A prominent computer forensics expert in Minnesota is at the center of a controversial case that has caught the attention of the legal community.
Mark Lanterman is the Chief Technology Officer at Computer Forensic Services and has allegations facing him from Wisconsin attorney Sean Harrington. Harrington accuses Lanterman of not being truthful about his professional qualifications and of dressing up his curriculum vitae to make it more appealing. Lanterman has responded to these allegations: he has accused Harrington of a "smear campaign".
Harrington has turned down WCCO's request for an interview, but he has sent along a written account that details what he claims to be his investigative work into Lanterman and a few other individuals he describes as "frauds." In addition, Harrington says that even though he's been involved in some legal matters related to cyber crimes, he doesn't think of himself as a competitor of Lanterman.
"It's scholarly writings, it's taking seminars, continuing education, and having work experience where you've been able to get into your field of study," Kevin Sieben, a criminal defense attorney in Eagan said. "If there's a case with an expert that's found out to have actually been an expert, that everybody who had that expert in their case should go back and evaluate their case to determine if they can say whether his determination is accurate."
The attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have not revealed which specific part of Lanterman's professional experience is being examined; Harrington's claims about Lanterman cover a lot of ground and bring up a lot of issues, including whether he has the academic credentials he claims (he says he graduated from Harvard University).
Matthew Cybert, currently the Special Agent in Charge at the Minneapolis Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service, confirmed on Friday that this Lanterman individual had, in fact, worked with his agency.
A representative from the University of St. Thomas confirmed that Lanterman is currently an adjunct faculty member at the School of Law.
Lanterman states that he is a faculty member at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. WCCO has reached out to the institution where Lanterman claims to work in order to obtain a statement regarding his accusations. As of this writing, WCCO has not received a response.
While the investigations continue, there are already significant consequences in the ongoing lawsuits involving Lanterman across the country. These lawsuits even reach federal district courts in Florida and New Jersey. In one of these matters, Vision Industries Group, Inc. v. ACU Plasmold, Inc., Lanterman has been ordered to attend a virtual hearing on April 3 to answer questions about his qualifications.
A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office has also confirmed that the office has now sent disclosures on ten cases that are pending and identified as being potentially impacted.
Sieben maintains that the standard for changing rulings or verdicts in old cases is set very high. Even if the accusations against Lanterman are proven true, they shouldn't affect the rulings of judges in cases Lanterman was involved in.
We have a high standard in the law, Sieben remarked. You have to show something was wrong or faulty about the testimony. It's not enough to just say the witness was not credible.
Lanterman operates the Computer Forensic Services firm in Minneapolis. He claims to have testified in more than 2,000 cases. He is identified as a former member of the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force. This biography of him was previously available on the website for his company, which has since been removed.
Previously his website biography is alleged to have read: Mark Lanterman is a former investigator for the U.S. Secret Service Electronics Crimes Task Force who founded the Minneapolis consulting firm Computer Forensic Services (CFS). The CFS website says Lanterman’s 30-year career has seen him testify as an expert in more than 2,000 cases, with experience in cases involving sexual harassment and workplace claims, theft of intellectual property and trade secrets, white-collar crime, and class action lawsuits.
According to Perkins Coie, Lanterman left the Springfield Township PD with his personnel file, and has not returned it as promised.
“It is shocking that an expert from Minnesota would travel to suburban Philadelphia and abscond with his decades-old personnel file to obscure his background,” the law firm wrote. “That appears to be the worst and most egregious form of spoliation, and the deception alone is reason enough to exclude Lanterman and consider sanctions.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_security
https://witnessdirectory.com/signup.php
