Considering a lawsuit? Waiting to collect a judgment? If so, it may be time to hire a licensed private investigator to conduct a corporate asset investigation. Corporations are viewed legally as a separate legal entity from their shareholders, and are considered as legal persons in the eyes of the law. Corporate litigation is also an expensive and lengthy process. Due to these circumstances, asset searches involving corporations require a specific type of investigation that only a licensed private investigator can provide.
Reasons for a Corporate Asset Search
Most investigations of a corporation’s assets occur in two stages: pre-trial and post-trial. A pre-trial search of assets can help clients determine if a lawsuit is worth pursuing. The cost of corporate litigation adds up, and if the opposing company won’t be able to pay a judgment, the lawsuit will end up costing much more than it is worth. Asset searches can also prevent a lawsuit from happening in the first place. Information on things like hidden bank accounts and past lawsuits has proven to be a valuable tool for negotiations. For corporate litigation totaling over 500k, an asset search is essential.
Conducting an asset investigation post-trial will uncover assets that a debtor is trying to conceal. People and companies who are forced to give up assets will often go through great lengths to hide them. Businesses have been known to move funds offshore and set up overseas bank accounts in an effort to hide their money, and some may misrepresent the amount and value of their assets. Debtors will also have assets that are protected under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, making it much harder to obtain a judgment. It can take up to ten years for a creditor to receive their judgment in full, and that’s not accounting for legal extensions. The creditor has a legal right to receive their judgment, but is often left to retrieve that money without the aid of the court.
Hiring a Private Investigator
Most corporate attorneys do not have the time or means to conduct a thorough pre-trial investigation of a company’s assets. In post-trial investigations, creditor rights attorneys will work together with private investigators to ensure that their client’s judgment is paid. They need information quickly and legally, which is something that a licensed corporate private investigator can provide. Intelligence on liquid assets can be hard to come by legally without the aid of a professional, and can take a long time to prove successful. A private eye will work together with an attorney to thoroughly investigate the following:
Bank accounts
UCC Filings
Federal and state tax liens
Real estate and mortgage information
Bankruptcy
Past judgments and lawsuits
Affiliated companies
Offshore assets
There are several ways in which a debtor will attempt to conceal assets, making an asset search necessary. Public records and internet searches will only turn up so much, and must be done so by legal means. Hiring an investigator who is experienced in corporate litigation will increase the likelihood that a creditor will receive their judgment in a timely manner.
Choosing the Right Investigator
Hiring a licensed private investigator is an essential part of a corporate asset search. With no less than 20 years of experience, Thomas Lauth and his team of investigators at Lauth Investigations International will work attorneys to ensure that the client’s needs are met. With three main locations in Indianapolis, IN, Denver, CO, and Miami, FL, our investigators are dedicated to providing national and global corporations with complex investigations.
Last Wednesday, a hearing was held regarding a new bill that would require Colorado private investigators to obtain a state license. The bill was approved 3-2 by the Democratic committee, and if passed, would make Colorado the 45th state that requires licensing for private investigators.
Currently, private investigators in Colorado only need a business license to operate. Senator Linda Newell, the bill’s strongest supporter, believes that regulation is necessary in order to protect consumers. There have been several documented cases across the country where unscrupulous individuals have used the guise of private investigator to access personal information. The type of information found can be anything from home addresses and social security numbers. Some victims have even been stalked by criminals who claimed to be a private investigator. The new bill would require potential investigators to undergo background checks and pass a jurisprudence exam. Different levels of licensing may also make their way into the bill. Conditions such as completing an undetermined minimum amount years of experience and undergoing training would allow individuals to receive a “Level II” license. These provisions wouldn’t cost extra and are meant to reward the private investigators that have spent several years in the field.
Despite these concerns, the bill faces strong opposition by those who believe it’s a way to eliminate solitary investigators. If the bill is passed, these investigators will be affected the most. Many private eyes are retired law enforcement officials who cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars a year to maintain a license. They would rather have the individuals who abuse the system punished instead of putting restrictions on everyone. Newell and other supporters feel that this isn’t enough, and are putting an emphasis on prevention rather than punishment. She maintains that the purpose of the bill is to protect both investigators and consumers.
In the past, Colorado lawmakers have tried to come up with ways to offer licenses to private eyes. There have been several attempts at making licenses mandatory, but all of these fell through. As a result, the Office of Private Investigator Voluntary Licensure was created in 2012. Right now, only 86 investigators operating in Colorado have earned a voluntary license. Deemed a failure by both sides, lawmakers agree that the voluntary license program needs to end, regardless of the outcome of the bill hearing. They relate the lack of interest in the program to the increase in the annual fees that licensed investigators are required to pay. Senator Newell took responsibility for the failed program, stating that this new bill is her way of fixing it.
In order to appeal to both sides, Newell has begun adding new amendments to the bill. Some of these may include allowing private investigators to join a firm that holds a license so that they wouldn’t be held to the same standards that the firm owners and solitary investigators must meet. Discussions on lowering the cost of licenses are also in the works to make them more attainable to qualified individuals. Although the bill has a few more hoops to jump through, the outcome is looking promising for its supporters.
Some may call him a dinosaur in the field of private investigations. Others would refer to him as a mentor. One thing we would all agree on, Thomas Lauth, a twenty-year veteran PI and owner of Lauth Investigations International is one private investigator that stands out in the crowd. While I am not referring to “standing out” in a literal sense as good investigators are experts at blending in, enabling them to conduct their investigations. More so, I am referring to the individual many of us lucky enough not to be the target of one of Lauth’s investigations.
Lauth founded the Indianapolis based private investigation firm, Lauth Investigations International (LII), in 1995, expanding over the years with offices in Miami, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. With a team of private investigators, Lauth specializes in investigations for attorney, corporations, and private individuals throughout the country. In fact, many investigations have even taken Lauth overseas to work on international investigations.
While some of us may conjure visions of James Bond espionage spy adventures when thinking about the life of a private investigator, reality is, some investigations have taken Lauth to the seedy and very dangerous underground worlds of art thieves, pimps, and child sex slavery to the corporate ladder of fraud and embezzlement. The high-life it is not, with long hours, a private eye must be dedicated and exercise perseverance to solve a case, not to mention, maybe a little bit of a glutton for punishment.
Lauth received a B.A. in Political Science at Indiana State University and went on to receive extensive law enforcement training and continuing legal education to include criminal defense and death penalty cases, forensic pathology, missing person investigations, death investigations, human trafficking, child abduction, evidentiary and various crime scene methods. No mistake, Lauth has a yearning for learning but this quality has certainly contributed to making him a knowledgeable, top-notch private investigator.
Early in Lauth’s career, he became Senior Criminal Investigator for the Marion County Public Defender Agency, representing indigent defendants conducting comprehensive criminal investigations. Lauth went on to pursue his dream of becoming a Sherlock Homes of sorts, and continues to work cooperatively with local, state and federal law enforcement to include INTERPOL, the FBI, the U.S. State Department and foreign embassies while pursuing leads in investigations. Lauth also serves as a Referral Investigator for attorneys, defendants, insurance companies, and the public. Lauth has had an impressive career indeed.
I met Lauth nearly twenty years ago while CEO of the Nation’s Missing Children Organization and National Center for Missing Adults (NCMA), from 1994-2010. Our initial meeting was at a two-day conference in San Diego presented by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP), with nonprofit agencies and advocates for missing children throughout the country in attendance. Following the first day of training, about nine of us decided to drive to get a bite to eat and socialize. I just happened to be driving a Chevy Suburban and a quick show of hands it was decided that everyone would drive in my vehicle. I will never forget Tom offering to sit in the very back of the Suburban with his rollerblades in tow. That would be the beginning of many years of working with a respected colleague but also an individual I consider a good friend.
During my tenure at NCMA, Tom provided hundreds of families of missing persons with pro bono and reduced cost services they would not have received otherwise and lessened the frustration for families when cases would stall or go cold. Over the years, those of us at NCMA shed some tears of sorrow but also celebrated many reunifications of missing persons and their families, and it could not have occurred without Tom’s help. For that, we are forever grateful.
Moving forward two decades, Tom continues to work on missing person cases and has sponsored the Missing Person Advocacy Network (MPAN) providing a website where the stories of missing persons can continue to be told in an effort to raise awareness for missing persons.
In the last several years, I have had the opportunity to learn more about private investigation techniques alongside an individual who I consider a mentor. During Lauth’s most recent visit to Phoenix, he informed me that I would have to attend a Bikram Yoga class as part of my educational experience. Of course, I agreed but had no idea that I would be in a room heated to 105 degrees for 90 minutes attempting to contort myself into a series of 26 postures while glancing over at Tom who did not appear to break a sweat and could have been teaching the class. An experience I will never forget as two senior women applauded that I endured the pain and completed the 90-minute class.
Why am I telling the country about Bikram Yoga classes and rollerblades? Well, a prehistoric dinosaur in the field of private investigations, Tom is not. Tom competes in obstacle course races throughout the country, Spartan and daily trail runs. Married to Rain Lauth, who is the Director of Operations at LII, both are focused on maintaining a family atmosphere at LII, despite their incredible growth in the last couple of years.
To take their vision one-step further, Tom and Rain created the Unclaimed Assets Division of LII. Many might be surprised that there is as much as $58 billion in unclaimed assets held indefinitely by state government. By law, every state in the U.S. must protect and hold unclaimed assets until the rightful owner or heir is located. Unclaimed assets can include checking or savings accounts, safe deposit boxes, utility deposits, insurance policies, stocks, trust distributions and more. The problem is, governmental agencies do not have the resources available to effectively and efficiently locate rightful owners, as reflected by the billions that sit idle.
Two years ago, Tom and Rain began to focus on how they could utilize their investigative experience to benefit the community and created a new mission at LII, that of “rightfully returning assets to owners and their heirs”. In two years, Lauth’s team has returned over $30 million dollars to rightful owners. The successes and letter of gratitude from those they have helped has not been without sweat, tears, and trial and error but they never abandoned their mission.
As a business leader and private investigator, this is why Tom stands out in the crowd. Tom believes that success in business is not only making a profit but also setting an example and fulfilling a commitment to supporting one’s community. By Focusing on unclaimed assets as an area of service that benefits the public while still enabling LII to grow and profit.
As a long-time colleague of Tom’s, I have observed a young private sleuth become a responsible businessman and community leader, I may not take a Bikram Yoga class again, but it is my honor to tell Tom’s story of success.
In 2009, Adriano Sotomayor was on the hunt for money and an unsuspecting individual. Sotomayor was a con artist, and found his mark in the nuns of the Sisters of the Rosary of Fatima convent in New Jersey. He called one of the nuns and told her that he was a New Jersey priest and that a member of his parish had just named her the beneficiary of $2.1 million. All she had to do was wire a payment of cash over to a New Jersey business called Flex Account to cover the charges of legal proceedings and taxes.
The nun didn’t have the money up-front, so Sotomayor told her to bring in her friends and family to lend her the money she needed before she received her lucrative payment from the will. Unsuspecting, she convinced many who were close to her to give her the money she needed. As you could imagine, none of these people got their money back, and Sotomayor never gave the nun the money he promised.
This is just one of many possible con artist scams that are pulled on a regular basis in America, and just one of many scams that could have been avoided with the help of a professional background search from a private investigator. Background searches can help in situations like these as well as to find out personal and business histories of subjects.
Strangers getting involved with your relatives
As in the case of Sotomayor and the unnamed nun, strangers who enter the lives of the vulnerable often do not have their best interest at heart. If you know someone new has entered the life of a relative of yours such as your mother or father, investigating their history can ensure the truth of their claims and interests.
Many con artists will attempt to get close to elderly individuals with malicious interests such as defrauding them or getting them to place them in their wills. Investigators such as Lauth Investigations Inc. can conduct background searches that can find out if the subject is using an alias, has a criminal record or has defrauded others in recent history.
Pre-business transactions
Background investigations can also be extremely useful when searching into the history of potential business partners. Before engaging in a merger or business transaction, a thorough and professional background search can look into the financial history of potential partners to ensure that they are worth trusting.
Professional investigations can dig up if other companies have had trouble with civil or criminal lawsuits in the past or are concealing damning information such as bankruptcies.
Pre-Marital background searches
Sometimes even those who we trust the most are worth investigating as well. Before entering an agreement as major as a marriage, a background search can be extremely useful. Professional investigators can find out if the bride or groom to be is concealing any serious information that a spouse would want to know.
This involves criminal records, past relationships that have been concealed and financial information. Using a background search from a professional investigation firm may be the only way to make sure a potential spouse is completely truthful and can ensure that key information is revealed before the wedding and not after the fact.
As companies continue to compete in a highly competitive global market, many choose to expand their businesses overseas in order to increase production and cut costs. These opportunities are major commitments and can end poorly if the right type of information isn’t collected. Before any contract is signed, companies need to know everything they can about a potential business opportunity. Factors such as a corporation’s past performance, suppliers, finances, and clients can all have a hand in the outcome of a business transaction. Lauth Investigations specializes in conducting corporate due diligence investigations that will detect these liabilities and ensure a beneficial investment for your company.
When Should a Company Conduct a Due Diligence Investigation?
A company should begin collecting data after a possible transaction with another institution has been established. However, an investigation should occur prior to the signing of binding contracts. The types of deals that require a due diligence investigation may include:
Mergers and Acquisitions
Oversea Expansions
Business Partnerships
Large Investment Opportunities
Corporate investigations are especially valuable to industrial and manufacturing corporations who are looking to expand their operations internationally. A 2013 CFO Research Survey found that 83% of companies consider overseas expansion a top priority. By conducting an inspection of potential clients and partners, these companies can prevent future lawsuits and unexpected costs. During negotiations, a thorough business investigation can also lower the price by disproving unfounded claims made by a corporation.
What Does a Due Diligence Investigation Look For?
Corporate intelligence plays a heavy role in due diligence investigations. It not only involves the gathering of information about a corporation, but the analysis of that data as well. Lauth Investigations will uncover intelligence about:
Business Reputations
Financial History
Litigation and Disputes
Past Investments
Bank Accounts
Public Records
Hidden Assets
Past and Current Employees
A variety of techniques are employed when detecting the liabilities that may exist within a corporation. These techniques may involve surveillance, financial investigations, interviews, and background checks. Lauth Investigations is dedicated to acquiring every piece of information necessary for conducting a thorough background check on a business.
Why Choose Lauth Investigations?
Lauth Investigations has private investigators established in three prime locations: Indianapolis, IN, Denver, CO, and Tampa, FL. According to a report done by the National Association of Manufacturers, these states have a total of 32,361 manufacturing establishments. Out of these three states, Indiana came in first, with its manufacturing accounting for 98.5% of its exports. Many of the companies with establishments in these states, like Bausch & Lomb or Adidas Group, rely on international ties. Others are considering the possibility of mergers and acquisitions with corporations worldwide.
Recognizing the need for a due diligence investigation is the first step in carrying out a successful business transaction. The second step is choosing an investigator that can detect and analyze the risks that others may overlook. With 20 years of experience, Lauth Investigations can work with your company to determine what services and investigations will best suit your needs.
Denver, Colorado is home to over 80 respected and well-known companies. All of these companies, from small business to Fortune 500 corporations, can benefit from hiring a private investigator. Private investigation firms like Lauth Investigations International, Inc. are dedicated to assisting companies nationwide. Our private investigators based in Denver, Colorado specialize in offering the following services for corporations.
Mergers and Acquisitions
As companies continue to expand, the possibility of mergers and acquisitions increases. One of Colorado’s most popular breweries, the Coors Brewing Company, was able to successfully merge with Molson Canadian in 2005. Undergoing such a transaction requires extensive knowledge of every aspect about both companies. When building these corporate relationships, it is important to analyze the company in question. Lauth Investigations International can assist a company looking to merge by conducting a due diligence investigation. Doing so can protect a company from entering into a risky transaction and ensure that the merger or acquisition will be mutually beneficial.
Fraud and Other Unethical Practices
As reported by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), companies lost 5% of their total annual revenue to fraud in 2012. Most cases of fraud go unnoticed for an extended period of time, with the average detection time being two years for office fraud. All companiesare at risk for fraud and other internal problems such as confidentiality violations, slander, and more. These unethical practices can ruin a company’s reputation, resulting in the loss of customers. Lauth Investigations work with corporate legal teams to prevent and stop these problems from happening.
Product Loss and Employee Theft
The ACFE has determined that U.S. businesses lose $50,000,000 annually due to employee theft. In the year 2012, 75% of people employed in the United States had reported stealing from their employer at least once, with a quarter of the individual thefts totaling over a million. Internal theft can be devastating, causing 33% of bankruptcies in the United States. By hiring a private investigator, companies can pinpoint the cause of these thefts before too much damage is done. In the past, Lauth Investigations International has assisted PepsiCo, a Fortune 500 Company, in uncovering nearly two tons of stolen products. PepsiCo was able to prosecute the employees involved thanks to the video surveillance obtained by Lauth’s private investigators.
Worker’s Compensation Investigations
According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, tens of billions of dollars are stolen from companies due to false worker’s compensation claims each year. Employees will fake injuries, exaggerate the severity of injuries, and report outside injuries as occurring on site. Some employees will even work with false clinics to illegally bill a company for supposed injuries. The Coalition mentions that generally, individual claims can cost a company around $5,000. However, some scams can last for several years, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars for the company. By conducting an in-depth investigation of medical records and diligent video surveillance, Lauth Investigations can uncover these scams.
Executive Background Checks
When a person is being considered for an executive position, it is important to do a thorough background check. The 2010 Hire Right Employment Screening Benchmarking Report states that “69 percent of respondents have caught a candidate in a lie.”Factors such as false credentials, legal disputes, and criminal records may go unnoticed. Hiring an executive with an undesirable background can cost a company millions and severely damage their reputation. Recently, Yahoo!’s executive Scott Thompson had to step down after it was discovered that his resume had false information about his education. If a thorough investigation of his history had taken place, Yahoo! may have been able to avoid such an outcome. Our private investigators can provide companies with an intensive background check for potential executives.
Employee Investigations
Scott Thompson was about as successful as a businessman comes. Thompson was the President of Paypal, CEO of Yahoo, and an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Then in 2012, it all came crashing down.
Yahoo discovered that Thompson had lied about one of his degrees, leading to his immediate resignation. Companies across the nation have experienced similar stories, which are completely avoidable with the help of investigation firms such as Lauth Investigations Incorporated.
In situations such as Thompson’s, an investigation firm can look into employee’s pasts and ensure the veracity of each claim the employee has made and each statement made on their resume. While some research can be done with a simple Google search, some facts and history can only be found through rigorous investigations that a professional cannot accomplish. A thorough background investigation can also look into potential employee’s financial backgrounds and press history. More so than just that, investigation firms can find past colleagues, friends and others to put together recommendations based on their competency. For Denver companies to be absolutely sure about the potential employees they hire for high level positions, the best way to have research done is by hiring a professional investigation firm such as Lauth.
Client History
Investigation firms can also find valuable information on Denver corporations’ clients. A complete background history investigation can give companies details about potential clients that could assist in making a sale and keeping existing clients happy. This includes hobbies, interests and preferences that can allow Denver companies to cater to each client specifically to their individual tastes. Denver corporations can use private investigators such as Lauth to up their levels of customer service and satisfaction above their competition.
Competitor Analysis
Private investigators can also look into the histories and backgrounds of competing companies. By looking at companies past histories and tactics, investigation firms can find information that could hint at future strategies competitors may employ. This could give Denver companies who use investigators like Lauth an edge up on their competition, making them one step ahead of the rest of the field.
Litigation Evidence Collection
For legal companies and attorneys, Lauth Investigations can provide a uniquely beneficial set of skills. Oftentimes to win a case, attorneys will need extremely hard to attain evidence to back up their claims. To get the evidence necessary, the best option is to hire a professional investigation firm. Investigation firms such as Lauth can use computer forensics and other methods beyond the means of a regular citizen to dig up the evidence the legal corporations of Denver need. Beyond that, investigation firms can check the credibility of potential expert witnesses before they take the stand. This way attorneys can be absolutely sure that the witnesses they are relying on to prove their points will live up to their expectations in the courtroom.
Lauth Investigations Can Give Denver Companies the Information They Need
In all of these situations, Lauth Investigations can provide the corporations of Denver with valuable information. Whether it’s investigating clients, competitors, or potential employees, Lauth can find whatever evidence or intelligence that can help the companies of Denver.
