Confirming what you know and finding what you don't
When it comes to due diligence and background investigations, it’s easy to assume that public records and proprietary databases are all you need. While those sources are certainly important, news coverage can offer something they often don’t—context. News stories can provide unique insights, reveal red flags, and help you dig deeper into your findings. Still, […]
When it comes to investments, mergers and acquisitions, and other business ventures, it’s crucial to make informed decisions–before completing the deal. Due diligence background investigations are a powerful tool for mitigating risk and gaining valuable insights into individuals and companies, but many people have misconceptions about them and how they work. Here are some of […]
In the fast-paced world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), where deals can make or break companies, conducting financial, operational, legal, and other types of due due diligence will separate the successes from the failures. But one crucial part of due diligence, the background investigation, is often overlooked and underestimated. The Role of Background Investigations Background […]
A recent report exposing glaring red flags surrounding a collapsed cryptocurrency fund and their CEO earns this investment and its players a top spot in the Due Diligence Hall of Shame. The warning signs were so obvious, it’s hard to believe that anyone checked before getting involved. The Guardian Australia’s investigation revealed that Steven Reece […]
One of the things I remember most about my late son, known in the restaurant world as Chef Denn, is our conversations about how preparation is the key to success in the kitchen. He suggested that the rest of the world would benefit from the practice of mise en place, or having everything you need […]
Originally posted in November 2021. I still get these questions. As a private investigator, my area of specialty is fraud. I help my clients spot it and prevent it. One way I do this is with hedge fund due diligence background investigations, also called background checks. Through the years, I’ve been asked a lot about […]
As a private investigator, my area of specialty is fraud. I help my clients spot it and prevent it. One way I do this is with hedge fund due diligence background investigations. Through the years, I’ve been asked a lot about hedge fund background investigations and what’s involved, and I’ve discovered that there are lots […]
In investigations, clients often ask us to “find everything.” They haven’t decided exactly what they want to know, so they ask for it all. Even if we could find everything, it wouldn’t be worth the time and expense, so, through a series of client conversations, we narrow things down to some basic objectives for each […]
This post was originally published in September 2018. Due diligence background investigations come in all flavors. They’re generally customized according to industry, level of risk, and time constraints. There’s one component, though, that should be included in all background checks on people and companies–the media report. What’s a media report? It’s the section of a […]
This article was originally published in June 2016 and was first in my due diligence hall of shame series. I’m still intrigued by the lack of due diligence and recently heard this case discussed during a webinar on Fraud and Pop Culture with Kelly Paxton and Jo Erven. I’ve been collecting articles that illustrate some […]