Banks and Credit Unions

Does your financial institution need to locate a “missing” borrower or collateral?

We can help:

• Our researchers develop addresses and relationships for the borrower that provides leads.
• Our field investigators canvass neighborhoods, employers, and associates to find the borrower and/or the collateral.

Case studies:

Locate debtor: A credit union was trying to serve a debtor who had defaulted on several loans and lines of credit worth half a million dollars. Process servers had been unable to serve the debtor at any of his addresses. Utilizing social network sites, our investigators identified and contacted the debtor’s ex-wife, who secured the debtor’s most recent address in another state from her adult children. (The debtor not only owed the bank, but also owed the ex-wife thousands of dollars in back support and college tuition payments for their children.) After weeks of contacting family, friends, and former associates, and attempting service at his developed address, the debtor hired an attorney, who accepted service for him.

Collateral collection: A South Florida credit union was being victimized by a group of “balseros,” who had arrived in Florida and were defaulting on expensive vehicle loans. They then disappeared into the local immigrant community. A local field investigator canvassed numerous addresses and finally developed a cell phone number for the debtor’s common-law wife. Using a proprietary database, we identified an address for the wife. Within 24 hours, the balsero was using the transit system for transportation.

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Do you need to determine if a borrower has sufficient assets for a possible collection action?

We can help:

• We provide you with asset and liability profiles, identifying tangible and intangible property (real property, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, patents and trademarks, corporate holdings) so you can determine whether litigation is appropriate.

Case study:

Asset profiles: A client hired a contractor to build a custom home. The contractor failed to complete the residence before going out of business. The client wanted to determine if the builder had sufficient assets to warrant a collection action. Research identified a dozen lawsuits, two previous bankruptcies, and numerous liens and judgments against the builder that predated his contract with the client. The client determined that a costly collection action was not justified and commented that he wished he had done a due diligence investigation before he hired the builder, rather than an asset investigation after he had lost his money.

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Are you concerned that a valued trust client is being inappropriately influenced by a new associate?

We can help:

• We provide you with a complete history of the associate, including criminal and litigation histories, bankruptcies, liens and judgments, and even police reports naming the associate.
• Our surveillance specialists document the day-to-day activities of the associate and determine the scope of his or her involvement with the client.

Case study:

Undue influence: An officer of a trust department was concerned that a long-time client was making significant financial decisions based on recommendations by a new “friend.” The bank retained us to conduct research on the new associate. That research disclosed serious financial litigation and questionable business practices in other states. Armed with a complete profile, the attorneys for the bank were able to confront the client before serious damage was done to the trust account.

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