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which we regard as somewhat in tension with his role as a
purported independent valuation expert for the estate.
Wichorek provides accounting and tax preparation services,
does business consulting, and undertakes occasional valuations
for small businesses, generally in the context of divorce and
property settlement disputes. He belongs to no professional
organizations or associations relating to his appraisal or
valuation work.
Although we admitted into evidence the estate’s valuation
reports and treated them as credible, we regard those reports and
the testimony of the estate’s experts to be only marginally
credible. Goerig and Wichorek were barely qualified to value a
highly successful and well-established New York City-based
company with annual income in the millions of dollars.13
In our opinion, in computing the sustainable net income of
TPC, the estate’s experts incorrectly applied a 12-percent risk
factor relating to the Internet and technology. We acknowledge
that while the Internet posed certain risks to TPC, the Internet
also provided significant new business and financial
opportunities to TPC to increase revenue and profitability. As
13 At trial, the estate called additional expert witnesses
in an attempt to provide corroboration for aspects of the
valuation of TPC and of the estate’s interest in TPC by Goerig
and Wichorek. Such witnesses, however, have not cured the
concerns we have with Goerig’s and Wichorek’s valuation of TPC
and of the estate’s interest therein.
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