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Partner in crime: why you should investigate all principals involved in a business transaction
Before investing in a start-up, our client
requested an investigation on the new company and two of its partners. However,
during the course of SI's media searches, a third partner was discovered with a
pending criminal case and previous convictions.
While partners #1 and #2 showed
clear histories, several media sources reported that partner #3 was arrested in
April 2008 for impersonating a police officer to purchase a gun. Police also
confiscated 12 rifles and four handguns from his home and took possession of
his yacht. In addition, foreign media sources reported that in June 2006,
partner #3 was convicted in Italy of buying luxury cars with forged checks and
was sentenced to 18 months probation and fined €200,000.
According to the
Italian press and other sources, that same year he also put a former company
into bankruptcy by running up $300 million in debt. The Italian press further
stated that partner #3 made false claims about his background, including that
he was a trustee of a prestigious medical research trust, and suggested that he
has ties to an Italian crime family.
Although an investigation had not been requested
on this third partner, we included the media reports in association with the
subject company, alerting our client to the importance of investigating all the major players in a business
transaction.
Our next News Blast will feature an
investigation that turned up, among many other issues, a $34 million judgment
against an individual subject.
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Legislation Alert:
California bill AB943 is dangerously close to becoming a critical
issue. This bill would prohibit an employer, with the exception of certain
financial institutions, from obtaining a consumer credit report for employment
purposes unless the information is (1) substantially job-related meaning that
the individual employed in the position has access to money, other assets or
confidential information, and (2) the position is in management, in the state
Department of Justice, in a city, county, or both city and county, that of a
sworn peace officer or other law enforcement, or a position for which the
information contained in the report is required to be disclosed by law or to be
obtained by the employer.
Our next News Blast will feature an
investigation that turned up, among many other issues, a $34 million judgment
against an individual subject.
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