Good investigators are not necessarily smarter than the people they help. What often makes a good investigation is one in which “known” facts are independently evaluated once again. Just as we sometimes want a second opinion on a complex medical or legal matter, gathering and weighing the credibility of facts can also benefit from a fresh pair of eyes.
Clients are often surprised to learn how much corporate information is on the public record. Of course, public companies are forced to disclose a lot more data than private ones, but it’s still possible to learn about private companies using smart and thorough public records searches. And there’s more to learn than just what assets a company holds.
What does it really mean when an investigator says that they are going to do a background search on a person and track down all the relevant documents “on the public record”? Well, let’s start with what it doesn’t mean: bank documents and cell phone records are not public record. Any investigator who tells you he can track these down for you is ostensibly promising to break more than a couple of laws to get you that information. In addition, given that he’s acting as your agent, odds are it could get you in a heap of trouble as well.
So what can you expect instead? Below is a list of the various public documents that you should expect from your investigator when investigating a person. Future blog posts will detail similar lists for background research on companies and for asset searches.
The news is out and it’s not good. In fact, it’s downright troubling. It seems that every day, usually several times a day, there is more and more information available about the dangers of the Internet. It’s enough to make a Luddite out of even the most devoted technophile. Here’s a sampling of some of […]
The media seems to be having a good chuckle over the recent legal tiff between hedge fund manager Daniel Shak and his ex-wife, professional poker player Beth Shak. The couple divorced about three years ago, but Daniel is requesting that the court amend their divorce settlement. He argues that his wife hid assets from him […]
We have had a number of recent cases involving foreign companies who entered into large-scale sale agreements with American-based corporations. These companies are run by sophisticated, experienced executives. In most instances, the agreements were for millions of dollars’ worth of merchandise. Both sides hired attorneys who scrutinized the proposed contracts. They carefully considered payment and […]
We take no position on the guilt or innocence of Pedro Hernandez, the man police say confessed to killing a six-year old boy, Etan Patz, in New York in 1979. Among the many things that make the case interesting from a professional point of view is the way it illustrates the irreplaceable value of public-record […]
Recently we were hired to track down a man who defaulted on a million dollar judgment against him by our clients. The man’s family owned and operated a successful retail business. Since the judgment against him, the man had declared bankruptcy. He alleged that he no longer had income from or access to his family’s […]
Companies are saving recruiting and advertising costs by hiring from within. But they still need to invest in due diligence and make sure that internal promotions are vetted with the same rigor as external hires. We’ve written before about the challenges of hiring in our article “Hiring Due Diligence Should Include an Attitude Check.” Every […]
We wrote in our pieces “What Greg Smith and Goldman Sachs Tell Us About Investigations” and “Hiring Due Diligence Should Include an Attitude Check” about how indispensable it is to talk to people during an investigation. No matter how thorough a database may be, no matter how savvy your search terms are or how much […]
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Charles Griffin Intelligence was founded in 2009 by Philip Segal, a New York attorney and expert on complex domestic and international business and finance. Based in the heart of New York City and working worldwide, Charles Griffin is dedicated to ethical fact-finding.
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