At Dabbs, Hickman, Hill & Cannon, LLP, we have experience investigating accounting fraud, employee theft and misconduct, financial crime, loss valuation due to personal injury and other suspicious activity, such as the misrepresentation of financial information.
Several representative case examples are provided below:
Collusion & Embezzlement – Loss determination & court representation
Our Forensic Accounting team was asked to quantify losses suffered by a small business at the hands of trusted employees. By analyzing the accounting transactions, computer records, bank statements and other documents, we were able to determine that over $1.8 million had been embezzled from the company in less than five years. Following our investigation and a summarization of the findings, we provided court exhibits and testimony at the restitution hearing on behalf of the victimized organization.
Fraud in business acquisition – Litigation support
The plaintiff’s attorney engaged our firm to investigate fraudulent financial representations by the defendant in a business acquisition. Using the company’s financial records, tax returns, e-mails and bank statements, we summarized and analyzed multiple years of business transactions. Our analytical investigation concluded that there was a misrepresentation of over $500,000 – a material amount for this business acquisition. Additionally, we provided court exhibits and testimony as an expert witness during the trial.
Bankruptcy – Court Appointed Examiner
The U.S. Bankruptcy court appointed our team to serve as the Examiner in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, involving a multi-state corporation. On behalf of the trustee our firm provided staff oversight and tax return preparation as the entity continued to operate under a reorganization plan. Furthermore, our team summarized the company’s business transactions, provided depositions, and assisted the trustee’s attorney in various legal proceedings.
Divorce litigation – Tracing Assets and funds
An attorney for the wife in a divorce case engaged our team to determine the husband’s annual income and net worth, as well as trace funds and missing assets. We obtained accounting records from the husband’s solely owned multi-million-dollar corporation, in addition to tax returns, bank statements and other records, to perform our analysis. After our investigation, we were able to conclude that the husband was concealing assets and fraudulently reporting his income to reduce his portion of the divorce settlement. We testified as an expert witness in the trial, which resulted in a favorable settlement for the wife, a stay at home mom, and her two children.
Bankruptcy – Creditor representation
The attorney for a creditor in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case asked us to perform an analysis of the debtor’s financial dealings during the bankruptcy period. Our financial analysis determined that while originally operating under a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy the debtor, a corporation, sold collateralized assets without permission and failed to pay the proceeds to the creditor. Additionally, the debtor filed a fraudulent initial bankruptcy petition and materially inaccurate monthly operating reports. Furthermore, the debtor obtained pre-petition loans from the bank by providing fraudulent information to the loan officer and pledging assets they did not own. Our team summarized our findings, provided court exhibits and served as an expert witness in the trial to deny a discharge.
Our Forensic services practice provides the capabilities to meet the most diverse and challenging situations. We help organizations tackle the major financial and reputational risks associated with economic crime.