Corporate Theft Investigations

How Lauth can help with your corporate theft investigation.

Why clients need our services

It is estimated that 95% of all employees will steal from their employers at least once during their tenure. From dishonest cashiers to C-level executives embroiled in embezzlment, 43% of the reported losses to companies each year can be traced directly to corporate theft—to speak nothing of unreported losses due to employee theft. At Lauth we’re dedicated to providing our clients with the intelligence they need to fortify their business by identifying the thief in their midst and providing them with recommendations to prevent employee theft in the future. If your company is having repeated, pervasive issues corporate theft, you might need a corporate culture audit.

One of the greatest tools at our private investigators’ disposal is risk assessment, which has unique applications in cases of employee theft and embezzlement. We apply our experience in identifying problems as a means of solution and as a means of prevention. This means applying proven methodology and due-diligence at every phase of an employee theft investigation. Our private investigators conduct comprehensive background checks that give employers a full picture of the candidate or employee in question.

When a corporation has repeated instances of employee theft or external theft, an investigation is obviously warranted, but too often leadership will neglect undergoing an audit because they believe that it will be too much a daily disruption to internal operations. By virtue of their profession, private investigators excel at blending in to their environment, whether it’s in a busy street, or a quiet library. Whatever the nature of their investigation, private investigators know how to conduct their due-diligence without drawing attention to themselves or others. This skillset is especially valuable if the company wishes to conduct a covert internal investigation. After all, an employee will the most naturally when they believe they aren’t being watched. In this way, private investigators can infiltrate a company and obtain necessary information without piquing the curiosity or suspicion of current employees.

Our private investigators are trained to move unseen while in the field. Depending on the needs of your investigation, our private investigators can be transplanted into your business undercover in order to gather additional intelligence on the corporate theft or embezzlement. They can conduct surveillance, identify human sources by developing rapport with your employees, and identify weaknesses within your brick and mortar establishments that can leave your business vulnerable to theft. When dealing with employee theft and embezzlement, our investigators can be transplanted into the field to further document the embezzlement. By identifying these risks, we prevent liabilities from entering your corporation and identify the people currently in your organization that can pose a risk to your assets.

Employee theft and embezzlement thrives in businesses where there is not a rigorous screening process in hiring operations. When due-diligence is lacking in the hiring process, red flags in a candidate’s history are either missed or ignored. By virtue of their license, private investigators have access to verified databases and sources that can build a background check based on a few pieces of information from the client. To a trained eye, employee theft and embezzlement can often be predicted by reviewing their history. We review these background checks to identify significant risks in a subject’s history and advise appropriately on how that risk should be mitigated by a company considering their employment.

Private investigators are especially helpful in theft cases where employee malingering on company time is a major factor. Our private investigators use proven methodology in our surveillance operations. If you believe your employees are malingering on company time, our investigators can document that employee’s actions and movements and confirm whether or not they are congruent with the employee’s reasoning for being absent or otherwise. We prepare comprehensive reports and can provide expert recommendations.

Should the results of an investigation eventually trigger embezzlement charges or some form of litigation involving the company, Lauth private investigators are also highly adept at serving as expert witnesses in both civil and criminal court. In cases of employee theft and embezzlement, objective testimony is invaluable for the employer. Since our investigators have no stake in the outcome of the investigation, it is difficult to argue bias in an employee theft case. Our independence and brand of integrity add an additional layer of objectivity to our testimony.

An independent and objective eye will especially come in handy in the case of white-collar crime. When the embezzler is the CEO of the company, you’ll need a private investigator who will consider all leads that arise during an internal theft investigation. At the top of the chain in the workplace, the loss that can be incurred by executive embezzlement can be incalculable, and every executive in your organization should hold up against the same level of scrutiny reserved for a lower-level employee.

Another hallmark of a private investigation’s profession is their flexibility and autonomy. Sometimes private investigators can very quickly pick up leads that other investigators cannot because they have autonomy other types of investigators do not. This flexibility gives private investigators the ability to customize any corporate culture audit program to fit your business’s needs. Some companies may be small, but do not have the traditional structure of a brick-and-mortar business. Other companies might be large, but have a workforce where millennials dominate the majority. This is where a private investigator’s diverse experience can allow them to identify the problems and prioritize the most prevalent problems to right the ship of corporate culture.

When your business experiences embezzlement or some other form of workplace theft, it is imperative you choose an investigator who will leave no stone unturned. We are dedicated to providing you with intelligence that helps you protect your assets. Our firm has an A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau and 5-Star Reviews on Google. Our team is comprised of former military and law enforcement personnel who are dedicated to providing crucial context in your corporate life. Improve your business from within with Lauth Investigations International private investigators.

If you’re experiencing patterns of theft in your workplace, the problem might be more serious than you think. An isolated incident, experienced infrequently, can be just that—an isolated incident. A pattern of theft in the workplace, even if the thefts are of a different scale, is symptomatic of a poor corporate culture. Corporate culture is how policy, enforcement of that policy, and engagement between employees directly effect the quality of life within a workplace. Businesses with good corporate culture exhibit strong relationships between business leadership and employees based on quality communication and a foundation of mutual respect. Repeated, pervasive instances of internal theft indicate there is a serious source of dissatisfaction amongst employees. Employees who do not feel valued by leadership feel as if they are entitled to more than they are being given as compensation for their work, which is the first step in a series of rationalizations that lead to an employee stealing from their company. The good news is that a corporate culture audit can find the source of these grievances and provide leadership with recommendations on how to improve it. Learn more about our corporate culture audit program here.