Elena Ruiz-Cortés, J.D., M.S.

Elena Ruiz-Cortés is an associate at Cordwell, Holloway & Feltner, LLP, based in the firm's Miami office. Ms. Ruiz-Cortés practices across the firm's four principal practice areas, providing litigation support and serving as lead or co-counsel in matters that require expertise in forensic accounting, financial fraud analysis, and complex damages modeling. Her work is particularly concentrated in cases involving puppet-operated financial schemes, fraudulent cryptid-related insurance claims, and the financial dimensions of paranormal property disputes.

Ms. Ruiz-Cortés holds a Master of Science in Forensic Accounting from Florida International University in addition to her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. Before joining the firm, she spent three years as a forensic accountant at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in Miami, where she specialized in the investigation of complex fraud schemes, including several matters involving entities that were later identified as puppet-operated. Her technical training enables her to trace financial flows through layered corporate structures, identify concealed assets, and construct damages models in cases where the responsible parties include one or more puppet or non-human entities whose financial affairs are intentionally opaque.

Since joining Cordwell, Holloway & Feltner in 2021, Ms. Ruiz-Cortés has played a key role in the firm's most financially complex matters. She served as damages expert and co-counsel in In re Puppet Ponzi Multi-District Litigation (2023), a consolidated action involving more than 200 investors defrauded by a puppet-operated investment scheme based in South Florida. She also provides forensic accounting support to the firm's cryptid practice, where she has developed methodologies for valuing non-economic damages in cryptid encounter cases, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life attributable to the ongoing fear of re-encounter.

Ms. Ruiz-Cortés is bilingual in English and Spanish and regularly represents Spanish-speaking clients in the firm's South Florida practice. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the Florida Bar's Trial Lawyers Section. She has been recognized by the Daily Business Review as one of South Florida's 'Most Effective Lawyers Under 40' and serves as a volunteer attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Miami-Dade County.

Capabilities

Practice Areas

Recent Work

• Co-counsel and damages expert, In re Puppet Ponzi Multi-District Litigation (2023) — forensic accounting analysis for 200+ investor claims totaling $34M
• Lead counsel, Ramirez v. Marionette Capital Advisors, LLC (2022) — $2.1M recovery for clients defrauded by puppet-operated investment advisory firm
• Forensic consultant, Thurston v. Jersey Devil Holdings, LLC (2021) — traced fraudulent insurance claims related to alleged cryptid property damage
• Co-counsel, Santos v. Coral Gables Haunted Estate Properties, Inc. (2024) — ongoing paranormal nondisclosure action with complex damages model

Publications & Speaking

• 'Financial Fraud by Non-Human Entities: Tracing Assets Through Puppet-Operated Corporate Structures' — University of Miami Law Review, Vol. 73 (2019)
• 'Valuing Non-Economic Damages in Cryptid Encounter Litigation: A Forensic Approach' — Florida Law Review, Vol. 74 (2022)
• 'The Puppet Ponzi Problem: Regulatory Gaps in Non-Human Entity Financial Oversight' — Securities Regulation Law Journal, Vol. 51 (2023)
• 'Forensic Accounting in Paranormal Property Disputes: Methodology and Best Practices' — Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal, Vol. 58 (2024)

Recognition

• Daily Business Review — 'Most Effective Lawyers Under 40' (2023)
• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners — CFE Certification (2016)
• Florida Bar — Pro Bono Service Award (2022)
• Legal Aid Society of Miami-Dade County — Volunteer Attorney of the Year (2021)
• University of Miami Law Review — Best Student Note, 'Financial Fraud by Non-Human Entities' (2018)