Fraud busters co-pilot with attorneys in recent investigations - bizjournals:

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Mukamal is an accountant by trainingand certification, but such callws often come from attorneys. “Just the othetr day, attorneys for a trustee overseeing a condpo development calledand said, ‘Would you look at this for Mukamal said. “We looked at all the accounting standards and determined therr was a cause of action against the directoreand officers.” Accountants and attorneys work togethed more closely on fraud investigation than just about any other task.
Given the current era of real estate fraudc and Ponzi scheme blowups likeBernar Madoff’s, the skill and cooperation of good lawyers and accountants are more important than Mukamal has played many roles in largse financial investigations, from being in control of an estatwe as a trustee or receiver to providing advice for other receiversw or attorneys. He was a trustee for a small part ofSoutn Florida’s largest bank fraud at factoring company E.S. Bankest. “Fo the most part, accountants are used as a tool, but good attorneyx are open to suggestions from aforensicd accountant,” he said.
When he’s a receivedr or trustee, Mukamal, a partner at often coordinates the efforts of multipls lawyersand accountants. “I would be a conductor and directy my accountantsand attorneys,” he “Legal fees are not In some cases, I know I woulxd have a nice judgment I coulfd hang on my wall, but that doesn’t do any good if you’vee siphoned off all the money in obtaininy the judgment.” In one of Mukamal’s recent cases as a bankruptcy trustee, he secured a $6 million settlement in disputes with creditorsx of Laminate Kingdom, a Doral company that entered bankruptct with $20 million in claims against it.
He was represented by attorney Gary Freedmanof Tabas, . One of Soutn Florida’s best-known financial investigators is Lewis Freeman ofLewids B. Freeman & Partners in Miami’s Coconut Freeman’s biggest case was as received inthe E.S. Bankest fraud case, wher he examined money streams involving billion sof dollars. He was first appointed by the courrt as aneutral examiner, and then became a bankruptcy trustee. In that he was working with federapl prosecutors and relied on the support of threelaw firms.
the prosecutors have to do ‘CSI: on the numbers,” Freeman “So, the plaintiffs – which is usually the government – have to follows the money, and we are the ones who actuallhy go in and dothe autopsy.” Freeman works mostlt as an accountant, but is also an His legal help for E.S. Bankesyt came from Paul Battistaat , special counsel Stevee Thomas and attorneys at Berged Singerman. Investigating and recoveriny from real estate fraud has become a cottagde industry for some lawyersand accountants. Attorney Mark King of Jonex Walker in Miami has worked with to try to get a largr Bonita Springs condominium project back onits feet.
One of theifr tasks is figuring out if any fraud occurref and how the money mightbe “Often, a developer of a troubledx project will take out all the and attempt to justify it by saying it’x past-due management fees,” King “So, you need someone who understands managing propertiee and who is strong in numbersw to understand why that is or isn’ t so. KW has accountants who can do that.” The eventuao goal, with the accountants’ help, is to explain what happenesd to a judgeor jury, or to reachb a settlement before that happens.
“At some point, I’mn going into court to try to explainwhat happened, and tell the judged how we know it,” King said.