J.S. Held Acquires Clark Seif Clark, Strengthening West Coast Capabilities for Environmental Claims, Disputes, and Catastrophe Response
Read MoreJ.S. Held’s forensic accountants and fraud investigations experts are retained by legal counsel to investigate financial misconduct, quantify damages, and provide independent expert testimony.
Our forensic accountants and fraud investigators work alongside legal counsel to examine financial records, trace assets, and identify financial patterns that may indicate misappropriation, concealment, or misstatement. Our engagements often involve reconstructing financial activity where records are fragmented or unreliable, requiring detailed analysis of underlying documentation and data.
Our team of forensic financial experts and former internal auditors, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials leverage extensive experience in fraud engagements—including corporate fraud, embezzlement, and Ponzi schemes—to deliver trusted expert services in matters involving first-party and third-party fraudulent activity.
We are engaged to deliver independent forensic accounting and damages analysis in investigations and litigation concerning alleged first-party and third-party fraud, including embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, commingling of funds, money laundering, workplace misconduct, and other forms of white-collar crime, providing expert opinions and testimony in complex litigation.
Our experts leverage extensive experience in fraud-related engagements including anti-bribery and anti-corruption matters, misappropriation of funds, piercing the corporate veil, self-dealing, earnings manipulation, and financial statement fraud, as well as industry-specific matters including, but not limited to, healthcare, construction fraud, mortgage, real estate, and insurance-related fraud.
We provide specialized forensic accounting expertise in fraud-related matters concerning regulatory inquiries, special committee and audit committee investigations, bankruptcy litigation, business and shareholder disputes, trust and estate disputes, and whistleblower allegations where independent investigation and damages analysis are required.
J.S. Held’s fraud experts include forensic accountants, economists, Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE), Certified Financial Forensics (CFF) experts, Certified Public Accountants (CPA), and professionals with backgrounds in internal audit, prosecution, insurance claims, and law enforcement. We deliver specialized expertise in fraud engagements for commercial litigators, white collar defense counsel, general counsel, audit committees, and government agencies.
Our analyses in forensic accounting engagements related to fraudulent activity are grounded in defensible accounting, finance, and investigative methodologies, and provide legal counsel clear, defensible expert opinion for deposition, arbitration, and trial. Our experts evaluate fraud theories advanced during investigation and litigation, reconstructing financial records, tracing assets, quantifying fraud-related damages, and developing independent expert opinions addressing the scope and financial impact of alleged misconduct.
Financial harm resulting from fraud is often not immediately clear, particularly where transactions are concealed, records are incomplete, or financial reporting has been manipulated. In these matters, damages analysis focuses on reconstructing what occurred and quantifying the resulting economic impact.
J.S. Held’s fraud damages experts analyze financial records, trace assets and transactions, and apply established accounting and damages methodologies to quantify losses arising from embezzlement, financial statement fraud, Ponzi schemes, and other forms of misconduct. As our analysis develops and the nature of the alleged fraud takes shape, our scope of work often includes evaluation of lost profits, diverted funds, and misstated financial positions, as well as the financial effects of fraudulent transfers or misappropriation.
Our experts reconstruct and connect disparate financial records, tracing the movement of funds across accounts and entities to identify the full scope and extent of the fraudulent activity. At the conclusion of our investigation, we deliver an expert report prepared for civil litigation, insurance recovery, and regulatory proceedings, with expert witness testimony provided at deposition and trial, creating a linear, coherent story for judges and juries.
Allegations of embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, and other forms of white-collar crime may arise from irregular transactions, unexplained losses, or inconsistencies in financial reporting. In these matters, forensic accounting analysis is used to identify the scope of misconduct, trace the flow of funds, reconstruct financial records, and quantify resulting financial harm.
J.S. Held’s forensic accountants analyze financial statements, bank records, and transaction histories to establish a complete and accurate account of the alleged misconduct. As the analysis develops, our experts provide an independent opinion regarding the period and extent of misconduct, identifying diverted funds, and quantifying the financial impact.
In embezzlement matters, our expertise spans tracing misappropriated funds and quantifying losses for use in litigation and insurance recovery. In Ponzi scheme investigations, we reconstruct investor accounts, analyze reported returns, trace the flow of funds, and determine the extent of investor losses.
Where matters involve broader white-collar misconduct, including money laundering, bribery, kickbacks, self-dealing, or financial statement manipulation, our analysis evaluates how transactions were structured and how funds moved across accounts and entities to define the extent and financial impact of the misconduct.
Fidelity bond claims and insurance fraud matters require independent forensic accounting analysis to establish the nature and scope of loss, document financial impact, and support coverage evaluation and recovery efforts. J.S. Held’s fidelity and commercial crime investigation experts and forensic accountants analyze financial records, internal controls, and transaction data to evaluate claims and quantify covered losses.
Engagements address employee dishonesty, embezzlement, theft, forgery, and other employee-related misconduct that triggers fidelity bond coverage. Our expertise includes analysis of the period and extent of misconduct, reconstruction of affected accounts, and documentation of financial impact for claim evaluation and litigation support.
Subrogation support is provided where insurers seek recovery from responsible third parties following claim payment, with analysis including establishing the financial basis for recovery, tracing assets, and preparing expert reports and testimony for subrogation proceedings.
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