In Plain Sight: Corporations and Public Records
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.
Scratching the Surface: Due Diligence and Public Record Searches
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.
Thinking Outside the [Shoe] Box: The Shaks, Collections and Divorce Asset Searches
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…
Foreign Due Diligence on U.S. Companies is a Must
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…
Strategy Tips for Asset Searches
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…
Staying Afloat in a Sea of Data
Adam Davidson recently wrote "Making Choices in the Age of Information Overload," for the New York Times magazine where he explained how consumer choices have changed in the Information Age. With so much data about a potential purchase—from…
JPM, Feynman and Investigations
A superb column over the weekend by the personal investing columnist in the Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig, "Polishing the Dimon Principle," struck a chord or two with us because of what it said about human knowledge and the occasional lack…
Tracking Down Spouse’s Hidden Money: Don’t Count on Taking Shortcuts
Whether one spouse hides money from the other during a portion of their marriage (and the Wall Street Journal reported this week in Veronica Dagher's article, "Hiding Money From Your Spouse Has Gotten a Lot Harder," that 58% of spouses say they…
The Putin Plot and Investigative Timelines
We tell every new client the same thing: when we report on a person we investigate, chronology is critical. Take the New York Times story this week with the headline, “Plot to Kill Putin is Uncovered.” We rushed to read this because…
Secret Lender Agents Make Asset Searches Harder
It’s always nice to be able to know who has loaned people money. It helps in asset searches, of course, but we also like to call bankers in after-fraud investigations. Now getting to the identity of those lenders is about to get harder.…
