RFS Expertise & Practice Areas

Settlement Administrations

RFS has administered nearly $9 billion in settlement funds on behalf of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice.  These administrations include some of the largest settlements in their history, including the two largest DOJ forfeiture funds ever created.  In every one of these cases, we were responsible for all facets of the administration (drafting of the distribution plan, establishing claim and eligibility criteria, reviewing claims and related damage calculations, establishing documentation requirements and creating processes for notification of determinations and review of appeals or reconsiderations).  RFS has created distribution plans in SEC and DOJ cases ranging from very simple to extremely complex.  Our extensive experience lets us tailor plans to accommodate complex damage calculation factors, problems with investor records or other unique factors.

Fund Management and Distribution Services

RFS has executed the distribution of nearly $9 billion dollars to fraud victims.  We incorporate extensive audit and internal control policies and procedures into the distribution process in all of our cases.  These include numerous levels of physical and IT security.  RFS has systems and procedures in place to handle a distribution of assets to tens of thousands of victims, maintaining real time controls on the status of every check, ACH or other form of payment.  We have also issued payments in our cases to victims in various local currencies, allowing them to avoid significant fees and other charges.

Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies

RFS has developed unique expertise in the digital assets and cryptocurrencies space.  We are one of the only settlement administration firm with expertise in this area.

Fraud involving Bitcoin and other virtual and digital currencies has become more and more prevalent. The unfortunate result is that investors seeking a higher level of long-term security and anonymity may become victims of fraud, including hidden theft and diversion of assets.  In some cases, such as an unregistered initial coin offering or a Ponzi fraud, regulators are able to accumulate funds to be paid back to the investors harmed by the misconduct.  Using forensic and proprietary investigative techniques, our team can trace and analyze crypto asset movement to ensure an appropriate recovery for each victim.

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Notice Campaigns

RFS has successfully handled notice and outreach initiatives in each of our cases. We utilize all forms of media to execute our campaigns, and have successfully done so all over the world. Our team has also become adept at supplementing our notice campaigns with targeted internet outreach, including cost effective initiatives available via various social media outlets.

Receiverships/Bankruptcy Services

RFS has broad experience in the bankruptcy arena.  Indeed, the first case handled by what is today’s RFS team was a $2.5 billion Ponzi-fraud where Mr. Breeden served as the Chapter 11 Trustee in bankruptcy.  Having handled recoveries and payouts to victims in both of the two largest Ponzi schemes in history, our knowledge relating to bankruptcy and forfeiture proceedings is unmatched.  In WorldCom, Mr. Breeden worked with the Federal District Court Judge in administering history’s largest corporate bankruptcy.   RFS simultaneously handled the first Fair Fund in history, returning $900 million to former holders of WorldCom equity securities.

Claims Processing

RFS manages the entire life-cycle of a case in-house. We have executed a full claims process in each of our cases. We have built systems to insure the accuracy of each administration, processing claims in more than a dozen languages from more than 125 countries around the world. We have catalogued and reviewed millions of pages of documentation during our reviews. From claim entry/input, review, audit, and distribution, we have controls in place to protect the integrity of each claims process on behalf of our clients and insure conformance with governing regulations. RFS personnel possesses the knowledge and expertise to trace cash flows through numerous layers and to process claims involving nearly every different type of security.

Data Management

RFS has the capability and infrastructure in place to host and manage large volumes of data. The technology and database software we have in place enables us to receive, maintain and process significant amounts of data in the context of a settlement administration or otherwise. The technology and capability can be easily adapted beyond the settlement administration workspace.

Customer Support Center

RFS maintains outstanding investor support services including an in-house internet services group and our own highly-experienced call specialists. Collectively they have handled more than a half million calls with fraud victims. RFS has created websites and set up toll free helplines for all of our cases, answering incoming calls and email inquiries with our experienced customer service personnel rather than to unhelpful and impersonal computer systems. We pride ourselves in providing outstanding service to the victims in each case, strongly emphasizing the lost art of direct human-to-human interaction. The effectiveness and sensitivity of our hands-on assistance to victims helps produce high participation rates, high rates of cure of deficiencies and ultimately the highest percentage payouts.

Document Retention Services

RFS provides document retention services for all of its clients to insure adherence to IRS and other retention requirements. RFS has a state-of-the-art document retention system and ample warehouse space available to meet any document retention needs.