Alex leads the contentious insolvency and asset recovery team at Stewarts, focusing on disputes arising from distressed and insolvent situations, often involving allegations of breach of duty, fraud, and dishonesty.  Alex focuses on maximizing returns to his clients and recovering substantial assets quickly and efficiently.  Alex has recently represented liquidators in a claim for over $450m against an offshore bank and its former owner, relating to suspected widescale tax frauds affecting numerous insolvent entities.

Arnoldo (Arnie) Lacayo, a shareholder at Sequor Law, focuses his international litigation practice on financial fraud, asset recovery and cross-border insolvency. He has experience litigating complex disputes in both state and federal courts and has represented multi-national corporations, sovereign governments, Receivers, Trustees and other foreign officeholders in matters pending in U.S. Courts. Arnie regularly supervises transnational investigations and has instructed counsel in dozens of jurisdictions. He also has extensive experience working with the versatile 28 U.S.C. § 1782 discovery statute and Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Published cases in which Arnie has participated include: In Re Massa Falida do Banco Cruzeiro do Sul, S.A., 567 B.R. 212 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2017) (affirming right of Chapter 15 foreign representative to assert state law fraudulent conveyance claims or other avoidance actions); Application of Consorcio Ecuatoriano de Telecomunicaciones S.A. v. JAS Forwarding (USA), Inc., 747 F.3d 1262 (11th Cir. 2014) (affirming the applicability of the 28 U.S.C. § 1782 discovery statute in support of contemplated foreign proceedings); In re Sociedad Militar Seguro de Vida, 985 F.Supp.2d 1375 (N.D. Ga. 2013) (granting 28 U.S.C. § 1782 assistance in support of litigation pending in Curaçao); and Sallah v. Worldwide Clearing, LLC, et al., 2011 WL 5914034 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 28, 2011) (order denying various motions to dismiss fraudulent transfers and unjust enrichment claims by Receiver).

In addition to being named a “Super Lawyer” by the publication Super Lawyers, Arnie’s recent speaking engagements include: Florida International University College of Law lecture for course titled El Derecho en Estados Unidos: Aspectos Fundamentales, Litigios y Arbitraje Internacional (Miami, Florida, August 2018); C5’s Fraud, Asset Tracing and Recovery Conference, Trouble in Paradise: Everything You Need to Know About Beneficial Ownership, Transparency and Disclosure (Geneva, Switzerland, March 2018); the AIJA 2016 Half Year Conference, Concrete Risks – Corruption and Money Laundering in the Acquisition and Construction of Real Estate (Chicago, Illinois, May 2016). Arnie has also contributed to or co-authored various papers and chapters, including the United States Chapter in The FraudNet World Compendium on Asset Tracing and Recovery.

Arnie is an active member of the Florida Bar’s International Law Section where he recently concluded his year as Chair of the one-thousand member-plus organization and where he continues to serve as a member of the Executive Council. He is also active with the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA) where he currently serves as President of the Litigation Commission.

As a native Spanish speaker, prior to settling in South Florida, Arnie lived and studied in Latin America. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. As the Articles and Comments Editor for the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, he authored Seeking a Balance: International Pharmaceutical Patent Protection, Public Health Crises and The Emerging Threat of Bio-Terrorism, 33 U. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. 295 (2002), for which he received the 2003 Burton Award for Legal Achievement, an award presented annually by the Burton Foundation in association with the Library of Congress. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where he double majored in Psychology and History. He also completed a Concentration in Latin American Studies while at Notre Dame.

Arnie is admitted to all Florida state courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Favorite Quote:


“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Languages:

• English


• Spanish

Basem Ayash is a technologist, entrepreneur, and security expert, specializing in application security, cybercrime, and cyber intelligence. As Chief Technology Officer, Chief System Architect and Head of Information Security, Basem leads the software development of numerous enterprise products and the security consulting services. He is CISSP-certified, ethical hacker-certified, and a licensed penetration tester with background experience in operating system development and device drivers.

Basem has in-depth technical knowledge of security at all levels, ranging from network, operating systems, applications, and data levels. Over the last 10 years, he has provided cyber security training and consultancy services to various GCC government clients (including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc.), helping them in the design and implementation of their network and cyber security infrastructure.

Basem has worked with major GCC government and private organizations for over 24 years and now leads his companies as one of the most prominent solution providers. Prior to that, he healed technical positions at leading technology companies such as Compaq Computer and Xerox.

Basem is the co-founder of aiNTEL, Indafo and the founder of Akrebeia LLC (USA) and Softech (Software Technology Solutions, Lebanon), and the co- founder of ZFP-IT (Tasheel Information Technology, KSA) and Creative Technology Systems CTS (India). He is responsible for overseeing the operation and business growth of these companies, which have played a major role in their respective industries, delivering world class services and products to clients across different sectors.

Benedict Hamilton is a managing director in the Forensic Investigations and Intelligence practice of Kroll, based in the London office. He developed Kroll’s General Investigations team for the EMEA region, specializing in digital investigations, including open source, and the tools and methodologies that enable clients to combat cybercrime, leaks of confidential information, counterfeiting/illicit trade, and cryptocurrencies.

Benedict is currently the global lead for technology and innovation, continuing to develop proprietary tools and techniques for Kroll investigations, particularly around social media analytics and blockchains.

Prior to joining Kroll in 2005, Benedict spent 12 years producing investigative television programs for BBC and Channel 4. He was also nominated twice for Channel 4’s Royal Television Society (RTS) Best Journalism Awards for programs on Northern Irish terrorism and Combat 18.

Brian Simms KC is the Senior Partner of the firm and the head of its Litigation and Insolvency & Restructuring Groups. He is one of the Bahamas’ leading advocates and has vast experience in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, in addition to having appeared a number of times in the Privy Council.

He was made a Queen’s Counsel in 2009 and is instructed in the most substantial Bahamian and international offshore cases.

Consistently ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Global and Chambers High-Net-Worth, Brian is praised for the quality of his work and expertise in commercial litigation, trust disputes, insolvency and fraud cases. He is described by clients as “a top offshore Silk” and “the best litigation lawyer in the Bahamas”.

Brian was appointed one of the liquidators of the FTX Group in the Bahamas.

David R. Chase is a former SEC Enforcement Attorney who now represents individual SEC whistleblowers in the SEC Whistleblower Program. Mr. Chase has substantial experience in strategically navigating SEC whistleblowers through the whistleblowing process in order to attempt to maximize the likelihood that the SEC will initiative an investigation and, ultimately, bring a successful enforcement action resulting in a financial bounty to the whistleblower. Mr. Chase's institutional knowledge of what type of whistleblower tips the SEC is likely to investigate, and his ability to proactively cooperate his whistleblower clients once an investigation is initiated, is critical to a whistleblower's success.

Mr. Chase began his legal career at Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm in Miami, where he represented securities and financial firms in securities cases and SEC and FINRA investigations. Thereafter, he joined the Enforcement Division of the SEC, where he worked for almost four years, ultimately obtaining the title of Senior Counsel. For part of that time, Mr. Chase served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office - Economic Crimes Division in the Southern District of Florida. While a Government prosecutor handling exclusively securities fraud cases, Mr. Chase was involved in matters involving insider trading, Ponzi schemes, market manipulations, municipal bond fraud and broker-dealer retail sales practice violations.

Mr. Chase has been appointed by Federal District Court Judges to serve as Receiver in Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission cases, where he was empowered to protect the rights of defrauded securities investors and consumers. Mr. Chase has been published on SEC issues and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law where he teaches a course on SEC Enforcement Litigation.

Investigative financial journalist David Marchant owns and operates Florida-domiciled OffshoreAlert, a news, documents, and conference-organizing company that specializes in financial intelligence and investigations, with an emphasis on high-value, cross-border finance conducted in high-confidentiality offshore and onshore jurisdictions.

Since it was launched in 1997, OffshoreAlert has exposed more than 175 investment frauds and money laundering schemes while they were in progress, contributing to their early collapse, and helped law enforcement, regulators, and asset recovery specialists hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

Fraudsters have sued Marchant and OffshoreAlert for defamation in Canada, Cayman Islands, England, Grenada, Panama, and the United States, with several plaintiffs subsequently going to prison, including one for 17 years.

OffshoreAlert is regularly referenced in news articles, books, government reports, TV programs, and movie documentaries about serious financial crime.

Edward H. Davis, Jr., a founding shareholder of Sequor Law, focuses his practice on the representation of individual, corporate and institutional victims of fraud throughout the world. Ed conducts financial fraud investigations, prosecutes civil claims for fraud and pursues misappropriated assets, having tracked such funds in jurisdictions across the globe, including Japan, the Bahamas, Latin America, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, among others.

A highly recognized and sought-after leader in his field, Ed is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Inaugural Chair of the Asset Recovery Sub-Committee of the International Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Committee, and member of other distinguished boards and committees. Under his direction, Sequor Law has established itself as a leading member of the ICC Commercial Crimes Services FraudNet Network.

Ed frequently lectures on financial fraud and corruption to groups ranging from one of the world’s most prominent banks, to associations of certified public accountants and investigative agencies. He also counsels clients in fraud response crises based on his experience handling high-profile cases, including the second-largest Ponzi scheme in world history. Ed also is noted for filing the first Chapter 15 bankruptcy petition in the state of Florida.

Admitted to practice in Florida and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Ed is a Past Chair of the International Law Section for which he has served as the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer as well as on the Executive Council. He is the Founding Chair of its International Litigation and Arbitration Committee; a member of the Bankruptcy Bar of the Southern District of Florida, and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Florida International Bankers Association. 

Favorite Quote:

“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice, he is the worst.” – Aristotle

Eric I. Bustillo currently serves as Director of the Miami Regional Office (“MIRO”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). As Director, he is responsible for leading the functions of the MIRO, including the supervision of the office’s Enforcement and Examination programs, which jurisdiction covers the states of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The MIRO employs numerous professionals, including attorneys, accountants, and examiners, as well as support personnel who are assigned to these programs.

Between March 1995 and February 2010, Mr. Bustillo was employed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (“USAO-SDFL”) as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) where for the last five years of his tenure with the office he served as Chief of the USAO-SDFL’s Economic & Environmental Crimes Section, in charge of supervising a group of AUSAs and other professionals. Mr. Bustillo supervised and prosecuted criminal matters involving, among other things, securities/corporate fraud, health care fraud, environmental crimes, commodities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, and money laundering violations.

Between February 1990 and March 1995, Mr. Bustillo was employed by the MIRO where he last served as Chief of one of the office’s Enforcement branches, in charge of supervising a group of enforcement attorneys and an accountant. He supervised and prosecuted complex matters involving, among other things, financial fraud, insider trading, stock manipulation, fraudulent sale of unregistered securities, broker-dealer/investment adviser fraudulent practices, and corporate accounting controls violations. Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Bustillo worked, briefly, at a private law firm doing commercial litigation and some corporate/real estate transactional work.

Mr. Bustillo attained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Economics from the University of Miami School of Business and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami School of Law. Mr. Bustillo currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty member of the Litigation Skills Program at the University of Miami School of Law where he teaches Trial Advocacy Skills. He also is a frequent speaker at securities and white collar crime seminars around the country.

Erin West is a national leader in the investigation and prosecution of cryptocurrency crimes. Ms. West has spent 24 years as a Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County, California, and has special expertise in high tech, hate crimes and search and seizure. Ms. West is currently assigned as the prosecutor to the REACT task force, a multi-agency high tech team made up of law enforcement from local and federal agencies. Along with the agents at REACT, Ms. West was one of the first nationwide to investigate and prosecute SIM-swapping, resulting in millions of dollars of losses of cryptocurrency to both individuals and businesses. Ms. West’s current mission is to disrupt the wave of romance/investment scams known as pig butchering.

Etan is a Chambers-ranked litigator with a fondness for darts, history and Game of Thrones. He readily combines strategic thinking with action and often advises clients on what they should and (often) should not do when presented with the unique challenges of a business in (or near) litigation.

Etan has been ranked by Chambers & Partners USA in commercial litigation. Sources interviewed by Chambers have said that “He’s absolutely fantastic; a very smart, strategic litigator. His ability to present in court is outstanding.” Others were not so complimentary: his mother was quoted as saying: “He is a good boy but he should’ve been a cardiologist.” His twin brother complained as well, calling him “a pain in the ass.”

Many of Etan’s cases touch either real estate or allegations of fraud; often both. He also serves as an “inside-outside” counsel, helping clients avoid or mitigate risk in the day-to-day operations of their businesses. His representative clients include public and private companies, real estate developers, investors and owners, tech entrepreneurs, family offices, hotels and banks. For some strange reason, Etan is particularly enamored with the ins and outs of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and has written and read extensively on the subject. The rest of the time, he can be seen asking his son to please stop watching videos of other people playing Fortnite and stressing out about climate change.

Etan began his legal career working as a business and securities litigator at a top 10 American Lawyer “Big Law” firm in New York. Since leaving New York for more . . . challenging sea levels, Etan has become a devotee of alternative value propositions focused on efficiency, collaboration and bespoke service (that are sometimes hard to come by in “Big Law”). Etan worked as a law clerk to a federal district court judge in Miami, where he gained an insider’s view on effective advocacy. Following his clerkship, Etan owned and was the CEO of a company that leveraged the global marketplace by outsourcing certain legal services to top attorneys and other legal service providers in India. Prior to founding MM&H, Etan was a partner at Berger Singerman’s Miami office, and was manager of the firm’s Dispute Resolution team.

Fergus Shiel is ICIJ's managing editor, based in Washington, D.C.

Shiel has overseen many recent ICIJ projects, among them the Pandora Papers and the FinCEN Files - the biggest and second biggest global investigative journalism collaborations of their kind ever, Luanda Leaks, Implant Files, China Cables, Mauritius Leaks, Solitary Voices and Bribery Division. The projects have garnered numerous national and international awards for ICIJ.

Before joining ICIJ, Shiel was editor of The Age newspaper’s internationally-acclaimed tablet edition in Melbourne, Australia.

During more than 20 years with The Age, he was national editor, state editor, and chief-of-staff. He was tasked with overseeing the publication’s world coverage and he was editor of the National Times political website.

Shiel led The Age team that covered Australia’s all-time worst bushfire disaster, the Black Saturday bushfires. One hundred and seventy-three people died as a result of the fires and hundreds more were injured.

Shiel commenced his journalism career with several rural titles in his native Ireland before moving to Australia.

He is a fan of the Liverpool Football Club who does journalism, in that order.

Gabriela, the founder of MB Scanlon, focuses her practice on government enforcement defense matters, internal corporate investigations and complex cross-border civil litigation, with a focus on Latin America.  She represents clients in all aspects of offensive and defensive litigation matters brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other investigative agencies related to allegations of financial fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  Gabriela has also extensive experience with the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards in the U.S., as well as related cross-border asset tracing and recovery.

As a dual-qualified lawyer, admitted to practice in New York, Washington, D.C. and Brazil, Gabriela is able to efficiently navigate different legal systems and provide clients with innovative legal strategies and techniques.

Before founding the firm, Gabriela practiced at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in São Paulo, where she handled corporate matters, Kobre & Kim in both New York and Washington, D.C., and Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C., where she handled Latin America-focused litigation and government enforcement.

Glenn Pomerantz is a BDO partner with over 35 years of forensic accounting, auditing and consulting experience and leads BDO’s Global Forensic Practice. Mr. Pomerantz is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner specializing in fraud investigations, compliance and due diligence as well as domestic and international dispute resolution.

Mr. Pomerantz leads forensic accounting engagements in the United States and globally where he has built and maintains a network of over 100 BDO member firms performing forensic engagements in a seamless manner.

Mr. Pomerantz provides expert witness testimony in the form of economic damage quantification and analyses including lost profit opinions. He has testified in approximately 100 matters over his 35-year tenure across numerous industries and venues.

He is recognized in “Who’s Who Legal” under Investigations Forensic Accountants and Consulting Experts Forensic Accountants.

Hadley specialises in providing governance and leadership in complex engagements including shareholder activism and disputes bondholder enforcement succession management and sale mandates.

Haydn Jones is a managing director in the Data Insights and Forensics practice, based in London. Haydn leverages more than 25 years’ experience across multiple sectors leading sales and business development and is now exclusively focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

Prior to joining Kroll, Haydn served as a director at PwC, leading the UK Crypto and Blockchain team. He was responsible for sales and business development working across PwC’s lines of service, supporting audit, assurance, tax, deals and consulting. Before that, he was the founder and managing director for Blockchain Hub, a blockchain and digital currencies advisory company. Haydn has also held positions at The Bank of England, Deutsche Bank and the UK Ministry of Defence.

Henrique Forssell is one of the founding partners of DFA, with extensive experience in advising trustees, foreign liquidators and financial institutions in the identification of bankruptcy and banking frauds of national repercussion. Over the last ten years, he has been apointed by several judicial authorities to some of the most relevant proceedings of international recovery of assets in Brazil. Since 2011 he has been a member of FraudNet, an organization established by the International Chamber of Commerce that selects highly qualified and experienced lawyers in recovery of assets in each country. He was named as a reference lawyer in Brazil in the area of recovery of defrauded assets by English magazine Who’s Who Legal. He is also a member of INSOL (International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals).

From May 2009 until May 2010, Jeff served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. As the chief federal law enforcement officer in South Florida, he led the federal effort to protect the safety and security of more than six million people. He focused on national security, organized crime, public corruption and a wide-variety of white-collar criminal offenses including health care fraud, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and money laundering. Under his skilled leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office achieved a record number of convictions, including cases involving the prosecution of the largest Ponzi scheme in Florida history, multiple elected public officials, numerous Medicare and bank fraud offenses and high ranking members of international organized criminal organizations.

Prior to being sworn in as U.S. Attorney, Jeff distinguished himself as a career federal prosecutor, serving as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division, the number two and three positions in one of the largest U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the nation. Jeff is a highly-accomplished trial lawyer.  During his 20-year career with the Department of Justice, Mr. Sloman tried nearly 50 criminal cases to verdict. The Department of Justice honored him twice with one of its most prestigious national awards. In 1997 and 2003, Jeff received the “Director’s Award” for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney. His 2003 Director’s Award was for the first post-September 11, 2001 prosecution of two radical Islamic fundamentalists whose goal was to bomb various South Florida installations on behalf of Osama bin Laden.

Since leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010, Jeff has represented clients in federal criminal investigations involving insurance and health care fraud. He has also tried and won several multi-million dollar jury verdicts. In 2014 alone, Jeff was recognized for winning two significant jury trials, Cuculino v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. and T.G. v. G4S Secure Solutions, USA, Inc. For Cuculino, Jeff was awarded the “Most Effective Lawyer” by the Daily Business Review for winning a $5 million “first-of-a-kind verdict” against Philip Morris USA, Inc. http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/id=1202677930289/FirstofaKind-Verdict-Blames-Smoking-for-Heart-Disease. A few months later, he won a $1.3 million verdict against giant security company G4S Secure Solutions, USA, Inc. for a woman who was secretly videotaped by a Peeping Tom security guard. http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/05/16/victim-of-peeping-tom-security-guard-awarded-1-3-million/.

A frequent teacher and lecturer, Jeff has provided legal commentary for local and national networks. He has been featured on CNBC, American Greed: “Scott Rothstein, $1.2 Billion Scam: Ft. Frauderdale,” On Camera Commentator, February 11, 2011: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx7gmq_american-greed-1-2-billion-scam-ft-frauderdale_news; and ABC, Nightline: “Medicare Fraud Costs Taxpayers More Than $60 Billion Each Year”, March 17, 2010: https://archive.org/details/WJLA_20100318_033500_Nightline.

Professor John M. Griffin is the James A. Elkins Centennial Chair in Finance at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Griffin is a leading forensic finance expert, specializing in understanding the role of potentially illegal, illicit, or immoral actions in financial markets. His research has analyzed potential fraud related to cryptocurrencies, PPP fraud, CMBS, CLOs, the 2007-2008 financial crisis, bonds and structured finance products, credit ratings, derivatives, insider trading, market manipulation, investment bank disclosures, financial market anomalies and hedge funds. His papers have won top finance awards and, according to the SEC, he is the second most cited academic in recent SEC rulemaking. He has published over 30 papers in the top finance and economics journals and is widely cited. His recent research has been profiled in Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and over 750 other news outlets around the world.

Professor Griffin is the CEO/owner of Integra FEC, Integra REC, Integra Research Group, and Integra MED Analytics, which specialize in Forensic Investigations. Integra FEC and Professor Griffin have consulted for various entities including the US and state DOJs, the SEC, the CFTC, and other parties. He is a past President and Vice-President of the Western Finance Association, one of the leading finance associations, as well as a past President and Vice-President of the Society of Financial Studies SFS Cavalcade, and a former director of the Financial Management Association and Western Finance Association. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

John J. Ray III is an American attorney and CEO who specializes in recovering assets and value from failed high-profile corporations.

Having previously served as chairman of Enron Creditors Recovery Corp., Mr. Ray currently serves as the CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

John Kim is a Principal in Control Risks’ Compliance, Forensics, and Intelligence group and leads the Americas’ Data Analytics practice.

John has advised government organizations, multinational corporations and global law firms by providing technology-driven solutions and bespoke analysis of complex data systems to mitigate critical investigations, compliance and integrity risks.

Recent tasks that John has worked on include:

Prior to joining Control Risks, John was a Managing Consultant at Navigant Consulting in the Disputes and Investigations practice with the Legal Technology Solutions group.

John graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Financial Management and a Master’s Degree in Accounting, and is fluent in Korean.

A former U.S. Department of Justice Special Agent who pioneered an early federal task force focusing exclusively on crypto and dark web crimes.  Has led numerous major crypto-related investigations to include the takedown of Hydra - the largest crypto-powered dark web criminal organization and money laundering platform in the world.

Luis is Managing Partner of the law firm 'Palomino, Flores, Hernandez, Abogados', with offices in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

He has been a trial lawyer since 1996 and specializes in financial restructuring and insolvency proceedings, litigation and negotiations between Partners and Shareholders.

He is a director of various business groups.

Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq. is the Senior Partner of Goldfeder & Terry. He also serves as the Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center. Previously, he served as the founding Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Law and Judaism, a Trustee of the Center for Israel Education, and as an adviser to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations.

Goldfeder has taught law across the country and around the world as Senior Lecturer at Emory University School of Law, Spruill Family Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Director of the Restoring Religious Freedom Project, and as a visiting professor at Georgia State University School of Law, Florida Southern College, University of Padua (Italy), Scuola Galileana (Italy), IDC’s Radzyner Law School (Israel) and Bar Ilan Law School (Israel).

Goldfeder holds two rabbinic ordinations (yoreh yoreh; Yeshiva University and Rivavot Ephraim) and two judicial ordinations (yadin yadin; Rav Gedaliah Dov Schwartz, Av Beth Din, Rabbinical Council of America and Chicago Rabbinical Council, and Rav Dovid Schochet, President, Toronto Rabbinical Council).

Goldfeder’s work focuses on law and religion, constitutional law, international law, Jewish law, family law, and law and technology. He publishes widely in those areas, including both academically and in popular publications like CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Forbes, and other major media outlets. He is co-author of the five-volume treatise Religious Organizations and the Law (Westlaw).

Goldfeder handles cases involving anti-Semitism and BDS issues around the country and lectures and writes widely on those topics. He has worked with local, state, and federal legislators on measures to support the Jewish community, and has defended students, professors, businesses, and nonprofits targeted for their support of the Jewish State. He has worked on cases at the International Criminal Court in the Hague and has successfully represented clients including American and Israeli nonprofits in federal litigation.

In 2017, he received the Opher Aviran Stand with Israel Award from Hillel, and in 2018, the Jon Barkan Israel Advocacy Award from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in recognition of his work. In 2021, Goldfeder was appointed by President Trump to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council.

He serves as Special Counsel for International Affairs at the American Center for Law and Justice, previously as private counsel to President Donald J. Trump, and as outside counsel to multiple religious organizations across various faith groups. He received his Doctorate and LLM degrees from Emory University and his Juris Doctor degree from NYU School of Law. He received his Bachelor of Arts at Yeshiva University in Journalism.

Martin Kenney is one of the world’s leading asset recovery lawyers, specialising in multi-jurisdictional economic crime and international serious fraud. He has acted for international banks, insurance companies, individual investors, and other private and governmental institutions.

Based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Martin is founder and managing partner of Martin Kenney & Co (MKS). The firm’s work lies at the intersection of cross-border insolvency, creditors’ rights, and complex commercial litigation.

Today Martin is ranked among the world’s leading asset recovery lawyers worldwide by Chambers & Partners, and is considered one of Who’s Who Legal (WWL) 2021 global elite Thought Leaders. From 2017-19 he was ranked as the world’s number one asset recovery lawyer offshore by WWL.

He is the recipient of the highest award given by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, with 85,000 members worldwide, The Cressey Award, in 2014.

Martin is a practising solicitor advocate of the senior courts of England & Wales and the Eastern Caribbean at the BVI and at St Vincent & the Grenadines; and a licensed foreign legal consultant in the state of New York.

Leading a team of lawyers, investigators and forensic accountants, Martin is widely regarded as a ground-breaker in the use of pre-emptive remedies, multi-disciplinary teams and professional litigation funding in response to global economic crime, uprooting bank secrets and freezing hidden assets in multiple jurisdictions. He has published and lectured on money laundering, legal and ethical restraints on the conduct of private investigations, and international concealed asset recovery.

He is also a founding member of an elite network of asset recovery lawyers, ICC FraudNet, 84 leading fraud and asset recovery lawyers from 71 countries, which is administered by the Commercial Crime Services division of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Martin has received numerous plaudits for his work. WIRED characterised his firm as “the world’s sharpest fraudbusters”, while The Financial Times deemed him a “top international asset chaser”.

The Canadian Lawyer magazine of Toronto added that: “Mr. Kenney just may be, considering his Robin Hood reputation and his bulldog legal tactics, one of the most determined and trusted lawyers around.”

Michelle Estlund is the founder and principal attorney of Estlund Law, P.A., located in Miami, Florida. Her practice focuses exclusively on criminal and INTERPOL defense cases, with an emphasis on the exposure of human rights violations and politically motivated and corrupt prosecutions. The majority of the charges faced by her clients are “white collar,” or financial crimes.

She regularly advises international journalists, human rights organizations, and other attorneys on issues related to INTERPOL. Ms. Estlund has successfully represented numerous Red Notice subjects before INTERPOL, as well as having Red Notices modified or corrected. She has also achieved the removal of Yellow Notices for minors who were invalidly listed as missing or kidnapped. She writes extensively about INTERPOL matters on her blog, the Red Notice Law Journal, found at www.rednoticelawjournal.com.

Representative Matters

• Represented a former President of an Ecuadorian Bank wanted for financial charges in an INTERPOL matter


• Represented a former CIA operative wanted by INTERPOL in relation to a kidnapping charge originating in a European country


• Represented a member of the Board of Directors of a Venezuelan financial institution who was sought by INTERPOL and wanted for fraud and embezzlement


• Represented an attorney and former general counsel for a Latin American country’s national petrol company wanted by INTERPOL for financial crimes


• Represented a Russian developer wanted by INTERPOL for fraud and embezzlement

Publications

• Michelle Estlund, Esq. and Adriana Obeso, “INTERPOL’s Expanding Reach, Use, and Consequences: A Global Survey of Abuse Techniques by Some INTERPOL member countries and Effective Response Strategies,” Volume 37, Issue 5, International Enforcement Law Reporter, May 22, 2021, 2021 (ielr-2021-05-21 17:14).


• Michelle Estlund, Esq. and Dr. Ted R. Bromund, “Summarizing and Assessing The 2019 Changes In Interpol’s Rules On The Processing Of Data,” Volume 37, Issue 4, International Enforcement Law Reporter, April 2, 2021 (ielr - 2021-04-02 11:35).


• Legal Blog: Red Notice Law Journal: Written by Michelle A. Estlund, since 2011, the Red Notice Law Journal (“RNLJ” at www.rednoticelawjournal.com) provides information and professional insight on the issues relevant to INTERPOL practitioners, academics, investigative journalists, Red Notice subjects, and advocates and students of human rights issues.

Speaking Engagements

• 2023, Washington, D.C. (Virtual): ABA International Law Sections National Security Committee, Latest Developments in INTERPOL’s and its Member Countries’ Approach to Transnational Repression


• 2023, Ecuador (Virtual): El I Congreso de Derecho Penal, INTERPOL and its Procedures


• 2022, Miami, Florida (Virtual):  Miami-Dade Bar, Hot Topics- Miami as an Emerging International Arbitration Hub/ INTERPOL’s role in international custody cases


• 2021, Miami, Florida: Federal Bar Association Annual Meeting and Convention: Interpol Abuse: Cross-Border Policing, Transnational Repression and Red Notices


• 2021, Washington, D.C. (Virtual): Heritage Foundation, Ending Interpol Abuse: How the Democratic World Can Fight Transnational Repression


• 2020, Washington, D.C. (Virtual): American Bar Association, Current Developments in INTERPOL Red Notice Abuse


• 2019, Washington, D.C., American Bar Association, International Law National Security Committee:

Red Notices and the INTERPOL Wanted List: Balancing Law Enforcement with Due Process

• 2019, Miami, Florida: Florida Bar Association, International Law Section: Navigating the Pitfalls of Conducting Business Globally


• 2018, Washington, D.C., Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS): Entrepreneurs on The Interpol Wanted List: Balancing Law Enforcement With Due Process


• 2016, Miami: Dade County Bench and Bar Conference: Your Next Bold Move -Selecting and Sustaining a niche practice


• 2016, Madrid: GGI Latin American and Iberian Regional Conference: Banking without Borders- INTERPOL’s role in the prosecution of international financial crime


• 2016, Coral Gables: GGI Extraordinary Practice Group Meeting: Litigation and Dispute Resolution: Banking without Borders- INTERPOL’s role in the prosecution of international financial crime


• 2012, South Beach: American Immigration Lawyers Association 33^rd Annual Immigration Law Update- Government Investigatory Tools: What do they use? - INTERPOL’s databases as tools for suspect location, detention, and extradition


• 2011, Miami: Florida International University College of Law: Miami In-Service on Immigration Proceedings- Best Practices in Criminal Court for Detention and Mental Health Issues

Expert/professional services

Ms. Estlund has provided expert testimony or professional support on INTERPOL matters for the following organizations:

Al Jazeera Ankara Anatolia news agency Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Channel 4 Dispatches/U.K. Fair Trials, International Foreign Policy Freie Presse The Guardian The Heritage Foundation I24/News

The Miami Herald MSNBC.com National Geographic National Public Radio Open Dialog Foundation TCI News Now Thomson Reuters New York Times The Atlantic The Times of London

Ms. Estlund has provided expert testimony in cases such as the following:

International criminal proceedings

• 
  
  
  
  • Topic: United States jurisprudence and financial laws and enforcement
  
  
  • Topic: INTERPOL proceedings
  
  
  
  

Domestic immigration proceedings

• 
  
  
  
  • Topic: INTERPOL activity and proceedings
  
  
  
  

Licenses, Awards, and Professional Memberships

Licensed to practice in Florida, Federal District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida.

Awards/recognitions/professional distinctions:

• 2023: South Florida’s Top Lawyers


• 2021: U.S. News- Best Lawyers, White Collar Criminal Defense


• 2019-2020: President, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Miami Chapter


• 2018: Rodney Thaxton “Against All Odds” Award, given by the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This honor is awarded to a criminal defense attorney who has chosen to represent an especially difficult or unpopular client or cause, and while doing so, epitomizes the heart and spirit of criminal defense, which is the courage to stand apart as the last champion of Liberty.


• 2018-2019: Vice-president, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, Miami Chapter


• 2015: Legal Elite lawyer, Florida Trend


• 2013: President’s Award of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers-Miami Chapter: awarded for leadership role in statewide litigation to protect indigents’ right to effective counsel.


• 2013-2023:  AVVO rated superb


• 2013-2023: Top 100 Trial Lawyers


• 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016: Outstanding and Constructive Service as Contributing author, Dade County Bar Association

Education and Background

Founder and principal attorney, Estlund Law, P.A., 2006

Assistant Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office, 1997-2006

Adjunct instructor, Legal Research, Florida International University, 1998-2002.

Legislative intern, Florida House of Representative’s Criminal Justice Committee 1993-1994

Student law clerk, Middle District of Florida, Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich, 1995

J.D., Stetson University College of Law

B.A., Florida State University, majors in Psychology and Criminology

Contact

mestlund@estlundlaw.com   www.rednoticelawjournal.com

Estlund Law, P.A., 147 Sevilla Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33134, Tel: 305.448.0077.

Prior to joining Teneo, Mike was the Chief Executive Officer of KPMG in Bermuda. He has over 30 years’ experience in providing restructuring and financial advisory services to companies and their stakeholders. During his career in London and Bermuda, Mike has focused on the insurance and reinsurance industry and also has considerable experience in the asset management, oil and gas and telecommunications sectors.

Services to clients include:

• Contentious asset recovery.


• Insolvency, including complex cross boarder cases.


• Strategic reviews, corporate streamlining and jurisdictional reviews.


• Corporate reorganisations via a range of mechanisms, both statutory and contractual.


• Insurance run-off transactions and exit strategies across industry sectors.

Mike has also acted as an inspector for the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Minister of Finance in Bermuda.

Nathan Shaheen is a lawyer specializing in financial crimes, anti-money laundering and complex commercial litigation. He combines technical legal expertise with a practical focus on his clients’ business objectives.

Nathan’s financial crimes practice focuses on domestic and international fraud and asset recovery. He regularly investigates financial wrongdoing, traces and safeguards misappropriated assets and advances asset recovery litigation against perpetrators and third party facilitators of financial crimes. To do so, Nathan works collaboratively with external investigators, auditors and law enforcement agencies, and draws on his deep knowledge of Canada’s civil and criminal laws relating to fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes. As part of his international fraud and asset recovery practice, Nathan obtains the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.

Nathan’s financial crimes practice includes advising financial institutions and non-financial services companies on Canada’s ever-evolving and increasingly-strict anti-money laundering laws. He advises on all aspects of anti-money laundering compliance, including under Canada’s Criminal Code and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and evaluates and works to mitigate anti-money laundering risks arising from clients’ operational, cross-border and transactional activity. Nathan’s practice includes completing in-depth transactional due diligence on money laundering risks, and drafting and negotiating contractual terms to mitigate the risk of post-transaction enforcement activity, litigation and reputational harm.

Nathan also frequently advises clients on complex commercial litigation matters, including contractual, securities and professional negligence claims. He has appeared before Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court and Court of Appeal, as well as before the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada. Nathan has also appeared before the Supreme Court of British Columbia and regularly volunteers in association with Pro Bono Law Ontario to support self-represented litigants.

Nathan is an affiliate of the Association of Certified Forensic Investigators of Canada and a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). He regularly authors articles in leading industry publications and speaks on various topics including fraud, asset tracing and anti-money laundering. Nathan has lectured on advanced commercial litigation at Osgoode Hall Law School and has served as a supervising lawyer to the Investor Protection Clinic. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Toronto Lawyers Association and the Advocates’ Society.

Niall Ledwidge is a chartered accountant with more than 19 years of experience in bankruptcy and restructuring in the U.S., in Europe, in Asia, and offshore. Niall focuses on obtaining the best possible return for stakeholders in corporate bankruptcies, distressed investment funds, and special purpose vehicles. His experience spans a range of industries, from financial services to real estate, hospitality, retail, fast-moving consumer goods, motion pictures, and healthcare. He is a specialist in investment fund wind down and cross-border insolvency. In addition, he has in-depth experience in forensic investigation, litigation support, corporate finance, financial due diligence, and consulting. Niall’s engagement experience includes domestic and offshore fund liquidations, including several high-profile fund collapses and frauds; acting as joint official liquidator of Silicon Valley Bank; acting as liquidator of a European film finance fund; financial advisory in U.S. Chapter 11 proceedings; §363 sales; financial reporting to the Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico; and forensic investigation and claim analysis for insolvency proceedings in the U.S. and Hong Kong. Mr. Ledwidge is a trusted fiduciary and an experienced liquidator and receiver. Prior to joining Stout, he was a director at a global financial advisory firm responsible for U.S. and cross-border/offshore restructuring projects. Professional Memberships •Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) •INSOL International •Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) •American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) •Barretstown Foundation USA – Governing Board Member

Nick Hoffman is global head of our Litigation & Insolvency and Restructuring group and managing partner in the Cayman Islands. He specialises in insolvency and restructuring, financial services litigation, company disputes and fraud. His clients include banks, multinational corporations and financial services professionals.

He has practised in the Cayman Islands since 2011 and is recognised as a leading Cayman litigator. Prior to joining us, he led the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group at another Cayman offshore law firm. He is a highly skilled and experienced advocate with more than a decade at the London Bar. He is known for his insight and knowledge and provides clients with pragmatic and commercial advice.

Nick has appeared as both leading and junior counsel at all levels of the Cayman Court system, from Grand Court to the Privy Council.

Nicosia Lawson is a Senior Associate at Baker & Partners which has offices in the Cayman Islands, Jersey, London, and the BVI.  Nicosia is a Cayman Islands attorney and has practiced as a foreign registered lawyer in Hong Kong. Her areas of focus are civil fraud and asset recovery, cross-border insolvency, and restructuring. Nicosia’s most recent experience include working on prominent cases like the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Fund (“1MDB”) matter which involves the recovery of billions of dollars stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Nicosia has also represented the petitioning creditors of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, AAX, a case which resulted in the first published cryptocurrency specific court decision in the Cayman Islands.  In 2022 Nicosia was shortlisted for the ‘Next Gen of the Year’ award by the Recovery and Insolvency Specialists Association (Cayman).

Noy Moshe is a Manager of Investigations at Chainalysis, where she leads investigative efforts across the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining Chainalysis, Noy spent 8 years in the public sector, investigating cybercriminal networks, conducting open-source intelligence analysis, and leading communications strategies.

Among her various positions, Noy served as a Senior Officer at The Embassy of Israel in London, Analyst in the Israeli Prime Minister Office and the Israel Defence Forces.

Noy specializes in in counter-terrorism and is a certified cryptocurrency investigations specialist.

Oliver Laurence is an internationally awarded and recognised investigator who has represented clients in the #MeToo movement, clients who have been subjected to kidnap and political persecution, and clients battling to overcome the challenges of maintaining a strong and positive profile online. In 2018, Oliver was awarded the UK’s Investigator of the Year award for the successful investigation into the release of a UHNW client on death row in Singapore.

Paul M. Joyal has more than 45 years of experience in security and intelligence, international affairs, with special concentration in Russia and the former Soviet Republics.

He served 10 years in the United States Government with the US Capitol Police and was the chief investigator of the US Capitol Bombing of 1983. In that capacity he identified a Congressional staff member linked to the terrorist’s organization that bombed the US Capitol. He then was asked to become director of security and chief counterintelligence officer for the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from 1983-1989 under Senator Goldwater. There he successfully thwarted a Soviet KGB attempt to cultivate a SSCI staffer, transition another into a position outside the Committee for failure to comply with security requirements. He identified a Member of the Committee who leaked Committee Sensitive material to the press and later exposed the attempt of a Senator to remove Chairman Boren from his position in a Senatorial coup for his own political Presidential ambitions.

After the Committee he founded his Security Company Integer and was involved in a number of government analytic projects. was a lead contract analyst of “Project Slammer”. This was an Intelligence Community (IC Staff) study based on interviews of convicted former US government employees for espionage. The study was conducted to recommend improvements in the background investigation process for access to Sensitive Compartment Information (SCI). He also participated in US Defense Department working group on analyzing seized records regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction front company acquisition networks and other projects.

Paul has been active in Russia and Georgia since 1991. He published for ten years the Daily Report on Russia for the Soviet Republics, a business intelligence newsletter on Political, Business and Economic affairs in the former Soviet space. He consulted with many fortune 100 countries including AT&T, Merck and Pratt Whitney, etc. He was appointed Georgia’s first lobbyist in the United States. He also served as advisor to the Minister of Defense and the National Security Advisor. He was appointed expert advisor for the Security and Defense Committee of the Georgian Parliament. He worked on Georgia’s original NATO membership proposal and obtained US Congressional funding for the first transfer of US significant military equipment, ten US military helicopters (Iroquois-Huey’s) to the Ministry of Defense. He was advisor to the Georgian International Pipeline company and instrumental in obtaining American support  for the Early Oil and BTC pipelines. Additionally, he obtained financial support from the US Congress to modernize the Georgian Customs agency and the establishment the Georgian Border Guard service, displacing the Russian KGB border guards.

In 2002, Paul was decorated by President Eduard Shevardnadze with Georgia’s highest civilian award, the Order of Honor, for significant contributions to Georgia's independence, security, and integration into the Western community of nations.

In 2003 and 2004, Mr. Joyal was active in Iraq in several private capacities.

Paul remains a frequent commentator on Intelligence, Homeland Security, International Affairs, and the former Soviet Union. He has made numerous radio and television appearances and has written many articles on the topics of Russian and post-Soviet affairs, intelligence, security issues, terrorism, and law enforcement. His media appearances include NBC, ABC, CBS news; CNN, Crossfire; CNBC, The Real Story; Lifeline, C-SPAN; PBS; BBC, World Report; ABC's Nightline; NET, Washington Watch; Worldwise; Freedom's Call and others.

Paul has been featured in television and cable programs: the May 28, 2014, CNBC Kudlow Report “American Greed” on the FBI Zeus Trojan malware case, where he appeared with security expert Prof. Gary Warner; he was featured on the March 2012 NBC Rock Center broadcast on the FBI's Trident Breach international cybercrime takedown, and the award-nominated NBC Dateline program (February 2007), “Who Killed Alexander Litvinenko - Death of a Secret Agent” and NBC Dateline hour long “The Real Blacklist” in 2015 about Paul’s shooting after the Who Killed Alexander Litvinenko Dateline broadcast. He also appears in Netflix’s “Spycraft” series and Curiosity’s “Traitors and Patriots.”

He presented briefings on Cyber Threats and Russian information hybrid warfare: a new form of active measures in Washington, at the Suits and Spooks conferences in DC 2014, and London 2015. In January 2015 he presented to the Cyber Security Institute on Russian Information Warfare and others at five GovSec conferences in Washington DC.

In April 2016, he was the keynote speaker at the BSidesCharm 2016 conference, Baltimore Convention Center on “Russian Cyber Threats and Electronic Warfare”.

His article “Russian Cyber Threats and Information Warfare” which appeared in the Spring issue of inFocus quarterly by the Jewish Policy Council, was selected for the Joint Military

Professional reading series in April 2016 by Lt. General H. R. McMaster, Futures Command. He additionally published “Cybercrime: Russian Tools to Infiltrate, Subvert, and Control” inFOCUS Fall 2007 that focused on Russian operations in Ukraine.

He presented a briefing on the history of Russian Active Measures and evolution of Information Warfare at the two Miami area joint federal and state half day education sessions in 2019 and 2020 as well as US Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Headquarters in April 2021.

Paul was recognized, along with Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, by the Respect for Law Alliance of NYC as one of the principal leadership awardees of the Golden Eagle Award, “Defender of Counterintelligence and Homeland Security.” In 2011 was recipient of the Linda Franklin National Achievement Award, the FBI’s National InfraGard’s highest honor where he served 6 years on its National Board of Directors and previously as the Maryland President.

He is currently finishing a book, along with Chris Monday, on the Soviet/Russian Bioweapons Conspiracy, charting the history of this disinformation myth from the 1950s to the present, most notably regarding Ukraine and Russian domestic propaganda.

Paul holds a master’s degree in international relations from The Catholic University of America.

He is currently a partner at LCDM Tech that is deeply involved in Ukraine supporting the military with add on cutting edge technologies for indigenously produced Ukrainian UAV’s. LCDM Tech is a veteran owner company of special operators who specialize in next general warfare architecture.

Paul has now founded CybrCi Productions and Services to continue his security, cyber and counterintelligence advisory. He continues to work with Ukraine Hero’s Group, Documentary division. He was one of the principle narrators in their award winning documentary CyberWar 2022.

Paul is a partner at Campbells based in the Cayman Islands. His practice covers cross-border insolvency and asset recovery as well as economic sanctions and other asset freezing measures,. Paul was recently named Lexology Client Choice “Insolvency Lawyer of the Year 2024” for the Cayman islands and is described by directories as “a very user-friendly, smart lawyer who gives clear and concise advice and is very good from a strategic and commercial standpoint” and “a great litigator, [with] exceptional negotiating skills”.

Paul is the founder and CEO of Quinlan Partners, a global investigations and business intelligence firm based in New York. Prior to that, he spent his career as a journalist reporting both domestically and internationally for a variety of news organizations and publications.

His investigations have uncovered fraud, corruption, and malfeasance at the highest levels of business and government. As a professional investigator, Paul assists leading litigators, investors and corporate decision-makers in gathering critical facts and intelligence and finding hidden evidence and assets in the context of high-stakes and complex disputes, due diligence, and internal investigations.

A former National Press Foundation fellow, Paul has appeared on CNN and been published by The New York Times, National Journal, USA Today, The St. Petersburg Times, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, Washingtonian Magazine, Salon, and others. He received a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar.

Rodrigo Russo is a Principal in the Global Risk Analysis and Business Intelligence practices of Control Risks in Brazil, focusing on ESG, business intelligence, political risks, and due diligence. Rodrigo leads the research and analysis team in a wide range of investigative and consulting projects in South America for multinationals, local companies and law firms.

Recent tasks that Rodrigo has worked on include:

Prior to joining Control Risks, Rodrigo served as a Brazil-based senior correspondent for a global newswire, where his reporting focused on antitrust, corruption and data protection regulation and enforcement. Rodrigo worked as a journalist for almost a decade at Folha de S. Paulo, one of Brazil’s most widely read newspapers, where he was a correspondent based in Europe and an opinions editor. Rodrigo began his professional career as an intern at a top-tier Brazilian law firm.

Rodrigo holds a Master of Science in political sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he was awarded a Chevening Scholarship. Rodrigo also holds a law degree from Universidade de São Paulo and a journalism degree from Faculdade Cásper Líbero. He is a native Portuguese speaker, speaks fluent English and has a working knowledge of Spanish and French.

Based in New York, Sam lead’s S-RM’s Corporate Intelligence practice in the Americas. He has over 13 years of industry experience leading professional services teams; supporting clients in complex crises; and conducting and managing investigations. Sam specializes in multi-jurisdictional investigations, proxy fights, asset tracing, litigation support, and complex transactional investigative due diligence. He works closely with counsel, compliance units, and deal teams to advise clients on investigative strategy, how to best approach challenging jurisdictions, and answer specific questions.

Sam specializes in the US and Latin America, but has worked on global engagements touching Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Sam spent eight years at Kroll where he led the North American research practice and co-led the monitorship of a bank fined for violating US sanctions law. Prior to joining S-RM, Sam worked for a Big Four accounting firm and later managed investigations at a boutique litigation support firm focusing on cross-border cases in Latin America.

Scott L. Silver is the managing partner of Silver Law Group, a nationally recognized law firm representing investors worldwide to recover their investment losses. Scott has received a Martindale Hubbell Preeminent “AV” Rating, the highest ratings given for general ethical standards and legal ability. Scott has spent his entire legal career practicing securities and financial services law. Scott focuses his law practice on securities arbitration and litigation and plaintiff-side class action litigation, representing individual investors and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, investment advisors, commodities firms, hedge funds and others. Scott also routinely serves as counsel to receivers and trustees in matters relating to the recovery of investor losses in Ponzi schemes.

Scott has extensive experience in arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the National Futures Association (NFA), and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved investors through arbitration and the courts. Scott has represented clients throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, Israel and elsewhere.

Scott is a frequent lecturer and author on securities and investment fraud matters, as well as a regular commentator in leading publications. Scott has been invited to lecture at law schools, industry conferences and investor rights groups. In addition, Scott frequently contributes to various publications and has authored numerous articles relating to investors and the arbitration process. Notably, Scott recently wrote a widely accepted primer on the SEC’s new Whistleblower program.

From 2013 through the present, Scott serves as the co-chairman of the Securities and Investment Fraud group of the American Association for Justice. The mission of the American Association for Justice is to promote a fair and effective justice system—and to support the work of attorneys in their efforts to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America’s courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests. AAJ promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims' rights and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety. AAJ was formerly known as the American Trial Lawyer’s Association (ATLA). Scott proudly dedicates substantial time to the organization which has bolstered investor rights and advocates for improving the FINRA arbitration system and access to the courts when possible.

Professional Experience

Scott graduated from the University of Miami, School of Law in 1996. Soon after, Scott joined Gusrae Kaplan, a Wall Street law firm founded by a former Chief Attorney of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, specializing in the defense of brokerage firms in FINRA, SEC, NYSE, and court matters. It is during his tenure at the law firm where Scott learned the strategies employed by brokerage firms to defend against investor claims.

In 2002, Scott relocated to South Florida where he brought his insight and understanding of the inner workings of Wall Street, becoming a named partner in a leading Plaintiff’s firm. In April 2011, the Silver Law Group was formed with a team of litigators, all with experience in the securities industry. Scott still maintains strong ties to New York and regularly represents investors in and around New York through the firm’s New York office.

Scott has served as trial counsel in several cases and arbitrations including a $7 million FINRA arbitration award against former UBS Financial Services, Inc.’s broker Gary Gross in 2009. Scott was awarded the 2009 Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyer award for securities litigation for his work on the Gary Gross case. Scott is an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. In 2010 and 2011, Scott was nominated for inclusion in Florida Trend magazine’s Legal Elite. In 2011, Scott became co-chair of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”) Securities Litigation Group.

Receivership Practice

Scott routinely represents Ponzi scheme victims and others in bankruptcy or SEC receiverships. On multiple occasions, the Receiver has retained Scott to pursue claims on behalf of the receivership. Representations include:

SEC v. Natural Diamonds Investment Co., et al., H.S. Management Group LLC, et al., Case No. 9:19-CV-80633-Rosenberg (U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida) Scott Silver is approved by a federal judge to work as counsel to an SEC receiver on an alleged complex Ponzi scheme involving diamonds and other alternative investments.

Jinyao Liu, et al. v. Project Investors, Inc. d/b/a Cryptsy, et al. , Case No. 9:16-cv-80060-KAM (U.S. Dist. Ct. – Southern District of Florida)

Corporate Monitor v. Gignesh Movalia, et al. , Case No. 13-18620 CA 13 (Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, Florida) As counsel to the receiver, Silver Law Group obtained a substantial recovery for victims from a national brokerage firm.

In re: Certified, Inc., et al., Case No. 09-33115-BKC-RAM (U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Southern District of Florida) As counsel to the receiver, Scott Silver was instrumental in settling a large case against an international bank.

Goldberg, et al. v. D&E Communications, Inc., et al., Case No. 11-cv-22177-WPD (U.S. Dist. Ct. – Southern District of Florida) As counsel to the receiver, Scott Silver brought multiple claims against profiteers for clawbacks of unearned profits.

Professional Recognition

• Legal Elite” by Florida Trend Magazine 2010, 2011


• “AV”® Preeminent™ rating, Martindale-Hubbell 2010


• Florida Super Lawyers 2009


• Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Securities Lawyer 2009


• Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Club


• Co-chair for the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”) Securities Litigation Group


• Scott Silver is a featured speaker at AAJ’s Hot Topics in Business Torts seminar


• Florida Justice Association 2015 Seminar – Business Torts speaker on the ABC’s of FINRA arbitration

Publications

SEC Whistleblower Incentives Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act,
18 PIABA Bar Journal 169 (2011)

Brokerage Firms' Liability When They Fail To Warn About Bad Brokers,
PLI Securities Arbitration, Vol. 1 at Pg. 437 (Aug. 2009)

Non-Customer ‘Customers’ and Compulsory NASD Arbitration,
PLI Securities Arbitration, Vol. 1 at Pg. 601 (Aug. 2002)

Understanding Securities Arbitration
American Association for Justice Trial Magazine (April 2015)

Septimus is a Director at S-RM. He specialises in gathering intelligence to support complex, multijurisdictional disputes globally. His clients include government agencies, global corporations, leading business figures and family offices. He regularly works in, and helps assemble, multidisciplinary teams comprising outside counsel, funders, expert witnesses, communications experts, digital forensics investigators and cyber practitioners.

Since 2021, Septimus has been recognised by Chambers & Partners as one of the UK’s leading corporate investigators. Clients have praised him for his “incredible networks on the ground”, “ability to deliver game-changing intelligence” and “consistently high-quality, thoughtful service”.

Septimus has wide-ranging experience of gathering intelligence and evidence in the most challenging environments, using a combination of OSINT, human intelligence, eDiscovery and digital forensics. He works across EMEA, APAC and the Former Soviet Union. He has particular expertise in disputes involving parties from the Former Soviet Union and regularly supports clients in contentious situations relating to the region. Recently, he has advised numerous businesses affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, particularly in the insurance sector. Septimus’ work has been used to support litigation and arbitration relating to JV disputes, sanctions, fraud, asset recovery, ESG issues, contentious insurance claims and investor-state disputes. He has also managed internal investigations into employee misconduct, IP theft and insider threats.

His analysis of current affairs has been published by the Financial Times, Newsweek, the World Economic Forum, BNE IntelliNews and the Moscow Times. Septimus has also appeared on Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe to discuss the commercial impacts of the War in Ukraine. He has a BA in Russian Studies from University College London and speaks Russian.

Spencer Woodman is a reporter for ICIJ, based in New York.

His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Associated Press, The Guardian, Rolling Stone and The Intercept.

Syed's great depth of experience in serious fraud, financial crime and multi-jurisdictional investigations has earmarked him as a robust solicitor. He is proficient in both civil and criminal cases, where there is an allegation of corporate wrongdoing. Syed has substantial experience in advising corporate entities and their directors and officers in relation to investigations conducted by all the major enforcement agencies. He has also built an impressive reputation in the field of asset-tracing and recovery, with a respected track record regarding international disputes where urgent relief is required involving freezing orders and recovering misappropriated assets.

Syed is recognised for his sector-leading, pioneering cryptocurrency work, having secured a number of significant legal firsts when representing institutions and individuals. His specialist expertise in civil recovery proceedings under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) has also led to him recording notable successes for clients in national and international cases.

He is known for his abilities in multi-jurisdictional, worldwide asset recovery cases – including obtaining and defending the full range of injunctions - high-stakes commercial and financial disputes and cross-border investigations involving attacks on clients’ interests by numerous governments or agencies. His skill in defending high-profile corruption, fraud and regulatory allegations and his ability to negotiate with investigators have ensured his clients receive the strongest representation.

The 2021 edition of The Chambers UK Guide ranks Syed as a solicitor to watch, calls him “a very technically gifted lawyer’’ and says he “gets on top of all the facts in complex cases’’. Chambers has described him as “very committed to the work he does’’ and said he “leaves no stone unturned and has a passion for what he does’’. It has repeatedly highlighted his expertise in POCA work and asset recovery proceedings.

His clients include corporates and their directors, financial institutions, hedge funds, high net worth individuals and international private clients around the world. Syed has a particular interest in litigation arising from mergers and acquisitions, derivatives and securities offerings (IPO’s, SPAC IPO’s and debt offerings) and works with private equity funds and private sponsors for public companies.

He is adept at advising corporate entities and their directors and officers on their regulatory and compliance obligations and in investigations conducted by agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority, National Crime Agency and HM Revenue & Customs. His ability to assess complex issues, establish the facts and analyse challenging sets of circumstances have seen him excel on internal investigations carried out for Rahman Ravelli’s corporate clients.

Syed routinely advises clients in FCA investigations into alleged market abuse, breaches of regulated activities and unauthorised trading. He is sought by asset management firms and chief investment officers at hedge funds facing enforcement proceedings and financial services litigation.

The Legal 500 has called Syed “a creative thinker’’, “a master of detail’’ and someone who “entirely devotes himself to his cases’’. It has drawn attention to the wide variety of global corporate wrongdoing and multi-jurisdictional bribery and corruption investigations he has worked on and his cryptocurrency expertise. The 2021 edition describes his “incredible depth of experience when it comes to fraud matters, and in particular those with an international element or where the National Crime Agency are involved.’’

Syed is also in demand to work on cases where there is the possibility of securing a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) for clients.  The Legal 500 has noted Rahman Ravelli’s expertise in advising on DPAs and recognised that Syed “goes the extra mile to get the best results for his clients in leading on a multi-jurisdictional matter concerning this area”.

His recent work has involved global energy sector corruption allegations, major financial services cases, fintech companies and many of the most complex worldwide asset recovery cases.

Thomas Eymond-Laritaz is the Founder & CEO of Highgate, a strategic advisory firm expert in dispute resolution and special situations. Thomas has advised more than a dozen Presidents and Prime Ministers, and numerous CEOs and ultra-high net worth individuals throughout the world.

Thomas started his career as a French civil servant and worked for the French Prime Minister’s office in Paris. He then served as senior political adviser to the Bulgarian Prime Minister in Sofia and to the Georgian President in Tbilisi. He worked for five years in Kyiv as Chief of Staff to Victor Pinchuk, one of Ukraine’s most prominent investors. Before setting up Highgate, Thomas served as Managing Director at Mercury and Executive Director at APCO Worldwide in London.

Thomas is a French and British citizen. He graduated from the Ecole des Mines de Paris and the Corps des Mines.

Tom Ajamie is an internationally recognized trial lawyer who has successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. The authoritative Chambers USA has described Tom as “relentless, energetic and intelligent” and a “hard-working and successful trial lawyer who never quits.” He has handled a number of high-profile cases, including groundbreaking securities and financial cases, cross-border litigation, business contract disputes, and employment issues.

Warren E. Gluck is a New York litigation attorney, trial lawyer, and a member of Holland & Knight's Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. Mr. Gluck focuses his practice on litigation, fraud investigation, insolvency, asset recovery and judgment enforcement, as well as admiralty law. He has experience in all aspects of the litigation process and routinely acts as lead counsel on litigation, judgment enforcement, fraud, cross-border insolvency, asset tracing and shipping matters. Who's Who Legal says "Warren Gluck is a 'strong litigator' who is always 'two steps ahead' in high-stakes, multijurisdictional asset recovery proceedings." The guide also notes that he "has an intimate understanding of the nuances of the laws of multiple jurisdictions," "is very practical and pragmatic" and "implements practical solutions and workarounds that allow [clients] to remain on course."

He has developed an extensive practice representing domestic and foreign officeholders in connection with parallel civil and criminal proceedings brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and has extensive experience negotiating resolutions amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.