embezzlement investigations Archives

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Private Investigators Pull it All Out to Find Evidence to Refute False Accusations

We never know what the next phone call will bring us here at . Some of the most demanding cases have been those when someone is blamed for something that they did not do. It could be as serious as a felony where they face a long prison term, an accusation of employee embezzlement or a person whose spouse accuses them of marital infidelity. You can hear the frustration – and fear – in their voices when they describe a situation and ask: Have you ever been blamed for something you absolutely did not do? Have you ever been in the company of a rat, but no one else around you seems to also realize that the rat is a rat? Instead, he presents himself [...]

Be ‘In the Know” in the Beginning Because Breaking Up is Hard Enough

Have you ever heard the nursery rhyme about the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead? There’s a line that says: When she was good, she was very, very good, when she was bad, she was awful! Aren’t most things like that? People are happy and excited and get married, or go into business together and everything is roses, giggles and rainbows. Then, when things get tough, it gets, well, awful. And much of the “awful” stems from one side of the differences being more aware or in control than the other. Let me explain. Take a divorce situation first. For some spouses, it doesn’t matter what is in the bank account or what assets are where or whether there is [...]

Is Your Work Environment Cultivating Theft by Employees?

Objectivity is the cornerstone to a private investigator’s work – and success in doing that work. As we discuss here at offices, uncovering the truth is based on facts. We don’t make judgments other than those that help us follow-up or lead us to conclusions to further an investigation. Good investigators are keen observers and study cause and effect as well as patterns and trends. In recognizing patterns we can anticipate what a subject might be likely to do and then be prepared. A good example is in the situation where we are contacted about possible theft by employees. By looking at the work environment we can often determine what kind of clues to look for. Theft in the workplace can include a variety of [...]

on the Case for Large and Small Clients

Since 1960, has proudly served as a professional helpmate to all types of cases. We have worked on numerous cases involving government agencies, municipalities, insurance companies, investors, business owners, bankers and bail bondsmen. More often than not, we can track down the guy guilty of employee embezzlement for thousands of dollars. We can even find offshore bank accounts, hidden assets and even missing assets. We can prove insurance fraud in many cases involving false claims made to insurance companies. But some private citizens might assume that our fact-finding service is set aside only for those with deep pockets. That assumption could not possibly be farther from the truth. Our firm is filled with a unique mix of investigators with all kinds of backgrounds. Some are [...]

Computer Forensics Uncovers Business Embezzlement

For more than a year, Sam and Julie worried about their future as business owners. For some unknown reason, their successful business now struggled financially. Sam spent long nights carefully studying line items on the budget with Steve, their business partner. It was difficult for Julie to finally speak up. But when they again worried about how to survive financially, she admitted her suspicious feelings about their business partner Steve. Julie was insistent that Steve absolutely had to be stealing money. Sam was positive that could not be the problem. Steve had been a long-time friend. He believed there was no way he would do something like this. Besides, Steve was as unstable financially as they were. Plus, since Sam repeatedly examined the financial records [...]

Hurrying Through Hiring and Skipping Background Investigation Has Consequences

Years ago, Bill learned his lesson, which is the fact that you just can't take anything at face value, especially people. Like all of those lessons that last a lifetime, Bill learned this information the hard way. It happened when he hired two new employees for the city courts system. There had not been enough time to adequately complete the HR due diligence checklist including background investigations, as Bill and his staff would normally do with new hires. At the time, the offices for the heavily populated city were grossly understaffed. The employees were all stressed out and overworked. All anybody wanted, at that time, were a couple of warm bodies to sit in front of the telephones and computers. As luck would have it, [...]

Is It Theft if the Money is Used to Improve the Budget?

With many budget cuts in the last few years, not-for-profit agencies have felt the sting. The workers in these agencies believe in their missions so they avoid extra spending. For example, the chairs at the free clinic still haven't been replaced. At the shelter for victims of domestic violence, the roof has leaked for two years. And in many agencies, if a staff person leaves, that person is rarely replaced. Instead, the work load is dispersed among other employees. And so, our investigators were surprised when the executive director of Vocational Rehabilitation stopped by. She had a keen eye and a careful watch on agency books and shared with us that she suspected a certain mental health agency was purposefully overcharging services rendered to Vocational [...]