Derek Royster is a principal with Baker Tilly’s forensic, litigation and valuation services practice. He has worked extensively with insurance companies, corporate clients, and attorneys focusing the scope of his career on forensic accounting, the measurement of economic damages and litigation support.
Derek has been involved in numerous high-profile insurance, fraud and litigation assignments which have included damages in excess of $250 million, and has quantified economic damages throughout North America, Central America, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean. In addition, he also provides financial specialist services in litigation including business interruption / lost profits, business valuation, commercial litigation, contract disputes, employee dishonesty/fraud, intellectual property personal injury/fatal accident, product liability/recall/product contamination, subrogation and transaction tracing
- Providing professional services in the evaluation of losses sustained by a multinational financial services and banking institution as a result of fraudulent acts. The plaintiff alleged that a bank employee and outside investors engaged in a series of fraudulent acts to convert funds from the plaintiff and other investors for the purpose of purchasing various parcels of land for a large real estate development project. Derek was engaged to conduct a forensic review and trace the sources and uses of funds for the various real estate transactions, including a review of a large number of accounts and transactions
- Providing professional services in the evaluation of losses sustained by a multinational financial services and banking institution as a result of fraudulent acts. The plaintiff alleged that a bank employee and outside investors engaged in a series of fraudulent acts to convert funds from the plaintiff and other investors for the purpose of purchasing various parcels of land for a large real estate development project. Derek was engaged to conduct a forensic review and trace the sources and uses of funds for the various real estate transactions, including a review of a large number of accounts and transactions
- A business owner and managing principal engaged in a scheme to defraud a large corporation and its subsidiaries of more than $40 million. Derek was engaged to quantify the alleged misappropriations which included the tracing and unwinding of over 600,000 wire transactions, thousands of other disbursements, across more than 200 separate accounts, including more than 140 escrow/trust accounts
- Derek provided forensic accounting services involving a large Ponzi scheme in excess of $1 billion which included allegations of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and racketeering
- Derek and team was engaged by a federally recognized Native American Tribe to review credit card transactions, travel expenditures, and per diem disbursements for Tribal officials and employees across several governmental departments. In addition, Derek and team was engaged by the Tribal Alcohol and Beverage Control Commission and the Tribal Housing Authority to conduct forensic audits. Throughout the engagements, Derek and team interviewed Tribal employees for potential knowledge of fraud, conducted surprise cash audits, reviewed internal controls and provided recommendations for improvement, and prepared reports to aid authorities in potential criminal prosecution that were presented to the U.S. Attorney’s office. RGL also contributed to investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service
- Derek provided forensic accounting services involving a large Ponzi scheme in excess of $1 billion which included allegations of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and racketeering
- A large property and casualty insurance company submitted a claim for alleged fraud and misappropriated claim payments. Derek was engaged to review the books and records, trace funds from various accounts, and quantify the alleged misappropriated claim payments. Total calculated damages exceeded $5 million
- Analyzing sources and uses of funds among multiple companies under common control, Derek's work included reconstruction of financial records, as well as a review of related party transactions and fraudulent conveyance/transfers
- Reviewing large volumes of international sales data and quantifying potential economic damages resulting from the alleged piracy of a popular PC video game title claimed by an international publisher of PC and Console video games
- Providing forensic accounting services to a court-appointed receiver for a real estate management company. The scope of the assignment included the recreation of records, tracing of misappropriated funds from source to disposition, identification of commingled assets, and a forensic review of all corporate, personal and investment activity
- Involved in a large bankruptcy case involving a holding company which included two property and casualty insurers in the State of Florida, as well as other related parties. Derek and team were engaged to review the Debtor’s books and records for claims, accounts receivable transfers, as well as trace funds between the various companies. Included in the analysis was a detailed review of insurance premiums collected, as well as commission payments to the managing general agency
- Derek and team was engaged in a case involving an insurance agency who allegedly failed to submit insurance premiums to the life insurance carrier, as well as participated in a scheme to convince clients to surrender life insurance policies and annuities for personal gain. Total claimed losses exceeded $2 million.
- The plaintiff, an online market services company, entered into a contribution agreement where they purchased the assets of the defendant. Following the purchase, the plaintiff contended that the defendant provided misleading financial statements during the due diligence period and brought a suit to rescind the purchase, recover their investment, and collect damages based on numerous misrepresentations by the defendants. Derek was engaged by the plaintiff to quantify economic damages
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, member
- North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, member
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, member
- Certified Public Accountant, North Carolina
- Certified Fraud Examiner
- Certified in Financial Forensics
- Accredited in Business Valuation, American Institute of Certified Public Accountant
