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.
Integrity is the foundation for anyone in business but especially for those who are public servants or providing services to the public. Those working in the field of private investigation have a responsibility to their client and to the law to adhere to local, state, and federal law. At Lauth Investigations International based in Indianapolis, our private investigators know the importance of conducting every investigation in an ethical and professional way and work with our clients to ensure the best outcome of the case. ~ Thomas Lauth, Owner of Lauth Investigations
Please read the Williams Daily News report by clicking on the link below.
The day after Valentine’s Day of 2013, national news reports indicated a spike in new online dating memberships. Once somewhat frowned upon, looking for love online has become more socially acceptable within the last ten years.
Ann Friedman, a politics columnist for New York’s website, reported in her article Cupid’s Cursor, that one-third of America’s 90 million singles have used online dating services. While some find love, get married, living happily ever after, some have met with tragedy.
Robyn Gardner - Still Missing
Tragedies
Robyn Gardner, who I wrote about August 25, 2011 in an article Missing Persons Advocacy Network, remains missing after meeting Gary V. Giordano online. They met each other on an online dating site, and saw each other a couple times a month. Robyn considered Giordano a friend and agreed to take a vacation to Aruba where she vanished. Her family is still desperately searching for answers. After her disappearance, Giordano attempted to sue American Express for a $3.5 million insurance policy he took our on Robyn prior to their trip to Aruba.
Gary Giordano arrest photo. Courtesy of AP.
Robyn Gardner is just one of many people who have fell victim to an online predator. November 30, 2012, Michigan law enforcement announced the body of Leigh Swanson had been found in the woods, approximately 10 miles northwest of Midland. Her cause of death was a fatal gunshot.
Swanson, 45 years old, had met a man on an online dating site according to her mother, Beverly Kane. Kane said her daughter had expressed that she had a bad feeling prior to going on the date but made a call to her mother on November 18, 2012 from the man’s home indicating everything was fine and she would be home soon. She never arrived and no one knew whom she had gone on the date with.
Leigh Swanson
After Swanson was reported missing, authorities traced the call to a house in Edenville Township, and dispatched deputies to the location. When the deputies approached the front door, they heard a gunshot from inside and ordered anyone inside to come out with their hands over their heads. A man exited the home holding a cell phone in his hand. The man had been on the phone with 911 reporting his son had just shot himself. A search ensued, and police found Swanson’s body in a wooded area on a neighboring property.
While the positive stories about online dating far outnumber the bad, the harsh reality is that online dating can also put people at risk. Following are some tips that can help keep you safe. Remember you can never take too much precaution when it comes to your personal safety.
Protect Yourself
1. Always meet in a public place. Never invite the individual to pick you up from your home or accept an invitation to theirs.
2. Use the online dating site email system to communicate. Remember, the more information you give out the easier you are to find. Even providing a private email address gives someone enough information to find out who you are and where you live.
3. If you decide to meet personally, attempt to obtain as much verifiable information about the person prior to the meeting, such as name and phone number.
4. Make sure you let someone close to you know who you are meeting, where you are meeting, and as much information about the person as possible. You can even have your friend call you during the date. This gives your friends and family peace of mind but also sends a clear message to the individual you are with that others know where you are.
5. Do your homework. It is not unreasonable to conduct a background investigation on a potential mate and could lessen the danger to yourself and those you love.
6. No matter how comfortable you feel with the person, never leave your food or drink unattended.
While I am not discouraging anyone from online dating, I do encourage you to take every precaution necessary to protect yourself. We must not permit tragedies or the lives of victims to be in vain.
About the Author: Kym L. Pasqualini is founder of the Nation’s missing Children Organization in 1994 and the National Center for Missing Adults in 2000. She served as CEO until January 2010. Kym is recognized as an expert in the field of missing persons, and has spent 20 years working with families of missing persons and homicide victims, government officials, advocates, and national media. She is also a contributor to Lauth Investigations International and the Missing Persons Advocacy Network.
Hacking and security breaches are an ever-growing crime. If you are a consumer, never presume your information is safe even while grocery shopping. If you are a corporate business, there are many things you can do to improve your security. Contact us – We can help.
For many years, stories about personal identity theft have permeated the daily news. We are warned our personal computers and smart phones can easily become the target of phishing and encouraged to maintain the most up-to-date security software on our devices.
According to a 2011 report released by the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), an estimated 8.6 million households had at least one person age 12 or older, who became a victim of identity theft during 2010. The BJS reports approximately $13.3 billion in direct financial losses. Understandably, this number increases annually. Experts estimate the current number of U.S. victims to be 15 million individuals annually, and upwards to $50 billion in financial losses.
On December 4, 2012, the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC), issued the Child Identity Fraud Survey Report reporting theft of children’s social security numbers are the most commonly used piece of information of identity thieves targeting children. The report also identifies some victimization occurring within the children’s own home by their own family members. ITAC have been reporting increasing incidents of minor identity theft where identity thieves combine a child’s social security number with a fictitious date of birth, creating a new “synthetic” identification that authorities claim is very difficult to detect.
While some criminals steal wallets, mail, and rummage through garbage bins, the 21st Century criminal has advanced using technology to infiltrate our homes, corporations, and government offices for personal information. We are now hearing more and more instances of government and corporate databases that have been lost, stolen, breached, and even sold.
From AOL, Taco Bell, Aetna, Google, Twitter, Walgreens, FEMA, and even New York City Police Department, personal information continues to wind up in the hands of criminals. Stories abound about government or corporate entity’s database systems hacked, customer files found in trash bins, employee theft, and even stolen or lost laptops containing personal information of customers and employees. Considering the damage that can quickly follows any incident of identity theft, experts recommend being proactive to protect personal identification.
According to Thomas Lauth, owner of Lauth Investigations International and a respected private investigator with twenty-year’s experience, “One can never be too careful when protecting their personal information”. Lauth warns personal information is used to not only create new identities, but corporations are targeted by thieves to steal trade secrets, sell client data to competitors, to personal stalking, and even murder. He states, “In this day and age, we must not take our privacy for granted and as citizens we need corporate and government agencies to take precautions to handle our personal information responsibly by implementing additional security precautions.”
Some tips to help keep your information safe
– Keep all personal documents, social security cards, and birth certificates locked in a safe place.
– Shred anything with your name and address on it instead of tossing the items into the trash. A crosscut shredder is recommended.
– Never provide a social security number online or over the phone.
– Password-protect or encrypt all personal information on your computer. Maintain up-to-date protection on your computer.
– Do not click on any link sent in an email unless you know the sender. Merely clicking on a link can install phishing and spyware on the computer. Instead, call or personally visit the financial institution or provider to provide information if required.
– Make sure there has not been a Change of Address request placed with USPS. Thieves will commonly attempt to divert mail so they can obtain billing statements and credit card offers.
– When asked to provide personal information by a medical provider, educational institution, utility company, or governmental agency, ask how they will protect your personal information.
– Corporations, educational, medical, and governmental entities are encouraged to contact Lauth Investigations International to find out how they can better protect their client’s information.
About the Author: Kym L. Pasqualini is founder of the Nation’s missing Children Organization in 1994 and the National Center for Missing Adults in 2000. Kym is considered an expert in the field of missing persons and has spent 20 years working with government officials, advocates, and national media. She is also a contributor to Lauth Investigations International serving as the Social Media & Awareness Expert. Follow @Lauthinv
