"Sophisticated Minnesota fraud ring has global tentacles."  

Last month, when the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reported on the investigation of a 200-member 'social networking' fraud ring, the headline hit like a fire-hose aimed at the belly of innocent victims.  

Alleged in the report to have "stolen identities, taken over bank and credit card accounts, distributed counterfeit checks and currency and defrauded businesses and banks nationwide," the scam artists recruited double-dealing agents through sites like Facebook to "buy stolen information from employees of check-cashing services and Internet data brokers."  

Most clandestine among the scammers' actions, these identity hijackers orchestrated their data-hunt by enticing unsuspecting marks to interview for jobs in financial institutions and other targeted businesses, gaining direct access to reams of confidential information.  

Was the firm you work for targeted? Have any of your clients been victimized? How can the corporate or criminal attorney defend against and defeat such nefarious greed-mongers?  

All fraud schemes have certain ingredients in common. Revealed by the analysis of an experienced legal investigator, trained to recognize devious plots and tricks-of-the-trade, the professional analysis of subtle patterns and nearly imperceptible clues gives attorneys a definitive advantage over unscrupulous adversaries.

Fraud schemes are more ...Read More  

How Criminal Defense Attorneys Can Find a Well Qualified and Credible Professional Investigator.  

One of the most important things an attorney may have to do is find and retain a highly qualified and experienced professional investigator. We are all products of our choices and this choice can and does have significant consequences for a criminal defense attorney. An effective investigator can make the difference between a prosperous victory and a dismal outcome. Ask any successful trial attorney, and more often than not, they will unofficially praise the work of their investigator.  

In last month's issue of Fraud Alert we offered five tips on how to find a private investigator. We also listed ten basic questions to ask a prospective investigator. These were given to help you weed out candidates and identify those professional investigators who may be an asset on your criminal defense team. Here we want to go ... Read More