mr. Garibaldi is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is recognized as a Chartered Global Management Accountant by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

Mr. Garibaldi works closely with law firms and other professional service firms, manufacturing, wholesale/retail, medical, technology, restaurant/hospitality, artists and galleries, construction, and real estate clients where he is responsible for providing accounting, tax planning management consulting services, and financial reporting.

Mr. Garibaldi provides valuation and litigation support services, assisting attorneys and their clients with the financial aspects of a case throughout the litigation process, from contemplation of action through expert witness testimony. He brings an in-depth understanding of the business and technical aspects of valuation, finance and accounting that is required in complex litigation and arbitration cases.

Mr. Garibaldi qualifies as an expert in valuation matters in the Supreme Courts of New York, Nassau, Suffolk, Kings, Richmond, Monmouth, Orange, and Westchester Counties, and has been called upon by the courts to serve as a neutral Expert. As an instructor of the AICPA Certificate of Educational Achievement Program in Business Valuation, Mr. Garibaldi teaches his specialty to other professionals.

Michael Garibaldi is a Candidate Member of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), Member of the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the AICPA and the NYSSCPA. He is a past President and former member of the Board of Directors of the NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter, and has held a variety of positions on the Litigation Support Committee of the Nassau County and State Chapters of the NYSSCPA. Mr. Garibaldi has also held a number of positions on other committees and sub-committees within these organizations.

Areas of Expertise:

Auditing Bankruptcy Business Business Law Business Valuation Lost Profits Mergers & Acquisitions Finance

Forensic Accounting Fraud Investigation, Embezzlement Personal Property Valuation Real Estate Valuation Trusts & Estates White Collar Crime Dissolutions Wrongful Death, Termination

View Michael J. Garibaldi'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.

Carlo Scevola & Partners is an International Fiduciary Company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with branches in six continents. We specialize in International Planning, Strategic Consulting and Wealth Management.

Our clients trust us for everything from setting up an Offshore Company to Mergers and Acquisitions to Business Finance and Asset Protection. CS&P’s customer-centric methodology ensures that each client gets a custom-tailored solution which addresses that business’ individual objectives and requirements.

Our team has expertise in every functional category and every important geography. From finance to operations to human resources to marketing – from the Americas to Europe to Africa, Asia and Oceania – CS&P can bring together experienced executives who know how to advise you and will make your enterprise a success. All this while always protecting your privacy.

Services Offered:

Business and Strategic Consulting

S.W.O.T. Analysis

Pre-investment Feasibility Studies / Competitive Background Assessments

Business Plan Research, Writing and Production

Strategy Definition / Implementation

Reworking of Operating Processes for International Suitability

Industrial Partnership Scouting / Matching

Tailor Business Model to Market Environment, Jurisdiction and Local Authorities Requirements

Corporate Finance:

Mergers, Acquisitions and CessionsCommercial Due Diligence or Investment / Financial Appraisals

Company Reorganization and Restructuring

Financial Feasibility Plans for Industrial Expansion

Scouting / Recruiting Highly Qualified Financial Management

Exit Strategies in the event of Buy-outs, Buy-ins, Spin-offs or MBOs, MBIs and LBOs

Listing on Stock Exchanges

Offshore Consulting:

International Tax Planning

Corporate Structuring, Maintenance and Trusts

International Contracts Law

Jurisdictions

Residency and Citizenship

International Banking

Logistic Support

Government Licenses

Aircrafts and Vessels

Intellectual Property

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

Scott S. Miller, MBA, ASA, ABV, specializes in Business Valuation and Transaction Consulting for small to middle market companies. He has over 35 years of professional business experience that ranges from senior operations management with publicly-traded companies to handling all aspects of operations in small privately-held manufacturing and service businesses.

Along with an MBA from the University of Houston, Mr. Miller achieved the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation from the American Society of Appraisers, the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) certification from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has over 15 years of business / financial asset valuation and consulting experience. He is currently serving as Region 3 Governor for the American Society of Appraisers and is past President of the Houston Chapter for the ASA.

Prior to the formation of Convergent Capital Appraisers in 2007, Mr. Miller held positions with McClure, Schumacher & Associates, RR Donnelley Financial, several positions/locations with Bowne & Co., Inc., and Industrial Screenprint, Inc. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Miller provides expert witness services to attorneys for plaintiff and defense in need of appraisal services. His expertise is in business valuation of closely-held businesses and the appraisal of fractional interests of equity holders. His services include thorough review and reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. 

Business valuation and appraisal services have been provided for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to:

Family Law Matters Shareholder / Equity Holder Litigation Buy-Sell Agreements

Buy-Sell Transactions Business Damages Estate and Gift Tax Matters

View Scott S. Miller's Consulting Profile.

Frank Carr has extensive background and experience as an Investment Industry Employment and Compensation Expert Witness, especially Investment Management Firms, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Wealth Managers, and Broker Dealers. Mr. Carr is a former corporate banker, investment firm Chief Financial Officer and a 20 year veteran of executive search for the Investment Management industry. He has written articles for and has been frequently quoted by publications such as Bloomberg News, CNN Money, Fund Fire, Ignites, Absolute Return, Hedge Fund Alert, and Hedge Fund Manager Week. Prior to entering the executive search field, he was the Chief Financial Officer of a Connecticut-based hedge fund and Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). Mr. Carr started his career in commercial bank lending, initially with Citigroup in their Wall Street Commodities division and later specialized in financing independent feature film producers, TV producers and television station owners on behalf of European American Bank in New York. Litigation Support - Frank Carr is an Investment Industry Employment and Compensation Expert Witness who has been retained by both plaintiffs and defendants for American Arbitration Association, JAMS and FINRA arbitration, mediation, and federal court litigation. Mr. Carr has over 30 years of experience in Financial Services, Investment Management, and Banking and his areas of coverage include Traditional and Alternative Investments – Equities, Fixed Income, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, and Managed Futures. Specialist in Wall Street Divorce. Areas of Expertise:

Executive Compensation Employment and Hiring Practices Wrongful Dismissal Lost Earnings FINRA Arbitration Employment Discrimination Compensation Consulting

Institutional Asset Management Mutual Funds Hedge Funds Private Equity Wealth Management Broker / Dealers Retail Financial Advisory Sales Process for Investment Products

Prior Expert Witness Assignments:

• Represented a hedge fund portfolio manager as an expert rebuttal witness in a high profile hedge fund employment/compensation lawsuit. Prepared a rebuttal opinion letter submitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Represented a $12 billion Texas-based SEC Registered Investment Adviser and leading global alternative credit manager in a JAMS arbitration regarding a terminated employee. Prepared a rebuttal expert witness report and provided live testimony at the JAMS arbitration hearing.
• Represented a financial advisor in a FINRA arbitration against one of the top 5 U.S. wealth management firms. The scope of the opinion included projected career advancement, compensation analysis and calculation of lost earnings.
• Represented a portfolio manager/ investment analyst in a wrongful termination action against one of the largest U.S. Broker Dealers with over $600 billion in assets. The scope of the opinion included projected career advancement and compensation analysis. Prepared an expert witness report and provided live testimony at the FINRA arbitration hearing.

Education - Mr. Carr is a graduate of Williams College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy. He completed the Management Training Program at Citigroup in New York, including courses in accounting, finance and capital markets. He has previously held FINRA licenses, Series 3, 6 and 63 and has completed Level I of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) program.

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, CDFA™, Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, is a Certified Financial Planning Expert with 18 years of experience. Prior to co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, she was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an Analyst and Editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Ms. Cheng is a past spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Investopedia & Kiplinger. She is a CFP® professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, a Retirement Income Certified Professional® and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. As a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) Ambassador, Ms. Cheng helps educate the public, policy makers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. She served on the Financial Planning Association (FPA) National Board of Directors from 2013 – 2015 and is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area (FPA NCA). 

Marguerita Cheng CNBC Interview on Social Security 

Awards and Honors - Ms. Cheng is a recipient of the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship. In 2017, she was named the #3 Most Influential Financial Advisor in the Investopedia Top 100, a Woman to Watch by InvestmentNews, and a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE®) by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC).

Litigation Support - Ms. Cheng serves as a Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advocate and subject matter expert for CFP Board, contributing to the development of examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. She also volunteers for CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) hearings. Services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant include financial due diligence, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Litigation Expertise:

Financial Planning Issues Social Security Elder Financial Abuse

Financial Planner Standard of Care Financial Planner Code of Ethics Investor Rights

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 Managing Principal of Barrington Financial Consulting Group, Inc, a 12-person Securities Litigation and Consulting Expert firm.

In addition, Mr. Lawson serves as a FINRA Mediator and presides as a FINRA & NFA Dispute Resolution Chairman for disputes concerning investors, financial services professionals, broker-dealers, and dually-registered investment advisers. Claims often arise regarding breach of fiduciary duties, securities fraud, 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 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.

Bob is active in the following organizations:  Vice-Chairman - Master Registered Financial Consultants |  Mentorship and Practice Management Chair - Securities Experts Roundtable | Twin Cities Certified Fraud Examiners Association, Membership Chair - Minnesota State Bar Association ADR Section

Areas of Expertise:

• FINRA Expert Witness
• Securities Expert Witness
• FINRA Arbitration
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Liability Expert
• Promissory Notes
• Securities Fraud Investigations
• Ponzi Schemes
• Options, Stocks & Bonds
• Due Diligence
• 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.

  

Arthur B. Kagan, FSA, EA, is one of the most qualified Actuaries and Pension Plan consultants in the country. In his over 40 year career, he has helped thousands of plan sponsors with the management of their company’s retirement plans, as well as hundreds of thousands of plan participants with their pension benefits. 

Mr. Kagan served as the President and sole owner of a third party administration (TPA) and actuarial consulting firm for 26 years serving 650 plans;  Previously, he was president and partner of aTPA and actuarial firm serving 1400 plans. He is fully credentialed in actuarial valuations, plan funding, and present value calculations:

Mr. Kagan serves large, mid-size, and small plans covering all industries and all employer types.  He specialize in all aspects of:

Retirement Plans Actuarial Compliance Audits

Employee Disputes Valuations Contributions Contracts

 Mr. Kagan has presented many seminars on recent developments in pension plan industry and creative plan design to the Desert Estate Planning Council, California CPA Society, AXA Advisors, and various financial advisory and CPA firms.  He has also presented seminars on Life Insurance in Qualified Retirement Plans to Financial Planning Association of Los Angeles.