Solvency Evaluation in Fraudulent Transfer Actions

CPA, ABV, CFF

Jack Schwager has more than 19 years of professional experience providing dispute advisory, forensic accounting and accounting advisory, and valuation services and is a member of FTI Consulting’s Forensic Accounting & Advisory Services practice. Mr. Schwager specializes in analyzing damages in commercial litigation, consulting on financial and accounting‐based disputes and investigations and performing valuations in commercial and bankruptcy litigation. He has been retained to provide expert testimony in matters in both state and federal U.S. courts, and he has provided expert testimony at deposition and at trial. Mr. Schwager has measured damages in commercial litigation from lost profits, diminution in value, benefit of the bargain, unjust enrichment, reasonable royalty, and costs incurred. He has consulted on matters involving alleged breach of contract, employment discrimination, fraud, insurance claims, alter ego and corporate veil piercing, fraudulent transfers, insolvency, accountant malpractice, product liability, and asset and business valuation. He has further consulted in bankruptcy litigation on disputes involving solvency, alleged fraudulent transfers, reasonably equivalent value, and preferences. Furthermore, Mr. Schwager has led forensic engagements involving investigation of accounting‐based fraud, investigations of accounting and SEC reporting irregularities, cash tracing and misappropriation of assets, GAAP, IFRS and GAAS standards, and contract compliance reviews involving licenses, service contracts, and ERP implementations. He has advised both acquirers and sellers in post‐acquisition disputes involving GAAP, post‐closing purchase price adjustments, and breaches of representations and warranties. Mr. Schwager has further assisted FTI neutral accountant arbitrators to examine and adjudicate disputed claims in numerous arbitrations. Mr. Schwager is currently a member of the AICPA’s Forensic and Litigation Services Bankruptcy Task Force and is formerly member of the Damages Task Force. He is a coauthor of three AICPA Practice Aids: Calculating Lost Profits, Providing Bankruptcy and Reorganization Services ‐ Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Bankruptcy, and Providing Bankruptcy and Reorganization Services ‐ Valuation in Bankruptcy. Mr. Schwager’s industry experience includes automotive, consumer electronics, financial services, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, retail, semiconductors, telecommunications and transportation. Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Schwager was a public accountant with Deloitte and Arthur Andersen. He previously served as corporate controller to an automotive parts manufacturer.

CPA, CFP, CFE

Ken DeGraw is a Litigation support and tax partner based out of Withum’s Whippany, NJ office. Ken is a leader in the Firm’s Forensic and Valuation Services Niche and provides services in the areas of insolvency, bankruptcy, forensic accounting amongst others. Ken is a graduate of Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA, with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He is an active member of many organizations such as the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA), the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), the Association of Insolvency and Reorganization Advisers (AIRA), the Turnaround Management Association (TMA). Ken serves on the AICPA Forensic and Valuation Services Executive committee and past Chair of the Bankruptcy task force. In addition to his CPA he is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds both the CFF and PFS designations.

CPA, CFE, CFF, ABV, MBA

Dean Driskell is a managing director with Willamette Management Associates and is based in Atlanta. With more than 25 years of experience in financial analysis, accounting, reporting, and financial management, Dean specializes in performing financial consulting services for clients involved in various types of accounting, economic, and commercial disputes as well as fraud and forensic accounting matters. Serving clients and their counsel in both private and public sectors, Dean has provided technical analyses, accounting/restatement assistance, and litigation support across a variety of industries, including banking, oil and gas, health care, real estate, utilities, pulp and paper, construction, insurance, farming, chemicals, entertainment, consumer products, manufacturing, and various service entities. Dean is responsible for engagement management and the preparation of financial models, economic projections, financial statements, and sensitivity analyses used in the determination of financial damages or dispute resolution. Such matters may include breach of contract, reporting/restatement, fraud investigation, white-collar crimes, construction claims, lost profits, forensic accounting, mergers/ acquisitions, and arbitrated disputes. He has been employed by financial service firms for the past 19 years, devoting himself exclusively to forensic consulting. Dean has significant experience as an expert witness. During his career, he has provided expert testimony in the U.S. District Courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, and various State Superior Courts. He provided testimony regarding breach of contract, fraud, insurance, loss of business, partnership dispute, valuation, economic damages, loss of life, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer, badges of fraud, RICO and murder matters. Dean also assisted clients in arbitrations (both as the arbitrator and expert) and as a special master. Additionally, he performed consulting services related to qui tam claims brought by the Department of Justice. Further, Dean calculated economic damages and lost profits in trademark, copyright and patent litigations. Dean led fraud and forensic investigations across a variety of industries and business types. These engagements include bank fraud, employee theft, phishing schemes, accounting misconduct, vendor fraud, asset misappropriation, financial statement fraud, and corporate integrity agreements. During many of these investigations, he conducted interviews and reported results to corporate boards of directors or various governmental agencies (Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, local law enforcement). In other instances, Dean worked closely with C-suite personnel to improve process and internal controls to minimize future exposure to financial losses or liabilities.