Robertson Investigations

1.  My name is Michael L. Robertson.  I am the principal questioned document examiner at Robertson Investigations which I founded 1988 and operate in North Canton, Ohio.   Robertson Investigations is licensed by The State of Ohio and insured.  Robertson Investigations provides wide ranging forensic investigation consulting services in both civil and criminal matters to a broad range of clients from - private sector companies and organizations such as General Motors; United Parcel Service; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Coca-Cola, United Auto Worker's; to public sector institutions such as: Ohio State University's College of Medicine, University of Akron, Office of Attorney General and Office of Public Defender for the State of Ohio, the Police Departments for the cities of Akron and Cleveland, Ohio; to various Federal and State Courts, among others.  I have been appointed as an expert by judges presiding over indigent felony cases and the document expert in Death Row cases in Ohio.  I have consulted for the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri Office of Attorney's General on issues of fraud and consumer protection.

2.  Throughout my career, I have received extensive academic and continuing professional training that forms the foundation of my expertise in forensic/fraud investigations and examination of questioned documents. I was awarded in 1966 a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Science (Criminology) degree from the Ohio State University. In 1971, I graduated from the U. S. Secret Service Questioned Document School, which utilized some of the preeminent document examiners and forensic technicians in service to the federal government of the United States as instructors.

3.  I have served as a Special Agent of the United States Secret Service, Department of the Treasury, for seventeen years, and during that period my assignments included protection of United States presidents, vice presidents, presidential candidates and over 60 visiting head of foreign states and governments.  My investigative duties included conducting criminal investigations of violations of U. S. Treasury statutes, locating and interviewing suspect making threats against the President and Vice President of the United States, as well as forgeries investigations wherein I served as the resident examiner in the field office to identify or eliminate suspects of forged documents. Moreover, I received an appointment and served as the Special Agent/Instructor and Assistant Course Director for the Questioned Document School at the U.S. Secret Service Training Academy in Washington, D. C.  During my tenure at that pre-eminent school, I've worked directly with some of the leading document examiners and forensic technicians employed by the U.S. federal government in developing coursework and curriculum materials employed in training of highly qualified questioned document examiners for federal, state and local governments in the arts and science of forensic analysis of documents, including but not limited to: paper composition and comparison, fraudulent photocopy reproductions, paper abrasion (i.e. folds, indentations, staple/paper clip marks, rips and tares damage, latent markings, etc), inks, handwriting analysis and identification, typewriting and output of computer printers.  This questioned document course was the primary training ground for most document examiners assigned to major police departments and state crime labs across the United States.  I served two in-service training blocks with the U. S. Secret Service Forgery Division.  My U. S. Treasury Department Job Description/Classification as a Criminal Investigator stated I am an "expert in the detection of forgeries."

4.  I have attended numerous specialty and in-service schools regarding investigation and forensic matters.  In 1986, the Secret Service selected six classic investigations from the thousands of cases investigated all across the United States to serve as models for the correct protocol of investigative standards.   I was honored with the selection of three of my cases to be part of the six models.

5.  I was accepted as a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in 1995.  Since entering private practice in 1988, I have served as a questioned document examiner and forensic investigations consultant for a variety of public and private institutions, corporations, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and eminent law firms.  I was court qualified as a fraud investigator in numerous courts and by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD).  I was appointed Compliance Officer by the Western District of Missouri Federal Bankruptcy Court to oversee the operation of, and prevent the fraudulent activities, of a large sales and telemarketing corporation that was being monitored by the Court.  I have been appointed by the U. S. District Court in Cleveland as a defense investigator in a RICO case.  Correspondingly, my expertise has been sought out by various legislative and judicial branches of government.  I testified as an expert witness before the House Ethics Sub-Committee of the U. S. House of Representatives in the case concerning the expulsion of a Member of Congress on matters relating to evidence, investigative methodology and burden of proof.  I am the only private investigator ever called to provide expertise before that Committee.  The Ohio State Public Defender?s Office had appointed me as a questioned document expert in several capital punishment cases. Additionally, I have received case referrals as an expert questioned document examiner from the Cleveland, Akron and Canton, Ohio field offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, Crime Labs for Lake County, Stark County and City of Canton, Ohio, as well as Cleveland and Akron Police Departments.

6.  During my career in private practice, I have been called to testify as an expert witness in a variety of cases related to questioned documents and fraud cases and my professional credentials have been accepted in 38 different judicial venues; included among them: U. S. Federal District Court and Federal Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, U. S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida along with various Common Pleas, Probate and Municipal Courts in the State of Ohio including Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Courts.  I qualified as an expert in document examination by N.A.S.D. in two different panels (Chicago and New York).

7.  Below are the descriptions of 14 cases in which I appeared as an expert witness.  It may be noted that the vast majority of litigation cases in which I render an opinion are settled prior to the commencement of the trial.

8.  I have lectured extensively on the subject of forensic documents examination. In 1998, I designed and presently continue to teach the Questioned Document Course for attorneys that has been accredited by Ohio Supreme Court for three credit-hours of continuing legal education (CLE).  I am preparing a 3 hour CLE DVD on this subject for on-line access by attorneys in Ohio and eventually other states.

9.  I presented my lecture titled "Questioned Documents in Medical Malpractice Cases" at the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Annual Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.  I have spoken to various law firms, paralegals and insurance companies. 

10.  I have been listed as an expert with Technical Advisory Services for Attorneys for over ten years, Martindale-Hubbell, JurisPro and ExpertPages - all of whom monitor any complaints against an expert and will remove them from the listing if needed.  I am in good standing with all of those entities.

11.  My background in financial fraud goes back 39 years when I conducted investigations of violations of
U. S. Treasury Department statutes and continue today with private investigations for corporations, financial institutions and private individuals.  I served one year full time as the Corporate Security Officer for a subsidiary of PNC Bank and enforced the Federal Reserve regulations involving fraud, wrote the policies to prevent check kiting, created new in-house procedures for officers to enforce government requirements for financial institutions and established aggressive investigative procedures to rid the institution of fraudulent/sloppy money handlers (resulted in removing 5% of the tellers and other staff in 12 months).   I have conducted insurance fraud investigations, including questioned document examination, for numerous insurance companies and affiliated industries.  In 1996 I presented a case at the Ohio Department of Insurance regarding an agent who produced fraudulent documents to avoid paying a house fire claim. 

12. My expertise concentrates on identifying and documenting the elements of fraud or other criminal conduct based on statutes and regulations in complex matters.  I collect information, intelligence, documents and statements from those sources that are the specialists and homogenize it into an investigative mosaic.  This mosaic is then reduced into an understandable, substantive, chronological report supported with exhibits and usually a PowerPoint or ELMO presentation.  The most difficult part of completing a complex investigation is making the final product clear and convincing.

13.  Discretion when conducting investigations is critical and part of my work model.  I have conducted sensitive investigations for foreign governments, a major national church, Fortune 50 companies including counter-corporate espionage, theft of intellectual property and a drug addicted CEO, to name a few.

Hourly rate: $200.00 (for any new work that is authorized and deemed necessary by the client beyond the initial retainer).

Travel fee: $100.00 per hour.

Deposition/Trial:  Rates vary depending on location but averages $1250.00 (one-half day or less) for northeast Ohio.

In major cases only, administrative support and use of large quantities of consumable products are charged to the client at the actual cost.  These costs do not apply to the average case.

All customary travel and administrative costs at actual expense.  Business class airfare, Marriott-type accommodation, four door vehicle rental. 

All work is done on a retainer basis.  Itemized expense report submitted every 30 days or sooner on short assignments.  Government appointments are billed according to Court requirements.