Our client’s need

A publicly held Philadelphia metropolitan bank with total assets of more than $500 million entered into an agreement to be purchased by a privately held commercial bank. Prior to the closing of the deal, certain outside directors, including the founding chairman of the Board of Directors, were indicted by the United States government and charged with numerous counts of fraud, misappropriation of assets, and obstruction of justice, as well as other charges related to business dealings outside of the bank.

Baker Tilly solution

Baker Tilly was engaged by outside counsel to perform a comprehensive special investigation of the bank to determine the degree of involvement and influence the subject directors may have had on the bank’s operations and financial condition. The investigation focused on areas that were similar to those charged in the government’s indictments, such as expense checks, travel and entertainment expenditures, lending relationships, and loan charge-offs, deposit account activity, cash receipts, access to the bank’s information technology system, private banking relationships and corporate governance.

Baker Tilly, selected due to our extensive industry and forensic accounting skills and experience, immediately mobilized a large project team to deal with tight deadlines related to the pending acquisition and year-end SEC filings. The project team included four partners who worked with outside counsel and a special committee of the Board of Directors to complete the investigation in a matter of weeks.

Results achieved

The transaction was closed on time and subsequently approved by the regulators.

For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly forensic investigation specialists can help, contact our team.