Service Area
Financial Forensics & Investigation
Decision makers and their legal counsel require timely, objective, and fact-based analysis to help them better respond to significant disputes, litigation, or other critical business or regulatory issues. Our professionals regularly work closely with counsel and other stakeholders to plan and execute financial investigations related to known or suspected problems.
Major corporations, private investors, receivers, trustees, and federal and state regulators have relied on the Echelon team to perform critical investigations of active or failed business enterprises in response to fraud or other wrongdoing. This work has been utilized in civil litigation and criminal prosecutions of former officers and directors, insiders, outside professionals, and other parties alleged to have caused damages, received preferential transfers, or committed illegal acts.
Example Engagements:
Engaged by multi-national corporation to investigate prior financial reporting practices of a U.S. subsidiary. Identified significant overstatements of net income due to improper use of the percentage of completion accounting method. Assisted client in the restatement process and in the successful pursuit of an accounting malpractice claim against the prior outside auditor.
Engaged by multi-state commercial property management firm to investigate alleged fraud by a departed executive. Assisted client in reconstruction of manipulated accounting records to quantify the loss. Developed Proof of Loss for an insurance claim and for the subsequent criminal indictment of the executive.
Assisted counsel in investigating the abrupt departure of a group of key employees subject to a non-compete agreement. Worked with computer forensics experts in the analysis of email and other electronic records. This information documented their plans for their future competing business activities and their improper retention of confidential and proprietary information from the employer. Findings were presented in a subsequent arbitration proceeding.
Assisted counsel in the investigation of the actions of a company president. Identified significant misuse of company resources including ghost employees and unauthorized reimbursement for personal expenses such as personal airplane repairs and equipment upgrades, travel, and home remodeling. Documented diversion of corporate assets and opportunities to a competing business controlled by the president. When presented with our findings, the president resigned and signed over ownership interests in the company and in the competing business.