Lessons from the Kardashian Stickup
This blog may be one of the few publications in the Western world that has never written the word “Kardashian,” but that has now changed. In the stories about the robbery in Paris of Kim Kardashian we found numerous issues that touch on…
A Little Diligence on Local Businesses Goes a Long Way Toward Preventing Fraud
We pretty regularly find ourselves blogging about small business owners that draw people into scams. We’ve seen the would-be movie executive, the sweet-talking investment solicitor, the landscaper and the produce company owner. Too…
FINRA and Due Diligence: On-Site Checks Are Indispendible
Due diligence is all about following up on red flags, but if you don’t find them, there’s nothing on which to follow up. Thus, our tireless refrain: turn over every piece of public record information you can about a person, and don’t…
Would-Be Movie Studio Executive Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Scam
According to the Sacramento Bee, a would-be movie studio executive, Carissa Carpenter, pleaded not guilty last week to defrauding investors of at least $5 million during her failed 17-year attempt at creating a movie studio in Northern California. …
Is the Suzuki Violin Method Founder Really the Biggest Fraud in Musical History?
We recently blogged here about surprising facts we’d found when doing diligence on expert witnesses. We’ve looked into so many people and companies that we’re rarely taken aback when we find that someone left something…
Expert witnesses: Does Anyone Ever Check These People Out?
We have been asked in recent months to look at an uncommonly large number of expert witnesses, both for clients thinking of hiring experts and by people checking out the other side’s experts. What an eye-opener. Nearly half of these people…
“Nightmare Nanny” Refuses to Leave California Home
The story of the “nightmare nanny” who has refused to leave her employer’s home has been making waves all over the news. You’ve probably seen it by now— using Craigslist, Marcella and Ralph Bracamonte hired…
Europe’s Right to be Forgotten: Full Employment for Investigators
If anyone wondered what the practical side of Europe’s new Right to be Forgotten would turn out to be, here it is: In less than a month since a court in the E.U. decided Google links were substantial information and could be scrubbed…
TelexFree and the Need for Investor Due Diligence
“TelexFree is already creating MILLIONAIRES and now is YOUR turn.” So read the now defunct website of TelexFree Inc., which U.S. officials ordered to be taken down earlier this month. Massachusetts company TelexFree Inc.…
Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Discovering the Undiscovered
The Wall Street Journal published an article this week about corporate acquirers demanding protections in mergers against undiscovered criminal acts. It got us thinking about some of the investigations we do during due diligence, and how…
