Professional Experience R. Gregory Litster's Curriculum Vitae

SAFEChecks,
Simi Valley, CA, President and CEO, 1997 to present. SAFEChecks is in the check fraud prevention business, offering high-security checks, fraud-prevention software, educational seminars, and expert witness and consulting services.

Imperial Bank,
Los Angeles, CA, 1981 to 1997. Senior Vice President and Manager, Financial Services Division. Managed several divisions, including Cash Management, Title/Escrow, Correspondent Banking, and SAFEChecks. Regional Vice President. Managed a regional banking center comprised of lenders, business development, operations. Acquired SAFEChecks from Imperial Bank in 1997, prior to Imperial Bank being acquired by Comerica Bank.

Associate,
Frank W. Abagnale and Associates, Tulsa, OK, 1995 to present. As a Senior Vice President and Manager of Imperial Bank, Mr. Litster hired Mr. Abagnale to educate the bank's customers about check fraud, and to assist the bank in designing checks and strategies to reduce the bank’s fraud losses. Mr. Litster is the editor of Mr. Abagnale’s Fraud Bulletin cited below.

eRead Digital,
President and Co-Founder. eRead is an online e-book company (eRead.com).

Union Bank,
Los Angeles, CA, Assistant Vice President, 1978 to 1981. Completed Union Bank’s commercial loan training program.

Cincinnati Insurance Company v. Wachovia Bank: The Legal Rationale to Implement Positive Pay. Download article.

Cyber Crime and Check Fraud, Title News, American Land Title Association, July/August 2009. Download article. Click on Cyber Crime and Check Fraud.

Remote Deposit Capture: The Dark Side, Remote Deposit Capture, A TAWPI Executive Report, November/December 2008, The Association for Work Process Improvement, www.tawpi.org.

Holder in Due Course and Check Fraud, Corporate Treasury Management Manual, December 2006, published by Sheshunoff Information Services. Download article. Click on Holder in Due Course.

Check 21, Remote Deposit Capture and Check Fraud, Corporate Treasury Management Manual, December 2004, updated December 2006; published by Sheshunoff Information Services. Download article. Click on Check 21.

Check Fraud, Identity Theft, Holder in Due Course, Cyber Crime, Vol. 8, Greg Litster, Editor. Published by Frank W. Abagnale, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. Download publication.

Check Fraud and System Security, American Payroll Association, Paytech Magazine, November 2002

Guarding Against Check Fraud—Will the Battle Ever End?, Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), AFP Exchange, Spring 2000

Frank Abagnale's The Fraud Bulletin, Volumes 1-11, Greg Litster, Editor.

Alexander Nikolaychuk, Larissa Ermolova, and Tatiana Angelovich v. Wescom Credit Union, et. al.;
Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Central District, Case No. BC 427843. Greg was retained on behalf of the Plaintiff. This case involved forged signatures, an alleged missing endorsement, ambiguous payees and the legal meaning of a slash (“/”) between payee names, and possible misconduct and self-dealing by the Defendant. The case settled.

Jonathon Hahn and Paul Di Girolamo v. Fast Food Snack Shops, LLC, and Bank of America, et. al.;
Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Central District, Case No. BC 398986. Greg was retained on behalf of Bank of America. This case was about the theft of funds from a deposit account by a business partner, and the responsibility of the other partners/signers to monitor the activity in their bank account. The account allegedly required two signatures to withdraw funds; Bank of America paid checks that carried only one signature. The case settled.

Howard Dell and Innovative Delivery Systems, Inc. v. Bank of America, et. al.;
Superior Court, San Bernardino, Case No. CIVRS 804433. Greg was retained by the Defendant. This was a case about embezzlement by a trusted employee who stole money over a two-year period. The Plaintiff alleged Bank of America was partially responsible for the loss. The jury found B of A and other Defendants partially responsible. The decision is on appeal by B of A.

Georges Marciano v. Joseph Fahs, et. al.;
Superior Court of Los Angeles, CA, Central District. Case No. BC 375824. Greg worked for the Plaintiff. This was an embezzlement case by long-term trusted employees of money, works of art and vintage wines; and alleged co-conspiracy by banks. Greg was brought in very late in the case to track and research funds, signature card authorities, etc. GM’s case was dismissed by the judge on technicalities in 2009. Deprived of hearing Marciano’s side, the jury later awarded the Defendants $400MM for their “suffering.”

Woods Code 3, Inc. d/b/a American Site Development v. Woodforest National Bank, N.A. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.;
In the 221st Judicial District Court of Montgomery County, Texas; Cause No. 06-06449-CV. Greg worked for Plaintiff American Site Development. This case was about embezzlement by the trusted bookkeeper, who wrote the checks, signed the checks, and reconciled the bank account and computer system. The case was scheduled for trial in April 2008. Woodforest National Bank settled with the Plaintiff. The judge issued Summary Judgment in favor of Defendant JPMorganChase Bank, and ignored Plaintiff’s Complaint that JPMorganChase Bank aided and abetted the bookkeeper’s breach of her fiduciary duties.

Helen A. Drouin v. Symetra Life Insurance Company; Federal Court, Boston, MA. Civil Action No. 06-CV-10764.
Greg worked for Defendant Symetra Life Insurance Company. This case went to trial in June 2008. It was about IRA money held in a Symetra account that belonged to the Plaintiff. The IRA account was closed and the money wired to the Plaintiff’s checking account based upon written instructions to Symetra that allegedly were forged by the Plaintiff’s daughter. The Plaintiff lived with her daughter, who had access to the Plaintiff’s personal identity papers that were presented with the withdrawal request. Symetra won the conversion complaint, but lost the Complaint for money allegedly stolen by the daughter who was a signer on the Plaintiff’s checking account and had previously embezzled from the Plaintiff.

Deluxe Corporation v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company;
International Arbitration, Mexico City, Mexico. I worked on behalf of St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company. The case was over check stock stolen from a Deluxe-owned check printing plant. The checks created losses at several banks that Deluxe wanted St. Paul to cover. During Arbitration, Deluxe withdrew their claim, and all parties settled for their expenses incurred. ICDR Ref No.: 50 T 195 00001 03.

First National Bank of Colorado v. Robert W. Baird & Co., Incorporated and Bank of America; and County of Los Angeles and City of Santa Monica v. Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Bank of America and First National Bank of Colorado.
District Court, Boulder County, State of Colorado, 2003, Case 067892-C.V.-610, Division 20. Greg worked on behalf of Robert W. Baird & Co. This was a case about a very large-dollar check stolen by a Nigerian gang. The check was deposited into an account opened at Robert W. Baird & Co. The check was not altered, but the endorsement on the back of the check was forged. Baird was expected to make good on the forged endorsement. Ultimately it was discovered that a temporary employee working in the accounting department of the recipient was a Nigerian whose picture and biography were in the FBI’s files. Five large checks were stolen during his 18-month tenure in the accounting department. The case was settled in 2006 for about half of the original claim against Robert W. Baird & Co.

Juan C. Rodriguez v. Travelers Insurance Company;
Hills Pet Products, State of California, Division of Workers’ Compensation, LA, 1999. Greg worked on behalf of Travelers Insurance. Case decided in favor of Travelers Insurance. Case No. LAO 748013.

Maria Figueroa v. Carl Karcher Enterprises,
State of California. Division of Worker’s Compensation, Los Angeles, 1999. Greg worked on behalf of Carl Karcher Enterprises. Case decided in favor of Carl Karcher Enterprises. Case number LAO 737807.