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The Necessity of Complete Background Investigations

1/17/2015

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The Necessity of Complete Backgrounds

When I first wrote ‘Professional Locate Investigations’ (www.ProfessionalLocateInvestigations.com) it was intended to be a guide to one of the most common tasks of all private investigators – locating people.  Several years later we decided an updated edition was needed to fill in some gaps and update some information to be more current.  In the investigative world being current is important, but keeping resources current is a daunting task.  That is one reason we value trade magazines, trade blogs and other sources by fellow professionals.  The new edition was revamped and designed to demonstrate the similarities of locate investigations, background checks and assets & liabilities checks.  Full investigations, more than just gathering records, most often follows – but you have to start with the records.

It is not often you find a smoking gun, but if you don’t look you will have neglected the opportunity to find out.  Recently we were involved in two specific cases in which thinking outside the box and one question opened the flood gates – one of domestic relations fraud and the other criminal defense.

In the domestic case there came to question the background of the opposing party.  This was particularly after it was reported to us that he was promoting a work ethic that had not existed for over a decade due to a disability.  The party also posted a photograph and name of a girlfriend.  It was quickly determined the post was a ruse, as the ‘girlfriend’ was quickly determined to be a neighbor and married.  In the background of the photograph was a sign that had a banner of the local festival.  A quick search of the festival social networking page found several short videos – one of which has the opposing party dancing without any difficulty or aid for mobility or balance.  Also in this domestic case was provided a military discharge paper – known as a DD214.  These are often recorded at the local Clerk & Recorders office, but are most often no longer public record.  However, there is a manner in which to obtain copies of military records subject to public release (see our commentary at http://www.deathcasereview.com/1/post/2014/11/requesting-military-records.html).  The DD214 listed an Honorable discharge with full veterans benefits, but the dates of service had gaps and presented questions.  The records were requested and received after a long delay (months).  The records presented that the person was discharged after being convicted of Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and negotiated the Honorable discharge.

In the criminal case there began to be questions as to the veracity of the reporting victim’s events and timeline.  Some allegations became more severe and also more frequent with each interview by law enforcement.  It was time to begin thinking outside the box.  Please go to “Advantages of Social Media Sites” at  http://www.deathcasereview.com/afi-llc-blog/advantages-of-social-media-sites for Karen’s commentary on this strategy.

These examples point out the necessity of complete backgrounds – thinking outside the box and keeping up with the resources available to us.  If something is outside the area of knowledge and experience, contact a colleague appropriate for the assignment.  It will not only make you look good, but will further the legal strategies and potential outcome for your client.  Together We’re Better!
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Dean A. Beers, CLI, CCDI and Karen S. Beers, BSW, CCDI
Cheyenne WY Licensed Private Investigators (No. OL-15-31146)
Board Certified Legal Investigator / Expert Consultant (national)
Board Certified Criminal Defense Investigators
Certified in Medicolegal Death Investigations / former Deputy Coroners

Associates in Forensic Investigations, LLC
A Rocky Mountain West Agency
Expert Consultants and Legal Investigators
Personal Injury, Negligence & Death in Civil, Criminal and Probate Litigation

www.DeathCaseReview.com ~ associates@DeathCaseReview.com
CO - (970) 480-7793 Office / TXT and (970) 480-7794 Fax
WY - (307) 222-0136 Office / TXT and (307) 222-0138 Fax
'Quaero Indicium' - To Find The Evidence

Keep informed - visit and 'Like' us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/4N6Associates and our agency blog at www.MedicolegalPI.com

Listen to Facts & Forensics at www.GIMG.tv


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Advantages of Social Media Sites

1/15/2015

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Advantages of Social Media Sites

Investigators need to be innovative when it comes to discovering information that might help a client.  The norm might be to head straight for a pay data base to find criminal behavior on the other party in a court case.  We have to keep our eyes and ears open all of the time and learn to think and work outside of that mundane box.  The discovery of pertinent information can come from many different sources. 

For instance, checking for Twitter, LinkedIn, Word press or Facebook accounts are simple places to start.  Facebook, as annoying as it can be for many reasons might become an investigators best friend, especially when the client or opposition is a teen-ager or someone in their early twenties.  Some of us can remember back when we were a bit younger and we lacked discretion and our emotional outbursts were not to be contained under any circumstances.  No matter which generation, teen-agers have always known everything and rarely cared how they acted, good, bad or indifferent.

When you start your reading marathon on Facebook, you must go at it with patience and fortitude, the information won’t pop out of a post yelling here I am.  You also must follow through until you find something that could possibly be helpful in your case.  We had a case where the opposition was a teenager who didn’t delete arguments on Facebook, and certainly did not know how to contain themselves with their posts, even while some of their “friends” were encouraging them not to post certain things. 

After looking through a few years of posts, hidden deep within several comments, don’t forget to expand all of the comments, we found some good information for us to follow through on.  Yes, it took time, and yes, it was a matter of checking out numerous other profiles on Facebook before all of the pieces fit, but the information finally came together.  Think of it as the opposite of working a jigsaw puzzle.  Instead of working the outer edges and moving inward, you start with that middle piece and work outward, then you find the pieces that meet and you put it all together.  

You cannot rely on a simple gander at a few posts…you must read and decipher through a lot of muddled words until you uncover the key words that may help the pieces of information fall into place.  If you keep looking, you just never know what you might find, and in this particular case, it was a Eureka moment.  Due to a silly argument between so called Facebook “friends” we found that the accuser was actually accusing someone else of the same crime they had accused the client of committing. 

It didn’t stop there, the next step was to call the state and county court where this other accusation had taken place.  With the correct paperwork and explanation of what we were needing to find, the other court was willing to help out with the information.  There was one more key question for the county clerk before ending the call, and that was - did the accused have any filings – Lo and Behold, this person indeed recently had another case of alleging sexual assault, but as a minor, which was dismissed dismissed just prior to the case first found.  Interestingly the accuser’s charges were similar to the charges they were alleging in our current case.  And here belongs a fitting quote by Sir Walter Scott…”Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”.

This doesn’t mean the case will change, but there is more of a possibility that there might be some changes now versus before taking the time to do all of those searches on Facebook.  Also, as a heads up, do not ask any of the witnesses involved in a case if they have a Facebook account.  Find out for yourself, you do not want to tip off anyone that you might be reading through their posts, some people do know how to delete messages, and then you would need a court order.  If you can get the information you need without a court order, then all the better.  Enjoy the search!


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Karen S. Beers, BSW, CCDI

Cheyenne WY Licensed Private Investigators (No. OL-15-31146)
Legal Investigator / Subject Matter Expert Consultant (national)
Board Certified Criminal Defense Investigators
Certified in Medicolegal Death Investigations / former Deputy Coroners

Associates in Forensic Investigations, LLC
A Rocky Mountain West Agency
Expert Consultants and Legal Investigators
Personal Injury, Negligence & Death in Civil, Criminal and Probate Litigation

www.DeathCaseReview.com ~ beersks@DeathCaseReview.com
WY - (307) 222-0136 Office and (307) 222-0138 Fax
CO - (970) 480-7793 Office and (970) 480-7794 Fax
'Quaero Indicium' - To Find The Evidence

Keep informed - visit and 'Like' us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/4N6Associates and our agency blog at www.MedicolegalPI.com
Listen to Facts & Forensics at www.GIMG.tv

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