Fraud and Forensic Specialist Joins Marks Paneth & Shron as Director

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 7, 2009) - David Gannaway, MBA, CFE, CAMS, EA, an IRS veteran with deep experience in fraud investigations and forensic accounting, has joined New York City-based accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron LLP (MP&S) as a director in its Litigation and Corporate Financial Advisory Services Group.

Mr. Gannaway, 45, will play a key role in complex white-collar fraud investigations, and in the firm's newly expanded foreign disclosure services, which are designed to support U.S. taxpayers with disclosure of accounts at foreign banks, including UBS AG.

He comes to MP&S from a Big Four firm where he was a director in the Forensic Services practice. He conducted internal investigations into matters including fraud, misappropriation of funds, and kickback schemes. He also trained staff on how to conduct money laundering investigations and how to prepare suspicious activity reports.

Mr. Gannaway is a 20-year veteran of the IRS, where, as an assistant special agent in charge in the Criminal Investigation Division, he led teams that conducted criminal investigations involving tax, money laundering, health care fraud, public corruption and bank fraud violations. As a special agent in the field, he investigated subjects involved in complex Ponzi schemes, physician teams that were involved in health care fraud by falsifying medical records to justify unnecessary hospitalizations, and various income tax evasion schemes.

"In these challenging times, we need to make sure our clients are prepared for a wide range of extremely stressful events, including litigation, investigation and the impact of marketplace developments," said Steven L. Henning, Ph.D., CPA, the partner-in-charge of the MP&S Litigation and Corporate Financial Advisory Services Group. "David Gannaway is uniquely qualified to help them anticipate, and if necessary, manage the most difficult situations they are likely to face."

Said Mr. Gannaway, "Marks Paneth & Shron's clients are sophisticated businesses and individuals that are often involved in complex transactions and business structures. With complexity comes the risk of litigation and other problems -- especially in a volatile financial environment. The best approach is to be prepared, and I look forward to helping MP&S clients make sure they have identified and resolved problems in advance wherever possible -- and that they receive effective counsel when disputes arise."

About David Gannaway

David Gannaway is a director in the Litigation and Corporate Financial Advisory Services Group at Marks Paneth & Shron LLP. In this role, he provides comprehensive litigation consulting services with a focus on complex white-collar fraud investigations, forensic accounting, civil and criminal income tax investigations and anti-money laundering policies and procedures.

Mr. Gannaway is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS). He is an Enrolled Agent (EA) to practice before the IRS and holds a Top Secret security clearance. He is also an active member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He is also a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists and serves on the board of the New York chapter. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Committee. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Bristol College, and an M.B.A. from Fordham University. He is based in MP&S's midtown Manhattan headquarters.

Foreign Disclosure Services at MP&S

Mr. Gannaway will be a senior member in MP&S's foreign disclosure services group. The services are designed to support U.S. taxpayers who hold undisclosed foreign bank accounts. The alleged number includes the more than 50,000 U.S. taxpayers who held undisclosed accounts at Swiss bank UBS AG that the bank may have revealed to the IRS as part of a legal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. These taxpayers risk criminal prosecution if they do not disclose their accounts correctly and within the short time window for voluntary disclosure established by the IRS. Account holders at other foreign banks may also need to disclose their holdings.

MP&S brings to bear extensive experience in working with high-net-worth individuals and with international tax issues, as well as in forensic accounting, litigation and negotiating with government agencies.

The firm will support taxpayers and their attorneys by preparing amended returns, arranging for installment agreements, representing taxpayers before the IRS and other tax authorities, and providing due diligence, forensic accounting and fraud investigation services.

About Marks Paneth & Shron

Marks Paneth & Shron LLP is an accounting firm with nearly 500 people, approximately 70 of whom are partners and principals. The firm provides businesses with a full range of auditing, accounting, tax, bankruptcy and restructuring services as well as litigation and corporate financial advisory services to domestic and international clients. The firm also specializes in providing tax advisory and consulting for high-net-worth individuals and their families, as well as a wide range of services for international, real estate, media, entertainment, nonprofit, professional and financial services and energy clients.

The firm also provides information technology consulting services through its Tailored Technologies subsidiary. In addition, its membership in JHI, the leading international association for independent business advisers, financial consulting and accounting firms, facilitates service delivery to clients throughout the United States and around the world.

Marks Paneth & Shron LLP, whose origins date back to 1907, is the 32nd largest accounting firm in the U.S., and the 15th largest in the New York area. Its headquarters are in Manhattan. Additional offices are in Westchester, Long Island and the Cayman Islands. For more information, please visit www.markspaneth.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Adria Greenberg Sommerfield Communications, Inc. 212-255-8386 adria@sommerfield.com