Profile

Maria Yip

Managing Partner,
Yip Associates

Contact Details

Managing Partner,
Yip Associates
2 S. Biscayne Blvd.
Suite 2690
Miami, FL 33131
United States

Years of Experience

21 - 30

Professional Bio

Maria M. Yip is the founder and managing partner of YIP ASSOCIATES, a firm specializing in forensic accounting, financial investigations, receiverships and other fiduciary roles, bankruptcy related matters and valuations. Ms. Yip also serves as the firm’s Fiduciary Services Practice Leader. The firm serves its clients from offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Tampa, Orlando, New York and New Jersey. Ms. Yip has previously worked for Price Waterhouse, Arthur Andersen, and led the forensic accounting practice for Florida as a partner at Grant Thornton prior to founding Yip Associates in 2008. Yip Associates is certified as a minority-owned and women-owned firm (M/WBE). Ms. Yip is a Florida certified public accountant (CPA), certified fraud examiner (CFE), certified insolvency and restructuring advisor (CIRA) and is certified in financial forensics (CFF). Ms. Yip is a sitting United States Bankruptcy Panel Trustee in the Southern District of Florida. She also serves as a court-appointed receiver, examiner, liquidating trustee, custodian and assignee for the benefit of creditors. Ms. Yip has significant experience marshaling and securing assets and identifying potential causes of action to provide recoveries for creditors and investors. Ms. Yip has also served as accountant and financial advisor to receivers appointed in numerous SEC, CFTC and FTC matters. Ms. Yip has more than 25 years of experience serving as a forensic accountant and expert witness. Clients include attorneys, receivers, bankruptcy trustees and governmental agencies. She regularly serves as an expert witness in Federal and State court, international litigation and arbitration matters. Ms. Yip has extensive experience in the tracing of funds and the reconstruction of financial business records in civil and criminal matters. Ms. Yip also has experience calculating economic damages in breach of contract and other commercial disputes. Ms. Yip assists clients with discovery, detailed review and analysis of business records, preparation of written reports, demonstrative exhibits and testimony. Ms. Yip has significant experience conducting internal and external financial investigations of alleged business frauds including white-collar investigations, embezzlement and asset misappropriation, financial reporting and securities fraud. Ms. Yip has experience with investigations in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Ms. Yip’s extensive experience, fluency in Spanish, and cultural understanding have resulted in an efficient and effective approach in complex matters involving parties in Latin America and Caribbean in the review of documents and conducting interviews. Ms. Yip has also prepared comprehensive reports and provided expert testimony in Spanish. Ms. Yip holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from Florida International University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) and National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER).

Company Description

Yip Associates specializes in forensic accounting, financial investigations and fiduciary services from its offices in Florida, New York and New Jersey. The firm is certified as a Women Business Enterprise and Minority Business Enterprise. The firm has experience as receivers and financial advisors to receivers on SEC, FTC and CFTC matters. Our multilingual team of CPAs, Certified Fraud Examiners and Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors routinely provide testimony in State and Federal courts. The firm is frequently retained as a consultant or expert by the SEC, United States Attorney’s Office and Office of the Federal Public Defender.

Number of Times Appointed a Receiver

0

Lead Roles in Federal Receiverships

  • Principal (Lead) Forensic Accountant

Other Roles in Federal Receiverships

  • Financial Advisor

Receivership Experience in these USDC Courts

  • Florida Middle
  • Florida Southern

Receivership Experience with these Agencies

  • Commodity Future Trading Commmission
  • Federal Trade Commision
  • Securities and Exchange Commission

Sizes of Federal Equity Receiverships

  • $ 1 - $10 Million
  • $10 - $25 Million
  • $25 Million +

Federal Equity Receivership Cases on which I have Worked

  • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brian Davison, Barry M. Rybicki, EquiAlt, LLC, EquiAlt Fund, LLC, EquiAlt Fund II, LLC, EquiAlt Fund III, LLC EA SIP, LLC, et al. 8:20-cv-00325-T-35AEP (M.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. TCA Fund Management Group Corp., et al. 20-21964-civ-Altonaga/ Goodman (S.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Barry Graham, Fred Davis Clark, Jr., a/k/a Dave Clark, Cristal Coleman, a/k/a Cristal Clark, David W. Schwarz, Ricky Lynn Stokes 4:13-cv-10011 (S.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Arthur Nadel, et al. 8:09-cv-00087-RAL-TBM (M.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Patrick Kirkland, Tropical Village, Inc., et al. 6:06-cv-00183-JA-KRS (M.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. KS Advisors, Inc., et al. 2:04-cv-00105-JES-DNF (M.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Viatical Capital, Inc. 8:03-cv-01895-SDM-TGW (M.D. FL); Federal Trade Commission v. Raymond Urso, et al. 97-2680 CIV- Ungaro- Benages (S.D. FL); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Medco, Inc., et al. 97-7246-CIV-RYSKAMP (S.D. FL); Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Trinity Financial Group, Incorporated, et al. 0:92-cv-06832-UUB (S.D. FL).

Roles in Other (Non-Federal) Equity Receiverships

  • Accountant to State Court Appointed Receiver
  • State Court Appointed Receiver

Types of Services or Products Your Company Provides

  • Accounting/Tax Services
  • Forensic Accounting
  • Insolvency Restructure

Professional Certifications

  • CPA, CIRA, CFE

Other Professional Associations

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) and National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER).

Education

Bachelor's of Accounting - Florida International University