Embezzlement Archives - All in Investigations

Asset and Financial Investigations for Law Firms

Asset and Financial Investigations are conducted for the purpose of determining if an individual or a Corporation/Company/Business are hiding assets (property or money). Asset Investigations are requested when there is Civil Litigation and or Criminal Proceeding in progress for Divorce, Embezzlement or Judgment. The search is conducted on an individual or a company. The search criteria are specific by Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number for an individual and Company Name and EIN for a Corporation, Organization or Business, or if the business owner’s social security number is linked to the financial institution. The searches can be conducted State by State or Nationwide. An attorney will often request this search to determine if the Defendant/Respondent is hiding assets or has assets they can attach [...]

Mysterious Inventory Shrinkage

“SHRINKAGE” is the Industry Term to Describe Theft or the Mysterious Disappearance of Assets from a Company is the industry term to describe theft or the mysterious disappearance of assets from a company. Based on the average of various knowledgeable authorities, 4.2% of the gross revenue of a company is stolen by employees. For example, if a companies’ annual gross revenue is one million dollars then employees are stealing $42,000. Or, if an American made automobile costs $20,000 to manufacture than 840 bucks is added to the price to cover employee theft. Theft by employees takes many forms: embezzlement by employee, outright stealing of inventory, raw materials, scrap, time-card cheating, phony disability claims or worker’s compensation claims, phony FMLA excuses, embezzlement of cash or receivables, [...]

A Name is a Name until it has Criminal or Civil Ligations linked to it

Conducting a background investigation upon someone may seem fairly simple these days because so much information is now online and so many courts allow access to their records. Many times you have to have some type of subscription to access more detailed information. There are many sites online that allow you to run a name, hopefully the name you put through their system isn’t common, but if it is, you could be getting information on multiple individuals who share that name, even though they may have different dates of birth. conduct background checks and perform due diligence research for the private sector and for many businesses and corporations. Many times a company will take the word of a prospective employee: they have never been convicted [...]

Is It Embezzlement if it’s a Spouse Who Steals From Your Company

Money, Money, Money, does it make us a better person? Does it get us through tough times? Does it help us to help others? Money can be a blessing and it can be a curse. And when someone has money and someone doesn’t, then the scale of justice seems a little tilted, doesn’t it? Mark was a prominent CEO of a rather large company. He was kind and generous to all his employees. He remembered his manager’s birthdays, anniversaries, their children’s names and even attended various celebrations among his staff. He was a leader in his community, donated to various charities and well liked among his peers. He was a stellar guy to everyone except his soon-to-be ex-wife. The gifts and life style he afforded [...]

Discovery, Depositions and Findings

We had a Client, James who started and built a booming business with his longtime friend, Bill. Bill was outgoing, charismatic while James was more laid back and book smart, while both had the desire and knowledge to start a company. For years, growing up, through high school and college, they knew they wanted to work for themselves, didn’t want to report to a boss, wanted to have choices and full control over their own destiny and livelihood. After graduating with degrees in two different fields, they merged their knowledge and started a much needed consulting business in their hometown, just 30 minutes outside of Indianapolis. Twenty years later, they had talked about selling the business someday to spend more time with their families and [...]

What Causes 33% of All Business Bankruptcies?

It isn’t uncommon for the phone to start ringing at at the beginning of calendar quarters - you know, January, April, July and October. We don’t always know who will be on the other end of the line – small business owners, financial officers, or sometimes an attorney. But we know why they are calling – it will be about missing money, theft by employees or employee embezzlement. That’s because quarterly reports are reviewed and something is found that isn’t quite right. Sometimes there is just a suspicion and in those cases, we provide financial forensic experts to thoroughly examine the financial records and processes. No one wants to think there is an employee stealing from the company. In other situations, there is obvious theft [...]

Is it Employee Embezzlement?

A very depressed-looking business owner came in for an appointment at . We are accustomed to clients or prospective clients arriving emotionally charged, either very angry or hurt, but they don’t usually act like this gentleman. Once talking, he explained that he was “darn near just ready to chuck it all in.” He said he was just confounded by what he knew was going on in his company. He just needed proof of it and confirmation of how deep the damage went. Whew. He explained that because his company dealt with many clients coming in for training from out of town, he maintained an apartment for their use doing their stay. It was fully furnished and maintained. What he had discovered was that it had [...]

Digital Forensics Performed by Private Forensics Companies Picking Up Steam

There is a troubling trend growing in the world of crime and punishment and that’s why the phones at are ringing. Just like every other aspect, life has been impacted by technology, the crime world has taken advantage of new technology, too. But on the other hand, that means that the authorities who police and the attorneys who prosecute (or defend) those in court have to be prepared to use everything technology provides for them, as well. Living in the information age promulgated by technology makes that a challenge. There is just so much evidence and data that has to be uncovered and handled so that it can be used as evidence. The sheer volume is overwhelming authorities. It’s not just in the United States, [...]

Why Computer Forensics Must be Handled by Experts

Getting and maintaining public trust is a critical component of business. So when a situation arises that can impact that trust, the phone at rings. Sometimes it’s an attorney, sometimes it is a CEO or CFO, and sometimes no one except the business owner can make the call. Recently in Indianapolis a CFO of a large business was arrested for theft. Big theft. Not only was he accuse of diverted company funds to his own personal use, it was believed that he had used funds from a client at a former place of employment to cover the funds taken from his current employer. It is a tangled web that is certain, in this case and in many others. Which is the reason why certified computer [...]

Protect Your Business from Theft in the Workplace

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” Riley had run his own business for years. He’d had hundreds of employees, some of which had stayed for years and retired from his company. So when his attorney brought him in, it was obvious he was both surprised and shocked that he could possibly be in this position. There was strong evidence of embezzlement by an employee. Although he knew theft by employees was a costly problem and touched every business, he didn’t consider a few missing pens or copies being made for some kid’s carwash was a big deal. But this was more than that. This was outright skimming money out of accounts, writing forged checks and manipulating accounts that could only be answered by employee [...]