Reality of Sex Trafficking and Kidnapping in the US:
Corinna Slusser Missing Since 2017
Corinna Slusser was last seen in New York City in September 2017
Corinna Slusser, 19, was last seen at the Haven Motel in Queens, New York the morning of September 20, 2017. New York Police Department (NYPD) fears she was kidnapped by a sex trafficking ring and friends and family fear the worst.
According to relatives, in early 2017, Slusser had dropped out of her Bloomberg, Pennsylvania high school and moved to New York City with a 32-year old man she had hoped was giving her a “fresh start.”
Police instead suspect the man, turned “pimp”, lured her into prostitution.
Police fear Corinna Slusser has been kidnapped into a sex trafficking ring
The pimp, whose name has been withheld by police, was arrested and held on a $1000 bond.
Court documents revealed on August 25, 2017, police had responded to a 911 call at 1:15 am from the Harlem Vista Hotel and found Slusser “crying and shaking”. She told officers her pimp had stolen $300 from her while she was in the shower. He began strangling her when she confronted him, slamming her against the wall, making it hard for her to breathe.
The court issued a temporary “Order of Protection” to Slusser and a copy was mailed to the address she listed on file at her mother’s home back in Pennsylvania.
Slusser’s mother, Sabina Tuorto, opened the mail to find a copy of the order several days later. Fearfully, she called her daughter to ask what was going on; however, Slusser told her mother not to worry.
When Slusser did not show up at her grandfather’s funeral in Florida, her family reported her missing on September 12th.
On September 20th, an anonymous individual called the NYPD and told them Slusser had been seen leaving a hotel in Queens. Police have confirmed; however, she has not been seen since, elevating concerns of family and police.
Mysterious Instagram Post
On September 10th, Slusser posted a puzzling message and mysterious photograph on Instagram featuring a young woman wearing a black baseball cap and smoking a joint in the middle of heavy traffic on a city street. It was her last post since she was reported missing.
An avid social media user, Corinna Slusser’s last Instagram post on September 10, 2017
NYPD’s Vice Human Trafficking Team fear Slusser has been kidnapped by a sex-trafficking ring and passed to different pimps since her disappearance. Investigators suspect sex-traffickers kidnapped Slusser after she reported her pimp to police, a rule not to be broken in the underground world of sex-trafficking.She tagged the picture, “The Bronx”, but friends and family both have said the picture looks like it was taken somewhere in South America rather than New York.
Prior to her disappearance, a cheerleader and popular student in high school with future dreams of becoming a makeup artist, Slusser suddenly moved out of her mother’s home at age 17 and dropped out of school. While staying at a friend’s home near her mother, Slosser began suffering from depression and attempted suicide. While recovering in the hospital, she met the man who lured her to New York in March.
While in New York, Slusser sent home photographs of her new apartment in the Bronx telling family she was working “customer service” on weekends.
According to Slusser’s aunt Becker-Calfa, Slusser’s social media posts were becoming more provocative and inappropriate.
She told Oxygen, “People have come forward saying she was boasting that she was making a lot of money doing things called dinner dates but saying there was no sex involved – that was when she first moved out there – and that meant they were just paying to take her to dinner. [Police] believe that escalated into actually being a call girl. She was still being treated well and apparently was able to get her own apartment. When she wanted to go home the next day, that was when they believe she was abducted.”
On October 10th, Slusser’s mother posted a plea on Facebook, “My daughter was a great student, a cheerleader. She had many friends and lived her life as a normal teenager. I need her home and I can’t bear any more days like this, I fear the worst, but I pray for the best and her return home.”
A source told Daily News, “There is no indication she is subject to foul play,” but added nothing is certain. Slusser’s name has come up in several vice investigations giving some hope she is still out there.
As an avid social media user, there have been no posts from Slusser since September 2017.
The Toll of Human and Sex Trafficking
Human trafficking is defined as the exchange of money for services that have been obtained by force, fraud or coercion. There is little to no difference in the definition of sex trafficking.
Thomas Lauth, CEO of Lauth Investigations International, has worked missing persons, human and sex-trafficking cases for over twenty years. “Human trafficking is a hidden crime because victims are often afraid to come forward,” said Lauth. “They fear the wrath of the traffickers and may also fear law enforcement.”
A sex-trafficking victim profiled in a BBC report, “Shandra Woworuntu: My life as a sex trafficking victim,” had arrived in the U.S. hoping to start a new career in the hotel industry. Instead, she was trafficked into prostitution, sexual slavery, forced drug-ingestion and extreme violence.
Shandra Woworuntu, a human sex trafficking survivor now runs Mentari, helping other survivors.
“Customer service is the key to this job, I was told,” said Woworuntu. A graduate of finance, she passed the tests for employment and accepted the job working in the U.S. for $5,000 per month.
“I arrived at JFK airport with four other women and a man and we were divided into two groups. Johnny took all my documents, including my passport, and led me to his car with two other women,” said Woworuntu.
The driver proceeded to take her to another driver, they exchanged money and demanded they switch cars. This happened three more times. They were taken to a house where they were exchanged, yet again, to a driver with a gun.
“After just a few hours in the U.S. I was forced to have sex,” Woworuntu said. “I did what I was told.”
The traffickers who participated in Woworuntu’s kidnapping were American, Indonesian, Taiwanese, and Malaysian Chinese. One man even had a police badge though she does not know to this day if he was really an official.
She was then taken up and down I-95, to various brothels, apartment buildings, hotels and casinos on the East coast. Woworuntu said, “I was rarely in the same place, and I never knew where I was going.”
The traffickers made her take drugs like meth, cocaine and weed at gunpoint, along with alcohol. Some customers were violent, white guys, black guys, Hispanics guys, old men and even university students.
The traffickers had told Woworuntu she had to pay back $30,000 before freedom would be granted. She would have to service, at least, 300 men to afford this amount. She felt hopeless.
With all the strength she could muster, Woworuntu found an opportunity to escape. She went to police as well as the Indonesian consulate but received no help. She found herself sleeping on the Staten Island Ferry, the NYC Subway and Times Square when a man listened to her story and called the FBI.
Eventually, “Johnny” and others were arrested due to Woworuntu’s testimony. Several other women were freed because of Woworuntu’s courage.
The rest of the story is now history and Woworuntu is a success story. “The FBI connected me with Safe Horizon, an organization in New York that helps victims of crime and abuse, including survivors of human trafficking,” said Woworuntu.
The group helped her get housing and secure a job. For her cooperation with the FBI, she was granted permanent residency.
Now, 17 years later, Woworuntu runs Mentari, a Human Trafficking Survivor and Empowerment program.
The organization offers:
Art Projects
Career Coaching
Children’s Educational Books
Culinary Art Training
Mentorship
Survivor Leadership
Peer to Peer Support
Policy Advocacy
Support Groups
Training and Lectures
Job Assistance
Transitional Housing (planning)
“When we find victims of sex-trafficking, ensuring they have the proper resources gives them a better chance at overcoming the trauma of being a victim,” says Lauth. “Programs like Mentari are giving victims a fighting chance.”
Is Your Employee a Drug Trafficker? Opiates in the Workplace
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sales of prescription opioids quadrupled during 1999 to 2014. Referred to as an opioid crisis in America, it seems we all know someone battling an addiction to prescription medications.
Opioids include prescription pills (including Vicodin, Oxycontin, and Percocet), as well as Heroin and Fentanyl, a drug that can be injected, taken as a lozenge or through a skin patch.
Nationwide 1 in 4 people who are prescribed opioids will struggle with addiction. The depth of the problem is highlighted in a disturbing CDC post stating, “Almost all prescription drugs involved in overdoses come from prescriptions originally; very few come from pharmacy theft. However, once they are prescribed and dispensed, prescription drugs are frequently diverted to people using them without prescriptions. More than 3 out of 4 people who misuse prescription painkillers use drugs prescribed to someone else.
In addition to the personal toll to the addicts and the American family touched by opioid abuse, the CDC also estimates the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the cost of healthcare, loss of productivity, absenteeism, increased injuries, addiction treatment, theft, criminal justice involvement, and legal liabilities.
The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates employed persons who misuse opioids account for 64.5% of medically related absenteeism and 90.1% of disability costs.
The use of opioids in the workplace is a growing battle for American business. According to a National Safety Council (NCS) survey, 57% of employers perform drug tests. However, more than 40% do not test for synthetic opioids like oxycodone, one of the most abused narcotics on the market, making accurate national statistics unreliable.
An NCS survey also found 29% of employers reported impaired job performance due to use of painkillers, with 15% citing injuries due to drug use. Up to 70% of employers said their workforce has been negatively affected in one way or another.
The Impact of Drugs in the Workplace
Use of drugs impairs decision making and causes physical impairment, a deadly condition when at work. It causes an overall decline in employee morale, an unsafe working environment and increases employer liability.
It is estimated at least 1 of 6 employees use drugs at work and the toll on the workplace is costly in the following ways:
Addicts are 1/3 less productive than their counterparts
Five more times likely to cause accidents
Are absent up to 20 times more often
Five times more likely to request workers compensation
Contribute to 40% of all industrial work fatalities
Health care costs for addicts is three times higher than other employees
Admitted to selling drugs to coworkers
Admitted to stealing from employers and coworkers
It is estimated 70% of 14.8 million Americans who use illegal drugs are employed. It is safe to assume if you have drug abusers on the job, you probably also have drug dealers operating within your company.
As drug dependency increases, it is common for addicts to buy drugs from friends or coworkers and even steal from their company, co-workers and clients.
Experts have also found the number of heroin addicts have increased as it is common for an opioid user to transition to using heroin when they begin running out of pills and money. Heroin is significantly cheaper than opiates and easier to obtain. Heroin laced with Fentanyl is becoming increasingly popular because it can be 50 times stronger than heroin.
The drug dealer of today is no longer the shady guy driving a decked-out Cadillac, meeting his clients in a dark alley or an unlit street corner. Dealing drugs to coworkers is preferred over standing on the corner selling to strangers and for a drug trafficker, less risky.
At work, a dealer has an employed clientele able to afford the drugs, and someone they can establish trust with while selling under the radar of management in the restroom, parking lot, lunch-room or cubicle.
Oftentimes workplace dealers will sell drugs on credit or a “front” according to the book Undercover Investigations in the Workplace by Eugene Ferraro. Drugs are sold to an employee with the agreement of paying later, usually on payday. Co-workers make the perfect client for a drug dealer and quite a lucrative business, with one Oxycontin pill demanding up to $50-$80 each on the street according to a CNN Money article Prescription Drugs Worth Millions to Dealers.
According to Ferraro, “We have caught employees-dealers (earning less than $10 an hour from their employer) who never carried less than $10,000 cash to work.”
Paydays are usually the biggest days for drug trafficking activity. However, to pay for drugs, addicts often turn to their employers to fund their habits.
With addicts in the workplace, there is a higher incidence of theft of equipment, tools, products and part inventories where drug trafficking and abuse is occurring. Aside from being at increased risk, both abusers and drug dealers are more likely to become involved in additional criminal behavior, stealing from their employers and fellow employees.
What are the signs of drug trafficking and abuse in the workplace?
Are certain employees driving an expensive car far beyond the means of what they make working? Flaunting money? Are your employees leaving without notice to meet clients? High turnover and absenteeism and/or meeting in the bathroom or parking lot? What may appear on the surface to look like comradery, could be a sign of something more.
Robert Avery, 41, worked as the Parental Involvement Director at a Head Start program in Gadsen, Alabama. Instead of offering educational and health services to low-income children, Avery was arrested for selling the prescription drug “Roxycontin” to undercover agents from the program facility.
Even police departments are not immune. November 20, 2017, Jellico Police Department Dispatcher and Fireman Robert Rookard, was arrested in “Operation Thanksgiving Harvest” for selling drugs at work.
In August 2017, more than a dozen Atlanta USPS workers were rounded up for running an illegal drug distribution operation. Sixteen employees working at post offices across Metro Atlanta were arrested for accepting bribes in exchange for delivering kilogram packages of cocaine.
When the FBI received a tip that drug dealers were running packages of drugs through the mail system, they began an 18-month sting putting a fake drug dealer on the street to see how many postal workers they could get to sign up. In a bribery agreement, workers agreed to provide special addresses to the drug trafficker, intercepting and delivering the packages to the dealer, who just happened to be working with law enforcement. The number of postal workers who agreed to participate astounding.
While some companies may assume there is no liability for the actions of an employee, one company is feeling the devastating effects. According to the October 13, 2017, Chicago Tribune article, “Oak Park appeals board upholds pantry’s closure after employee accused of selling heroin,” it was reported The Village of Oak Park in Chicago closed the Austin Food Pantry after 55-year old store manager Edgar Lucas was arrested on 17 counts of heroin sales and possession at the establishment. Charges include 5 counts ofunlawful delivery of a controlled substance determined to be heroin. In the aftermath, the city revoked their business license.
In an appeal, the store owners stated they had no knowledge of the employee’s drug activities; however, Village of Oak Park trustees upheld the decision to permanently close the business. In a written ruling, trustee Cara Pavlick said Austin Pantry owners were “negligent, reckless and careless at a minimum in allowing their business to be operated as a place for the sale of illegal narcotics on numerous dates.”
Drug use and trafficking are often difficult to spot and many times even harder to prove. However, every employer and Human Resources department has a responsibility to ensure a safe environment for all employees, immediately addressing any infraction or suspicion to reduce liability within the workplace and protect your company.
Private Investigators – A Weapon in Battle to Reduce Illegal Drug Use
An internal investigation sometimes involves drug-testing, some use dogs, and some use undercover operatives. Wall Street and other large corporations began using private investigations long ago with the demand ever increasing.
General Motors (GM) reported substance abuse by some of its 472,000 employees and their dependents cost the company $600 million in 1987. To combat the problem, GM instituted undercover operations at 10 mid-western plants and said it would not hesitate to use such investigations in the future. That was then, and drug use in the workplace has only increased.
While employers are encouraged to practice a covenant of good faith and dealing with all employees, protecting the workplace should be the primary goal, and often requires professional private investigators to work alongside law enforcement to ferret out drug use and other illegal activity.
Conducting a private investigation not only reflects your company as being proactive, careful documentation can help achieve a conviction and reduce liability.
Thomas Lauth, owner of Lauth Investigations International, specializes in undercover investigations for both blue-collar and white-collar companies. Having spent over 20 years in the field as a private detective, he believes diligence is key to combating workplace crime. “One can never be too careful or diligent when protecting their company. When working with clients, we tailor our investigation to the needs of each individual client.”
When hired by a client, Lauth’s investigative team provides an assessment and tailors the investigation to the needs of the specific case. Working with Human Resources, the business is profiled to determine the best course of action.
The most effective way to detect drug trafficking and abuse in the workplace is to conduct a covert investigation planting an investigator within the company. Typically, the investigator goes through the hiring process like any other employee, informing minimal staff, allowing the undercover private investigator to protect their identity and integrity of the investigation.
From there, the investigator fits in with employees, developing friendships to gain information about drug activity. In Lauth’s experience, “Many times, our investigators uncover additional illegal activities, resulting from the initial investigation,”
Periodic background checks can also assist companies in identifying employees who are high risk for illegal activity. “At Lauth Investigations, we recommend conducting background checks of all employees, newer employees as well as those who have worked for the company for several years. A lot can change after the hiring of an individual,” Lauth says.
For those who may be concerned office morale may be damaged, Lauth points out a background check can be conducted legally without the employee’s knowledge. “Background checks can reveal drug offenses, fraud, theft and other criminal activity on record with a police department or court and one of the most important steps a company can take to protect their company.”
Government and military entities are not the only ones spying and conducting espionage investigations to protect our national security. More and more corporations and even small businesses are now hiring expert private investigators to conduct espionage investigations and counter-surveillance to protect “trade secrets” and other classified information.
Cases of economic espionage, industrial espionage, corporate spying and corporate espionage are commonly conducted for commercial purposes but can also include personal information that can later be used to blackmail, discredit and control enemies and competitors.
Espionage or “Insider theft” can cause significant personal and financial harm and described as an individual obtaining secret information without the explicit permission of the owner. For example, a corporation or company spying on another company’s activities, collecting data and information for gain or cause damage, most commonly through the doorway of employment.
Espionage involves clandestine activities. Though methods and motives of spying have changed over time, the desire to uncover competitor’s secrets has not. There is a war going on, and spying the primary weapon.
The FBI concludes “insider threats” or employees familiar with the inner workings of a company who obtain sensitive industry secrets in exchange for large amounts of cash are becoming more common and pose a significant threat to companies worldwide.
To combat this ever-increasing menace to American businesses, the FBI produced a video “” to raise awareness.
Private investigator Thomas Lauth, CEO of Lauth Investigations International, says, “Global trade of fake goods is damaging U.S. markets, along with theft by U.S. retail workers.”
Pirated and imports of counterfeit goods are worth nearly half trillion dollars annually with much of the proceeds going to organized crime, according to the OECD and the EU’s Intellectual Property Office.
“Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Mapping the Economic Impact,” reports fake products like footwear, handbags, even strawberries, are commonly presented to the U.S market. While there is significant financial damage occurring, products like pharmaceuticals, toys that are harmful to children, baby formula, and failing auto parts are endangering lives.
According to former Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a 2015 Department of Justice press release, “The digital age has revolutionized how we share information, store data, make purchases and develop products, requiring law enforcement to strengthen our defenses against cyber crime – one of my top priorities as Attorney General, “said Lynch. “Companies like Sony and Target – have demonstrated the seriousness of the threat all business face and have underscored the potential for sophisticated adversaries to inflict real and lasting harm.”
While the Attorney General’s Office, FBI, Homeland Security and law enforcement are allocating more resources to combating intellectual property theft from dangerous outside adversaries, companies throughout the world are encouraged to take the necessary steps to protect their own intellectual property from outside and insider threats.
Insider Theft of Intellectual Property
Experts maintain upwards to 70% of a corporation’s value is found in Intellectual Property (IP). Insider threats come from the inside because the “thieves” are given access to their day-to-day employment.
The value of an organization’s secrets, product plans, customer data, and price lists cannot be underestimated. It becomes necessary to find a balance between productivity and protocol that allows a watchful eye to protect sensitive data and detect insider threat activity. Operational staff should be prepared with information to help them better understand how insiders can damage their agency, and in the various methods used by insiders. They are the front line to help battle IP theft crimes.
Insider thieves commit crimes for varying reasons, to include gaining a competitive business edge, to start a competing business, or personal financial gain.
It is not uncommon for thieves to use networks to send internal server data outside of an organization. The most common method of stealing data is the use of external media such as a writable CD or USB mass storage device. Using corporate email accounts to send information off-site to personal emails and competitors is also common and requires monitoring to prevent such abuse.
It is necessary for organizations to identify risks and develop standards of best practices and policies that address the many ways IP can be exploited. These should include but are not limited to IT Security, removable media policy, controls and inventory, physical security, logs, and indexing tools to identify patterns in behavior. It is especially important to implement heightened security measures during reorganization, acquisition, downsizing, mergers or other organizational events.
Non-Compete Agreements Protects the bottom-line
Employee departures resulting in the scheming of trade secrets and clients has increased significantly in recent years. Many employees leave their employment to begin a similar start-up or pursue freelance work. As a result, it has become common for former employees to approach old clients, steal data, marketing materials and even share negative information to damage their former employer’s credibility.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, with the help of investigators, over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of departing employees being successfully sued by former employers for breaching Non-compete Agreements (CNC).
Considered one of the most effective ways to prevent the theft of a company’s secrets, having a Non-compete in place and requiring every employee to sign it, can prevent damages that could otherwise last years.
Private investigation firms are playing a significant role in the effort to safeguard information, the detection of costly breaches and providing an evidentuary solution presenting facts when litigation is necessary.
Lauth Investigations International is working to prevent intellectual property breaches, global piracy, counterfeiting and insider threats with data mining experts and field investigators who focus on safeguarding IP and detecting violations utilizing sources that are not commonplace to HR and Operations Supervisors. “It is vital to be able to detect violations to prevent violators from reaping profits and expanding their worldwide market, where damage can extend for years,” says Lauth.
Brand Protection areas include:
Apparel
Music and Apps
Tools and Hardware
Cosmetics and other Products
Logos and Authentic Branding
Indigenous Rights
Author Rights
Content and SEO Detection and Protection
Plagiarism, Marketing Materials and Website Protection
“Our investigators conduct trademark infringement for brands, large and small, trekking through some of the most complicated cases and vast markets such as Hollywood celebrities, apparel, and electronic clients,” says Lauth. “Our team provides intellectual property and litigation support for small business and corporations working with corporate executives, HR, and those in Operations Supervision to provide research and investigations, crisis intervention, employee screening, vendor and supplier screening, electronic discovery, surveillance, loss analysis, and expert testimony if needed.
Working to protecting your brand
“Our private investigation firm will not only work with key staff and operations supervisors to identify current and potential breaches, we work with companies that operate throughout the world to implement the right policies and safety protocol to help protect their IP into the future,” says Lauth.
Lauth Investigations offers free consultations and guidance to help protect your brand. Following are a few tips to help you better protect your IP.
Protect web content and marketing materials by utilizing a DMCA account and protection badge.
Think globally. Obtain trademark protection for worldwide protection.
Set up a Google Alert to police your brand.
Obtain IP Protection for Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents.
Register trademarks with the US Patent Office.
Develop a Policies and Procedure Handbook and have each employee review and sign.
Utilize Marketing Analytics software such as TrackMaven and Travel IQ for online tracking.
Monitor unregistered infringements.
Create various divisions for a more controlled environment.
CNC (Covenant Not to Compete) agreements are being breached left, right, and center as the rise of entrepreneurship continues to grow and human resource departments are feeling it. More and more people are quitting their jobs in order to become freelancers while human resource departments continue to struggle with the increasing number of unexpected losses.
COVENANT NOT TO COMPETE (CNC) AGREEMENTS
When an employee leaves a company unexpectedly it causes a lot of challenges. Traditionally, CNC agreements are signed by newly employed persons once their job position has been approved. In this agreement, there is a clause stating the employee consents to not enter or start an identical trade or profession in competition with its employer. This contract acts as a provision to prevent an unfair advantage that a former employee may have when beginning a new profession or trade.
The CNC agreement is put in pursuance of protecting the firm from confidential information being leaked about their operations, upcoming products, business practices, client/customer lists and marketing plans, just to name a few. Under this clause, the employee agrees not to create schemes with the company’s trade secrets. Depending on the exact terms of a CNC agreement, a company is also protected from the soliciting of their clients by former employees as well as the recruiting of other employees to the former employee’s competing job.
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
According to Entrepreneur.com, “a human resources department is a critical component of employee well-being in any business, no matter how small.” Their main responsibilities include recruitment, training and development, safety, benefits and compensation, employee relations, compliance with labor laws and employee agreements, as well as termination. Once an employee decides to depart from a firm, the human resources (HR) department’s responsibility is to update the records. If a former employee breaches a CNC agreement, it is the responsibility of the HR department to find a resolution.
What’s worse is when the person that recently quit is entitled to employee benefits as he or she is probably using that money to help in their scheme against the company. You can see why the HR department would have issues. The expected action from an employee who wishes to quit a job is to provide a standard resignation letter containing a two week’s notice. Normally, when this is the case, an employer will continue to pay the employee for two weeks while they go through their employee ending checklist.
If the employee is a threat, however, it is in the best interest of the firm to terminate their contract immediately. After which, the HR department is going to have to scramble to make a replacement while the executives delegate the extra work to the remaining employees in order to maintain a smooth workflow. Next, the former employee’s building/property access needs to be revoked, and anything within their possession belonging to the company should be handed in such as IDs, company books, cell-phones, computers, etc.
THE PROBLEM
Just as more employees are leaving their companies, employers are making sure their trade names, logos, and operations are protected, their clients are secure and slanderous comments towards their company’s credibility are dealt with properly. With the help of a private investigator, companies can rest assure all proprietary information for staff lawyers and HR departments are recovered, the exposure of their trade secrets are prevented, and the purging of vendors and clientele cease.
Former employees normally capitalize on the opportunity to steal their employer’s former clients by using communication methods such as the client’s phone number or email address resulting in the company having negative credibility in the market. The most common form of CNC violation is the manipulation of clients. When there are such violations, it’s up to the HR department and the executives of the company to take action. Usually, this comes in the form of a lawsuit.
Once such case can be found on Forbes.com, Ariana Gardella speaks about Instant Technology of Chicago suing five of their former employees who left to form a competing firm called Connect Search. The reason Instant Technology wanted to sue was because they believe the former employees breached their agreement to not recruit Instant’s employees to other jobs, disclose Instant’s “proprietary” information, or solicit business from Instant’s clients.
However, when the case went to trial in 2014, the employees agreed they breached all but the non-disclosure provision agreement arguing the provisions were unfair. Unfortunately for Instant Technology, the judge ruled in the favor of the 5 former employees. After losing the case, Instant Technology appealed ending with the same ruling.
THE SOLUTION
Save your HR department some time and your executives the trouble by hiring a private investigator today. Lauth Investigations International (LII) can not only help you win the lawsuit against former employees but will also work rapidly to prevent the exposure of trade secrets, the purging of vendors and clientele, and work steadfastly to recover lost credibility. LII work towards an evidentiary solution focused on a presentation of discovered facts to resolve each conflict with corporate risk solutions.
Our private investigators assist HR departments using varying investigative methods, such as surveillance, to see if former employees are setting up similar operations and using trade secrets or marketing materials and much more. Putting a stop to the scheming before it affects your company.
Even though there are limitations to some agreements, depending on the firm, such as the geographical location and time period of the departure of an employee, HR departments are still having issues with former employees breaching their contract. Fortunately, however, due to the hard work of private investigators, there has been a rise over the past decade in the number of departing employees being sued by their former employers for breaching their agreement. In fact, this number has risen by 60% over the past 10 years.
CONCLUSION
Employee departures are already bad for companies and small businesses, but what’s even worse is that as these former employees turn to websites such as peopleperhour.com and upwork.com to advertise their expertise often times violating their CNC agreements with the firm.
In order to prevent potential market downturns, it’s important to hire a private investigator who can minimize the impact of the scheming of trade secrets by surveilling former employees, conducting research on their newly formed business, and collecting evidence in order to prove a breach in the CNC agreement. Ultimately, saving you and your company time and money and allowing you to maintain great client relationships.
Private investigators do a variety of work. They track down missing people and recover lost assets. They keep an eye on spouses when one partner is worried about infidelity or in the process of divorce. Private investigators look into business assets during a merger and vet CEOs to make sure there are not hidden secrets that will embarrass the company later.
People tend to assume private investigators only do one kind of work, but that’s a mistake. Here are some stories from around the web that demonstrate the versatility of private investigators and all they do.
Founder and operator of Lauth Investigations International, Thomas Lauth, was featured in this article from the San Diego Tribune about private investigators working to recover missing people being trafficked into the sex trade.
In Indiana, Thomas Lauth, founder of Lauth Investigations, said his company has worked trafficking cases since “before the word ‘trafficking’ ever came around.”
Historically, he said, law enforcement turned their backs on trafficking victims they viewed simply as prostitutes.
He said that often times a girl is recruited by a friend who introduces her to a trafficker or pimp.
“Police say she left on her own. Parents don’t know what to do. They call police repeatedly. Then they call an investigator,” Lauth said.
Obviously we’re very happy to see Tom’s hard work and dedication to helping families and children being featured in such a big newspaper, but we’re even happier for the work itself. Tom has a long history of finding missing people and helping families recover their loved ones. It’s hard work, but Tom loves doing it and always gets it done.
In a strange case of cat and mouse, Buzzfeed Motion Pictures employee Mike Carrier hired a private investigator to investigate himself and see what he could dig up. Unbeknownst to the private investigator, Carrier hired a second private investigator to investigate the first private investigator. The story ends rather anticlimactically, but it’s worth reading just for the uniqueness of the situation.
Burglars breaking into people’s home and using their showers is surprising common as we wrote about here.While most people would assume burglars want to get in and out as quickly as possible, they’re frequently tempted to get far too comfortable in the homes they invade.
In Youngstown, Ohio this week a man broke into a woman’s house and trashed the inside before the homeowner returned and found the man rinsing his hair in the shower. Surveillance video showed the man came from a convince store around the corner. Police said the man had a lengthy burglary record.
Mannix was a tv show that aired for eight season on CBS starting in 1967. Mike Connors played the hero and title namesake Mannix. The show was a big hit despite poor first season ratings. Mannix was a private investigator in Los Angeles who solved street crime and mixed it up with bad guys.
In the CBS News obituary Connors said Mannix was a hit because, ““Up until Mannix, most private investigators were hard-nosed, cynical guys who lived in a seedy area and had no emotions. Mannix got emotionally involved. He was not above being taken advantage of.”
David Schroeder, Blog Writer, Lauth Investigations International
According to Ferraro, “We have caught employees-dealers (earning less than $10 an hour from their employer) who never carried less than $10,000 cash to work.” 
Even police departments are not immune. November 20, 2017, Jellico Police Department Dispatcher and Fireman Robert Rookard, was arrested in “
The FBI concludes “insider threats” or employees familiar with the inner workings of a company who obtain sensitive industry secrets in exchange for large amounts of cash are becoming more common and pose a significant threat to companies worldwide.
Insider thieves commit crimes for varying reasons, to include gaining a competitive business edge, to start a competing business, or personal financial gain.