Our Team

Private Selling Officer | Receivership | Real Estate | Cash Offers

Richard F. Kruse

Managing Partner

Gryphon USA, Gryphon Asset Management, Gryphon Realty, Gryphon Auction Group
Tel: 614-774-4118
E-mail: rfk@gryphonusa.com

Richard F. Kruse is the Managing Partner of Gryphon USA, Ltd., a dynamic firm overseeing a receivership group, a thriving commercial auction business, and a comprehensive, multi-state real estate practice.

With a focus on navigating complex state and federal legal matters, foreclosure, and insolvency, Mr. Kruse has been a driving force since 1996. His extensive experience includes roles as a receiver, interim manager, asset purchaser, liquidating agent, equipment appraiser, broker, property manager, and auctioneer in transactions spanning the United States, Mexico, and Canada, boasting a combined asset value exceeding $2 billion.

In 2003, Mr. Kruse began accepting receivership appointments managing countless transactions through sales or wind-down processes. His expertise extends across the Midwest, overseeing receivership cases from Washington DC to California.

A respected authority, Mr. Kruse imparts his knowledge through seminars on distressed asset management and corporate wind-down for the real estate and auction community. He has shared insights on financial institutions and the court system at The Ohio Auction School and National Auctioneers Association, earning recognition as an industry expert by leading publications such as the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Business First and countless online venues.

In 2011, Mr. Kruse played a pivotal role in drafting new local rules for receivership management in Franklin County, Ohio. He also contributed to modified legislation language streamlining the foreclosure sale process in Ohio and played a key role in developing a proprietary website for workflow tracking and online bidding for Private Selling Officer auctions.

Acknowledged as “One to Know” in Real Estate 2013 by Business First, Mr. Kruse’s commitment extends to public service. Appointed by Governor John Kasich in 2013, he served as Chairman of the Ohio Auctioneers Commission, contributing to the advancement of the auction industry.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Mr. Kruse embraced new adventures during the Covid period. He discovered a passion for scuba diving, obtaining his PADI open water instructor certification and progressing toward the prestigious Master Scuba Diver Trainer certification. In Ohio and Florida, he shares his expertise as a scuba diving instructor and serves as a dive guide on boats in Clearwater, Florida.

Away from work, Mr. Kruse finds joy in traveling, cooking, and continuing his exploration of the underwater world. Residing in both Columbus, Ohio, and Tarpon Springs, Florida, with his wife, Melissa, and their daughter, Savannah, he cherishes the balance between his professional success and personal adventures.

Melissa Kruse

Partner

Melissa is the Co-Founder and a Partner in Gryphon USA. In addition to taking management roles in the company’s asset management and recovery projects since 2003, she focuses on regional and national event planning, operations, and logistics.

Most recently, Melissa was the director of External Operations for the Columbus Local Organizing Committee for the Women’s Final Four. Prior to that she was the Deputy Director of Transportation & Logistics for the Democratic National Convention Committee. In conjunction with the Director of Transportation, she helped plan a fully integrated accessible transportation system comprised of 425 buses and 365 motor pool cars, that moved more than 45,000 convention participants from 90 hotels to conference events throughout Philadelphia.

She was also involved in the two-year outreach and strategic planning effort for Columbus 2016, the City of Columbus solicitation to land the 2016 Democratic Convention. She worked closely with many leading stakeholders both in Columbus and nationally, to plan and implement events to raise awareness and generate support for the City’s endeavor. This project included planning and executing over 40 events in a two-day site visit, as well as coordinating multiple events both in Columbus and other cities.

During the Clinton Administration, Melissa also served as a Special Advisor to the President and the Director of Outreach for the Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas. In this role she organized events throughout the North and South America in support of Administration initiatives.

Susan Wittenberg

Finance

Susan Wittenberg has been with Gryphon since 2016. She oversees corporate and project-based finance tasks, banking, payroll and accounting. For our larger projects, she manages field staff and oversees pre- and post-sale logistics.

Susan is a native of Columbus, Ohio, an alumna of Bexley High School, and a graduate of University of Phoenix with a degree in information technology and business management.

Jeremy Pratt

Broker

Jeremy Pratt initially joined Gryphon in 2018 as a marketing assistant and quickly jumped into a field operations role assisting with real estate, firearm, and office equipment liquidations. During this time, he gained a working knowledge of the judicial foreclosure process, receivership, and procedures for selling real property at foreclosure auction as a Private Selling Officer. He is a licensed real estate broker in Ohio and working towards licenses in additional states. Jeremy works on many of the companies receivership projects and heads our Auctioneer/Broker partner program.

Jeremy is an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati where he studied finance, after which he invested a year teaching English in the Czech Republic and traveling Europe. In his free time he enjoys scuba diving and running extreme footraces up to 250 miles in length.

Barry Bowen

Realtor & Auctioneer

Joining us in 2020, Barry is a second-generation real estate professional who has sold millions of dollars in residential and commercial real estate through general brokerage, as well as live and online auction. He is also a personal property appraiser with a background in valuation and sale of both consumer and commercial assets. Barry focuses on court ordered transactions and manages a property maintenance and rehab business. His background offers clients a complete turnkey solution in complicated transactions.

Shawn J. Dostie

Realtor & Auctioneer

Shawn has worked with Gryphon since 2013 and joined the brokerage full time in 2020. He is the manager of the Southeast Region of Ohio for the Ohio Foreclosure Auction Group and Ed and Ben Schafer Auctioneers, a third generation real estate and auction firm established in 1964

Shawn’s experience in sales spans from the late 1980s – during which, he undertook projects throughout the northeastern United States – to managing his own car dealership for 25 years. Shawn now runs his own small farm and auction business, where his passion for the auction industry has led to conducting auctions throughout the country.

He is experienced with troubled assets, commercial and residential real estate, farm properties, oil and gas, recreational land, and hunting leases. His specialty is the blend between rural and urban America, and the differences in how business is conducted in each. He works the Appalachian area of Ohio. He is a proud member in good standing with the Ohio Auctioneers Association and the National Auctioneers Association.

Shawn was born and raised Ohio graduating from Walnut Ridge H.S. in 1984, then attended The Ohio State University.

Billy Hagen

Auctioneer & Appraiser

Billy has been in the auction industry since 1997, became a licensed auctioneer in 2004, and joined us at Gryphon in 2018. As a full-time auctioneer, he regularly conducts auctions and appraisals throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States.

Billy also teaches at the Indiana College of Auctioneers, is an active member of the National Auctioneers Association, and has earned the designations of Certified Auctioneer Institute (CAI), Auction Marketing Management (AMM) and Graduate Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA).

Billy is a native of Winter Garden, FL and now resides in Pekin, Indiana

Todd Travis

Realtor, Appraiser & Auctioneer

A licensed Real Estate Agent, Auctioneer and Real Estate Appraiser, Todd joined Gryphon in 2020. He is a court-approved appraiser and Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist, involved with hundreds of probate properties for more than 20 years as an appraiser, auctioneer, realtor and private investor.

Born and raised in Central Ohio, Todd spent a lot of time in the Appalachian hills of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He plays piano and guitar and can be found performing with the band “Old School Groove” in venues around town.

Support Team

Gryphon is supported by an amazing operations team of experienced professionals, many of whom have been with us for many years. They organize, coordinate, execute, and offer service with dedication and excellence. These team members not only make what we do possible, but also more enjoyable. We recognize and appreciate that our jobs and your experience are made richer by their efforts.