Michael Goldman & Associates, L.L.C. - Consulting & CPA Services

Most commercial disputes, as well as many marital disputes, have a financial dimension.  Forensic accounting and expertly presented financial evidence can significantly influence the outcome of such disputes and help ensure a satisfactory result, either in court or through an earlier settlement process.  Successful forensic investigation requires special knowledge and a sharp understanding of business processes.  Michael Goldman has extensive experience designing and working with financial and control systems both as an "insider" and as an external consultant.  Our services include advising on the key business and financial issues in a dispute, evaluating the controls and practices in place in a business and the resulting likelihood of asset misappropriation, independent analysis and review of financial data, and providing expert witness reports that set out conclusions and the supporting evidence.  When you cannot find the money, the numbers don't make sense, or you have other concerns, we have the knowledge and experience to help you.

Michael Goldman and Associates, LLC. has performed the following Forensic services for clients:

·        Forensic Accountant for Trustee in the bankruptcy case of a $12 million printing company.  Found the existence of a second set of books, proved gross irregularities in bankruptcy schedules and reports, provided two binders of evidence of cash skimming by management, and obtained approximately $3.5 million in judgments and penalties assessed by bankruptcy judge.

·        Retained as financial expert in a civil suit against a tree-trimming company contracting for the State of Illinois in a case involving a tree falling onto a driver.  Reconstructed the tree-trimmer’s financial and operating records and compared them to Illinois Department of Transportation records and found enough discrepancies to settle the case at the maximum amount of the tree-trimmer’s insurance policy.

·        Court-appointed Examiner in a bankruptcy case involving a franchisor and 27 franchisees.  Reconstructed financial records and reported to the court in issues relating to abuse of trust funds, check kiting, financial statement fraud, and auditor malpractice.

·        Expert witness in the bankruptcy case of a nation-wide roll-up of fertility clinics.  Reconstructed pre-petition financial information in order to perform solvency analysis for fraudulent conveyance claim.

·        Forensic Accountant for Creditor in the bankruptcy of a metal working company.  Traced loan payments to ascertain that the proper credit was given to various lenders.

·        Forensic Accountant for Trustee of a $6 million retail chain.  Prepared analysis and provided evidence of a bust-out scheme and fraudulent conveyances perpetrated by management.

·        Forensic Accountant for the Receiver of an $80 million leasing company.  Reconstructed records and analyzed ownership of collateral that had been pledged multiple times to various parties.

·        Forensic Accountant for the Receiver of a $240 million leasing company.  Reconstructed records and analyzed ownership of collateral that had been pledged multiple times to various parties.

·        Investigated suspicions of loan fraud on a portfolio of residential apartment buildings, providing bank with sufficient cause to accelerate loans on the properties.

·        Retained as expert witness in an accounting malpractice case involving fraud – reconstructed the work of the outside accountant to determine the extent of malpractice committed.

·        Consulted to the loss prevention department of a major national franchisor – performed lifestyle analysis of franchisees suspected of skimming cash and under-reporting royalties.          

·        Assisted in the due diligence review during the acquisition of a $20 million company with accounting irregularities.

·        Retained as expert witness in a legal malpractice case involving potential hidden assets of a divorcing spouse.  Performed lifestyle analysis and retrospective valuations on husband’s assets to determine actual net worth at various points in time during and after the marriage.

·        Retained in numerous divorce cases with suspicions of hidden assets or misstated income – reconstruct family and business records as required in each case.  These cases typically involve sub-chapter S companies with less than $5 million in sales and either QuickBooks accounting software or manual accounting records.

·        Designed and taught a 40-hour course on internal control to a $500 million company to assist them in satisfying terms of an SEC consent decree after the discovery of fraud in a major division caused the restatement of five years of financial statements.

·        Assisted a manufacturing company in determining the extent of fraud committed by employees – identified truckloads of scrap steel being shipped from the facility with no accounting or documentation for them.

·        Assisted a major commercial bank in defending against lender liability claims – reconstructed and analyzed records to show that insolvency of the bankrupt subsidiary debtor was unrelated to the loan structure and payment plan negotiated between the bank and the parent company of the creditor.

·        Assisted in a suit filed against the trustee for breach of fiduciary duties – reconstructed seven years of financial records to trace proceeds of estate assets through commingled trusts

·        Assisted in suit against trustee for breach of fiduciary duties – reconstructed bank statements of trusts to demonstrated abusive over-charging of fiduciary fees by trustee bank.

·        Investigated suspicions of fraud committed by the managing member of two real estate development LLCs – identified numerous suspicious transactions in the books and records, identified misclassified transactions, and found numerous instances of self-dealing and asset diversion by the manager.

·        Assisted a secured lender in evaluating its position and establishing its strategy in a $150 million leasing company rendered insolvent as the result of management fraud against the creditors.  Reconstructed transaction records so that creditors could determine who had the most legitimate claim to assets that had been pledged to multiple lenders.

·        Retained as CRO in an insolvent $35 million technology recycling company.  As a part of the case I reconstructed financial and operating records to determine the degree of losses caused by the former CEO and a vice-president who were accused of embezzlement and negotiated settlements with them.

·        Retained by a Chapter 7 Trustee to investigate suspicions of fraud in personal bankruptcy cases.

·        Retained by the secured lender to investigate suspicions of both pre-petition and post-petition fraud in a $25 million manufacturer.

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Last modified: September 01, 2010