Given the increasing economic turbulence felt globally in 2022—thanks to factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and unfolding energy crisis—it comes as no surprise that fraud is on the rise. Even the construction industry is not impervious to these impacts. In fact, the complexities of numerous cost outputs, suppliers, and subcontractors mean that it has never been more important to be alert to the dangers of construction fraud. If you are the one steering the ship, now is the time to be vigilant if you want to avoid your company becoming another victim statistic.
Those behind devious acts of construction fraud don’t often fit preconceived notions of what a scammer looks like. Trusted employees or long-serving suppliers can go rogue when times get tough. On the other side of the same coin, opportunists can get greedy when funds start to flow, which is why it’s never the wrong time to sure up your construction company’s fraud and forgery protection. While you yourself may not be the deceiver, if the ball of compliance gets dropped, it could be your company that pays the ultimate cost. Let’s look at some of the types of construction fraud that should be on your radar, and how a corporate investigator can help you ensure that everything truly tracks.
When Construction Fraud Slips Under the Radar
Any construction company owners knows that operating in this business means keeping a lot of plates spinning. With so many variables in play, there are inevitably also a lot of opportunities for a falsification here and a substitution there to slip by unnoticed. As if that weren’t dangerous enough, when a trusted collaborator feels emboldened, they may decide to see how far they can push their luck. If those at the helm are asleep at the wheel, construction fraud can become an epidemic that will inevitably result in a reckoning. Bringing in a corporate investigator to uncover corporate fraud at the first sign of suspicion is a prudent move indeed, but what kinds of crime will they be looking for? Here are some examples:
Subcontractor Collusion In a world that sees bid rigging and price fixing happen every day, pre-approving subcontractors is a must and precautionary measures should be structured into your contracts. When the stakes are high, ensuring that the most qualified and fairly priced candidate is the one you land upon may call for some corporate intelligence gathering.
Fraudulent Payment Applications Inflated rates, falsified invoices, exaggerated labor costs, erroneous line items, and more. Sadly, intentionally falsified payment applications represent the most common form of construction fraud.
Substituting Materials When the team that you’ve placed your faith in decides to switch out specified materials for lower-grade alternatives—or not bother placing them at all—the consequences can be dire. Ranging from scrambling change orders to repair a badly bodged project through to catastrophic structural failure, this type of construction fraud should not be overlooked.
Manipulated Change Orders Sometimes, a construction boss doesn’t realize that original design specs had omissions in their scope until an unexpected change order arrives on their desk. Diligence is the best safeguard, but when you suspect you’ve already been hoodwinked, it’s time to call in the corporate investigations cavalry.
Diverting Equipment and Materials While the odd tool may drift off now and then from the average jobsite, you don’t want your inventory to become a revolving door buffet for those who want to restock their own private stashes. This kind of construction fraud sees company purchases diverted and precious equipment siphoned away.
Manipulation of the Schedule of Values
A sloppily maintained Schedule of Values is another opportunity for construction fraud to slip by unnoticed. A sly foreman or accountant might forge phony charges against concealed buyout savings in order to pocket the difference. Only the keenest of eyes will spot this kind of construction fraud once budget and performance have been balanced.
Falsified Representations Across America, construction contracts increasingly call for the meeting of requirements such as a percentage of minority workers, environmental stipulations, local suppliers, and more. When a subcontractor intentionally falsifies their capacity to meet such an obligation, the company can find themselves looking down the barrel of a loaded litigation situation.
Seek Support From a Corporate Investigations Firm in the Know
If you suspect that your construction company may be among the many that fall prey to industry fraud in America each year, calling in a seasoned third-party investigator to launch a swift, efficient, and impartial investigation is a must. For those unsure as to whether their wider team are operating ethically, a Company Culture Audit is the ideal tool for illuminating the current state of play and cutting a clear path towards prevention and deterrence. Safeguard the integrity of your business against construction fraud with specialist support from Lauth Investigations International. Our team is ready and waiting to answer your questions today.
Being able to rely on your crew operating like a well oiled machine is the difference between profit and loss for your business. When the team is cohesive, mountains can be moved and your investments are sure to pay off. But what happens if you begin to suspect a member of your crew is malingering on the job?
Maybe they start calling in sick on Mondays and you hear that their partying is getting out of hand. Or perhaps you think they’re laid up, only to notice that they come back to work with a tan. If you can’t trust your employees, things can start to feel unstable pretty quickly—but accusing them without evidence might lead to calls of employee discrimination or unfair dismissal. In moments such as these, a private investigator is the only collaborator to consider.
What Is Malingering?
The dictionary definition of malingering is: “To pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness as to avoid duty or work.” It describes faking or overstating illness or incapacity in order to unjustly claim paid time off, and when its occurrence becomes pervasive, companies can find themselves with a big problem on their hands.
It may be that an employee’s leave was originally valid but they are now exaggerating their healing time to extend their time at home, or it is possible that they strategically and deceptively called in sick so they could skip work while still lining their pockets. When it’s happening again and again, this can be a sign that corporate culture is sliding sideways and you need to take action fast. In any case and whichever way you paint it, malingering on the job is misconduct through and through.
When You Suspect a Member of Your Crew is Malingering
Whatever rouses your suspicion, when you fear that a member of your crew is malingering on the job, you need to proceed with caution. Why? Because launching disciplinary proceedings, making accusations, or carrying out surveillance of your own may later turn around and bite you if is later viewed as unfair dismissal, worker discrimination, or harassment.
One misstep and you might find yourself not only dealing with hemorrhaging labor costs, but also the hefty bill that comes with legal action taken against you. Whatever happens next needs to be by the book and 100% impartial. This is why a third-party private investigator from a specialist corporate investigations firm can be such a valued asset. With the optimal skill set for efficiency and zero chance of bias, they can give you the evidence you need to protect your company with total confidence.
How a Private Investigator Uncovers Malingering on the Job
If you hire a private investigator to demonstrate once and for all whether or not a member of your crew is malingering, there’s no need for it to disrupt day-to-day operations. In fact, a skilled corporate investigator will not only begin discreetly assembling an air-tight body of evidence on your behalf. They will also be able to advise you on steps to take to protect yourself legally, avoiding unwelcome surprises down the road ahead.
As far as building a case that will allow you to take action goes, a private investigator will draw from a toolkit that includes sophisticated surveillance equipment, comprehensive background checks, data analysis, gathering witness statements, and even access to restricted databases used by law enforcement agencies that would be beyond the reach of your HR team. Whether evidence arises in your employee’s activities or discrepancies in their medical documentation, the truth will come to light.
Is your crew being let down by someone malingering on the job? Set things right with the help of an efficient, discreet, and cost-effective private investigator from Lauth Investigations International. Our team are ready and waiting to provide confidential guidance on the best course of action for your unique needs, so get in touch today.
If you’re at the helm of a successful construction company, then it’s safe to say that you are a master of juggling risk and balancing complex budgets. In fact, you’re currently expanding, and its time to recruit a new foreman. Sure, you might have a great gut when it comes to reading people and sussing out the credentials that you’re looking for, but what if the person you hire is intentionally out to deceive? Employee background checks are designed to protect companies just like yours, and the reasons are numerous for running a background check on your foreman candidate. In fact, this is a corner you can’t afford to cut.
The Role of a Foreman: Placed In a Pivotal Position of Trust
How important is trust going to be for this hire? Well, consider the many facets of a construction foreman’s role. The individual in question is likely going to take on project management, coordinate schedules with payroll, monitor crew attendance, take responsibility for safety compliance, order and allocate materials, oversee machinery and equipment, deal directly with customers, submit and monitor expenditures, and make sure the budget always adds up—and that’s the simplified list.
Of every individual who works for your construction company, the foreman has the greatest diversity of means to do major damage. Still not convinced? If you need further warning, consider the reality that construction fraud alone amasses a global price tag in the realm of $860 billion annually. Even worse, crimes such as billing fraud, bid rigging, substituting of materials, and employee harassment or discrimination can happen right under your nose, bringing the authorities directly to your doorstep. In such a scenario, liability is a serious prospect. So, when the time comes to hire a new foreman, make sure that your chosen candidate has been fully vetted, and that your interests are truly in safe hands.
Find Peace of Mind With Employee Background Checks From Lauth Investigations
If you think that your HR department are equipped to carry out the background check for such a vital position, you might want to think again. Why? Because not all background checks are created equal, and the kind of due diligence required for such a multifaceted role calls for a specialist skill set. A dedicated corporate investigation firm will be able to conduct background checks that incorporate a deep-dive screening of employment history, financial records, credit reports, and criminality. Leveraging access to the kinds of restricted databases used by law enforcement agencies, they will be able to trace your foreman candidate’s track record—even if it crosses state or international borders. It may feel heavy handed to conduct such a cautious vetting process, but the reality is that background checks can save an employer thousands or even millions over the years. This preventative practice protects against escalating employee turnover, theft, white collar crime, and the myriad of devastating impacts to both morale and profit margins that can follow a disastrous hire. In contrast, a bad recruitment decision can lead not only preventable losses, but also the perils of discrimination litigation. While it’s true that a corporate investigator will be an ally indeed should any of these uglier situations arise, you can pre-emptively mitigate the risk today with our industry-tailored employee background checks. Learn more about this process, or contact our team today for impartial and no-obligation advice.
On any construction site, preventing the untoward is always a primary goal. However, with all the will in the world, even the most adept safety program will never be entirely infallible. Around 150,000 construction workers are injured on the job each year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and that’s just one of the things can potentially go wrong. If you find yourself in the tricky situation of navigation the fallout of an incident—whether it’s an accident, injury, fatality, or even a heart-pounding near miss—you’ll want to have a dedicated construction site investigator in your corner. Time is likely of the essence, so let’s explore why bringing in a third-party professional is so important whenever construction work takes a turn for the worst.
The Role of a Construction Site Investigator
Whenever something serious happens in a construction setting, a prompt and thorough worksite incident investigation is a must. Why? Because if the conclusions drawn after such an occurrence are sloppy, inaccurate, incomplete, or show any sign of bias, the legal fall out can be substantial. If you want to mitigate potential liability, there can be no corner cutting. Bringing in a seasoned construction site investigator from a corporate investigations firm is the smartest move, because they will not only visit the scene and obtain the facts, but they will also be able to advise you on how to best protect the integrity of your company.
A corporate investigator tackling a worksite incident investigation will efficiently identify the cause of the incident, uncovering and documenting evidence as they go. They will interview all personnel involved, whether they are an injured party, a witness, or potentially those responsible for an error. Their goal will be to present you with an air-tight conclusion composed of the facts. One that paints a clear picture of the state of compliance, aids you in determining the cost of the incident, and covers you legally. They will also provide the necessary information to address worker’s compensation claims, and crucially, allow you to prevent the same happening again down the road—because if it was a near miss, you’d better bet that you won’t get that lucky twice.
Why You Need an Experienced Third-party Construction Site Investigator
If you’re weighing up whether you can handle your worksite incident investigation in-house, consider a word of caution. Even if yours is a large business and you have a substantial HR department, can you really assign a responsible person who is truly impartial? The chances are that your employees all know each other. In fact, your human resources team will have been along for the ride when your site team were recruited, promoted, and given raises, inevitably creating relationships along the way. It may even be possible that your support staff are going to be considered witnesses as the investigation progresses.
Simultaneously, your HR staff are paid by your company, giving them an obvious motive to be bias in your favor. While there is nothing wrong with any of these realities, if your worksite incident investigation should ever result in litigation, they may begin to stack up against you. The solution is a third-party construction site investigator who can lift that burden from your team, and get the job done fairly and quickly without taxing your labor force resources. Getting morale back on track, your team will find confidence in knowing that you’re taking the matter seriously—while you can enjoy peace of mind that the conclusions drawn will be bullet-proof. Are you looking for a corporate investigator with the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to mount an efficient and effective worksite incident investigation? A construction site investigator from Lauth Investigations International will transform a chaotic and stressful situation into a proactive course of action. Don’t leave your business vulnerable to the consequences of handling a construction incident poorly. Reach out to our team today.
What is a lifestyle investigation? To put it quite simply, it’s an investigation into all possible points of interest in a subject’s daily life. While lifestyle investigations can provide crucial clarity in most aspects of our lives, what’s imperative is finding the right investigator to conduct it.
When it comes to welcoming people into the fold of our everyday lives, we typically depend on our instincts to tell us who to bring close and who to keep at arms-length. We believe we can spot red flags from a mile away when someone shows us who they really are. The fact of the matter is that no one could anticipate all the other shoes that could potentially drop in any given situation.
We all have a circle of people we consider close, trusted individuals. They could be our family members, our friends, our coworkers, or all of the above. This applies to both our personal lives and our jobs, but it’s important to remember that we can’t always trust our instincts when it comes to individuals outside that circle. When you’re considering bringing a new person into or near that circle, it’s important to have all the facts, and that’s where a lifestyle investigation comes in.
Lifestyle investigations can come in handy in a number of situations, but principally, the can be triggered by significant changes in our lives:
Long-term contractors
When you’re vetting candidates to perform long-term contracted services for you, it’s important that you know the broad scope of their character, particularly if they’re going to be in your home and close to your family. This may apply to positions such as home renovation companies, caretakers, or housekeepers. It’s common practice to check references for these contractors, but very few employers go beyond the scope of the job, which can have unpredictable consequences. For instance, if an individual has never stolen in the workplace, but had a history of stealing from loved ones, that would not come up in checking their professional references. Having a private investigator verify details like this can spare your family a lot of headaches.
Business partners
Conducting background checks on prospective employees should be standard practice when it comes to hiring protocol, but when it comes to bringing a new business partner into the fold, this calls for a much broader lifestyle investigation. A prospective partner’s business reputation may proceed them—they may have maintained successful businesses, built a strong network with other reputable industry leaders, and have a positive relationship with their clients. But what if they have a history of sexual harassment, that’s not necessarily something that might come up on a personal reference. For a litany of reasons, incidents of sexual harassment may go unreported, uninvestigated, and ultimately determined to be non-relevant to any future reference. Without due-diligence, current partners have no idea of knowing how a candidate’s interpersonal behavior may negatively impact their business.
Custodial guardians
There are few situations as important to exercise due-diligence as the safety and welfare of minors. Across the country, there are hundreds of thousands of children who are being coparented by divorced individuals, cared for by grandparents or other non-familial guardians, or are being placed in foster care when their own living situations become unacceptable. A lifestyle investigation into guardian(s) in question can sometimes literally be the difference between safety and danger for minor children. For example, two grandparents whose daughter has become unable to care for her children. With the children’s father still being alive, custody then goes to him, but the grandparents are concerned for their grandchildren because the father has a history of instability. Maybe it manifests in the form of substance abuse, or gambling addiction, but whatever the case—unless it is well-documented by the court, the court may have little cause to deny custody. A lifestyle investigation would mean that an independent private investigator can document relevant issues in a prospective custodian’s lifestyle that could negatively impact a child’s welfare.
If you are in need of a lifestyle investigation, call Lauth Investigations International for information on our catalog of lifestyle investigation services. We carry an A+ with the Better Business Bureau, and are one of the top-rated private investigation firms in the United States. Call 317-951-1100, or visit us online at www.lauthinveststg.wpengine.com.
