Directors
DIRECTORS
MATTHEW HAYS
Director, Asia Operations
Matt joined the Gryphon team in 2019, as Director for Asia Operations. Matt advises clients investing in and/or conducting business in the APAC region and manages Gryphon’s political risk, business intelligence, due diligence and other investigative offerings in Asia.
Matt has been analyzing, monitoring and reporting on the political, security and economic developments throughout Southeast Asia for more than six years, and is a contributor to local/international media on political and public policy issues. Prior to joining Gryphon, Matt was based in Bangkok for an international democracy development NGO, where he served as Country Director for their Thailand and Malaysia programs. Matt has traveled extensively throughout the region, and maintains relationships with senior government leaders, heads of political parties, business executives, diplomats and members of the media.
Matt also worked on the Europe and Eurasia subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Matt holds a master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a B.A. in History from American University.
Phone: 914-730-9051
MEREDITH MCCARRON
Director, Data Mining & Analytics
As Director of Data Mining and Analytics, Meredith leads a team with a diverse set of programming and database skills. Meredith has expertise in programming and scripting languages as well as relational and graph databases.
Prior to joining Gryphon Strategies, Meredith worked as a Data Scientist at the New York State Office of the Attorney General. While there, she provided litigation support for a broad range of subject matters and analytical needs, including financial enforcement, consumer fraud, criminal investigations, and public policy. At the Attorney General’s Office, Meredith earned both the Superior Service and Innovation in Law Enforcement awards.
Meredith graduated from New York University’s Center for Urban Science and Progress with a Master of Science in Applied Urban Science and Informatics.
Phone: 914-730-9055
Nirali Patel-Prabhakar
Director, Due Diligence
Nirali co-manages the day-to-day aspects of due diligence cases, from case intake to quality check reviews. Nirali joined Gryphon Strategies in 2014 and currently oversees a team of investigators who work on a variety of domestic and international pre-transactional due diligence cases tailored to specific clients. Previously, Nirali spent time managing a high-volume project focused on identifying patterns of financial fraud and conducting investigations into high-profile individuals, including Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in various international jurisdictions. Nirali speaks Hindi and Gujarati fluently.
Nirali holds a master’s degree in International Crime and Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice from the University of Delaware.
Phone: 914-730-9006
JOHN POLIZZI, CFE
Director, Litigation Support
John has served as an integral part of the Gryphon team since 2010. Over his tenure, John has managed countless due diligence projects aimed at the identification and assessment of compliance, investment, and reputational risks to our clients. He has also played a key role in a variety of investigations relating to securities fraud, false claims, criminal misconduct, and asset recovery. John’s investigative expertise is international in scope, and he regularly consults with clients to determine the best course of action for carrying out investigative projects, both in the U.S. and abroad.
John holds a Master of Arts from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University. He speaks Italian and German and is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).
Phone: 914-730-9030
DESIREE TORRES, MBA, PHD
Managing Director, Litigation Support
Desiree has more than a dozen years of experience in research and investigations. During the course of her career, Desiree has led complex civil litigation investigations that have resulted in evidence used in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for clients. Her expertise is in developing human intelligence, which she has honed through her years of experience in litigation support, difficult asset investigations, and source inquiries for a diverse set of clients.
Desiree has taught various courses in management, strategy, communications, and technology integration at National University in the U.S. and Wollongong University in Australia. She has an undergraduate degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration. She also studied overseas, completing a doctorate degree in management from the University of Wollongong in Australia.
Phone: 914-730-9033
HEIDI BROWN
Director, Litigation Support
Heidi joined Gryphon in 2019 as a Director on the Litigation Support team. She has worked as an investigator for nearly 10 years. Previously, Heidi was a journalist. She spent 15 years writing about Russia, international and U.S. corporations, financial services and the art market. She transitioned into private investigations at Kroll Associates, assisting with and coordinating complex cases for a variety of clients. Her work included gathering human intelligence, pre-transactional background due diligence for domestic and international clients, litigation support for a long-term, multinational corporate litigation, cyber investigations and business intelligence. Heidi also spent 5 years investigating FINRA-registered brokers for fraud, conversion, suitability violations and other violations of securities rules. She began her career as a reporter in post-Communist Russia’s Far East.
Phone: 914-730-9031
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