Investigations & Compliance Consulting

Fraud & Investigations

J.S. Held’s Inaugural Global Risk Report Examines Potential Business Risks & Opportunities in 2024

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We deliver strategic guidance regarding investigations of fraud and misconduct, corruption, accounting irregularities, regulatory inquiries, and whistleblower allegations.

As a market leader in dispute and investigative consulting, J.S. Held advises clients on a wide range of contentious situations including litigation and arbitration, fraud and corruption, asset tracing, and enforcement.

Our team has worked on numerous large-scale multi-jurisdictional disputes and fraud investigations – including state-level embezzlement of funds, asset stripping, and corporate fraud.

Leveraging our forensic accounting expertise, investigative experience, and data analytics capabilities, our global network of experts reconstruct and analyze complex financial information and effectively conduct corporate internal investigations to meet the increasing expectation of regulatory and government authorities.

We are experienced in conducting fraud investigations dealing with embezzlement, kickbacks and procurement fraud, Ponzi schemes, related party transactions, five-finger frauds, earnings management, channel stuffing, and other financial statement related frauds including accounting, auditing, and disclosure issues.

Our Services
  • Accounting Advisory & Restatements
  • Accounting Fraud & Financial Fraud Investigations
  • Anti-Bribery & Corruption Investigations & Risk Assessments
  • Bank Statement & Financial Statement Fraud Analysis
  • Commercial Fraud Investigations
  • Compliance & Fraud Due Diligence
  • Contractually Agreed Audits & Third-Party Audits
  • Corporate Internal Investigations
  • Data Analysis, Modeling & Analytical Reporting
  • Digital Forensics
  • Embezzlement, Ponzi Schemes, Kickbacks & Misappropriation of Funds / Self-Dealing Investigations
  • Expert Witness Testimony & Litigation Support
  • Financial Forensic Investigations
  • Global Asset Tracing & Recovery
  • Healthcare Fraud Investigations
  • Insurance Fraud Investigations
  • Intellectual Property (IP) Fraud Investigations
  • Internal Control Remediations
  • Quantification of Damages / Ill-Gotten Gains
  • Real Estate Fraud Investigations
  • Receiver, Trustee & Third-Party Monitoring
  • Regulatory Inquiries & Investigations – DOJ, FINCEN, SEC, Wells Notice, 10b5
  • Securities Litigation
  • Whistleblower Allegations
  • Workplace & Employee Investigations
Our Subject Matter Experts
  • Certified Forensic Computer Examiners (CFCE)
  • Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE)
  • Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF)
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP)
  • Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
  • Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)
  • Computer Forensic Specialists (EnCase Certified Examiners)
  • Data Analysts
  • eDiscovery Specialists
  • FCPA Experts
  • Forensic Accountants
  • Former Compliance Officers
  • Former Corporate Internal Auditors
  • Former Law Enforcement Agents
  • Former Prosecutors
  • Global Asset Tracing Experts
Corporate Internal Investigations

We assist counsel, corporate executives, management, audit or special committees, and boards of directors through each step of investigations in a wide range of financial misconduct, including record tampering, accounting irregularities, regulatory compliance, anti-corruption, commodities trade finance fraud and investment schemes, among other types of financial malfeasance.

We combine expertise in forensic accounting, investigations, data analytics, business intelligence, global asset tracing, and eDiscovery, to preserve evidence, gather and analyze massive volumes of data, and produce unbiased reports for key stakeholders, including corporate boards, outside auditors, company management, and regulators or prosecutors. Where funds have been lost, we help gather evidence to support freezing orders and discovery and trace and recover assets.

Additionally, we assist in evaluating and enhancing internal controls to prevent reoccurrences of future fraud and ensure compliance with corporate governance requirements and regulatory inquiries. We help clients strategize and respond to regulatory inquiries and self-reported violations, and we have experience providing support to independent monitors, and/or court appointed receivers, including transactional testing and assessment of varying levels of the ongoing effectiveness of organizational compliance programs.

DIGITAL INVESTIGATIONS & DISCOVERY

Our Digital Investigations & Discovery team delivers expertise in responding to the legal, regulatory, and reputational challenges that occur due to fraud, misconduct, and corruption.

We utilize the latest technologies and apply artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models to quickly identify instances of fraud. In both disputes and fraud investigations, our experts leverage decades of experience spanning digital investigative disciplines, including:

  • Cyber Security & Incident Response – we assist in determining attack vectors and identifying fraudulent actors, as well as help clients implement proactive fraud prevention measures.
  • Data Analytics – our experts provide analysis of financial transactions to help clients to uncover potential fraudulent behaviors and quantify the extent of fraud in investigations.
  • Digital Forensics – we deliver guidance to collect and preserve critical ESI across all data sources including emails, PDFs, chats, hard copies, media files, and document productions, among others.
  • eDiscovery – our team understands and adheres to defensible ESI protocols, manages document reviews from beginning to end, and produces documents and reports for investigatory bodies.
  • Information Governance & Data Privacy – we help to both proactively and reactively protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of an organization’s data.
Accounting Advisory & Restatements

We assist organizations to investigate matters involving financial reporting irregularities, auditing malpractice, revenue recognition issues, and whistleblower allegations. Our experts leverage deep knowledge of accounting and auditing standards to help clients to identify and evaluate material misstatements that may warrant a restatement and or be indicative of fraudulent activity.

We conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses to identify issues in financial statements and disclosures to look for patterns of potential fraud. Our team provides strategic guidance to clients in appropriate responses to regulatory inquiries involving accounting policies and procedures. We assist clients in remediation efforts, including enhancing existing internal controls, policies, and procedures.

When a restatement is needed, we work with clients to interact with auditors and minimize impact to day-to-day operations.

Regulatory Inquiries & Investigations

We help clients facing regulatory and corruption issues and investigations by government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Our experts assist in complex financial investigations involving issues relating to fraudulent financial reporting, misappropriation of assets, money laundering, bribery and corruption payments, and other potentially fraudulent transactions. We work with clients to respond to regulatory enforcement inquiries and investigations quickly and effectively.

In situations where a monitor is designated to ensure a company’s compliance with the terms of a settlement, we possess extensive experience to assist the appointed monitor in areas including transactional testing, internal controls, gap assessments, and reporting.

Asset Tracing & Recovery

Our experts have extensive experience in identifying and recovering misappropriated assets, no matter the location. We leverage extensive forensic accounting, business intelligence, and global investigative expertise to identify wrongdoers and locate funds or assets that may be obscured by money laundering schemes and complex corporate and nominee structures. Our investigative findings have been used to support various commercial court claims around the globe.

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