» Investigations
Background/Due Diligence investigations are at the heart of our business. Clients come to ICI before putting their capital and reputations at risk in such ventures as initial public offerings, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, equity participations, and the hiring of top-level executives.
Don't become a subject of these kinds of stories. . .
How Well Did CBS Check Out Contestant?
CBS made headlines in 2001 for all the wrong reasons when it dismissed a male contestant from its popular show Big Brother 2 after he threatened a female contestant. Was there anything in Justin Sebik's past to suggest violent behavior? (Story by Bill Carter of The New York Times, 7/16/01)
Warning Signs When CBS' investigators conducted a background check of Mr. Sebik, they missed several arrests for robberies and simple assaults.
Although all of the charges were dismissed, these arrests suggested a violent pattern and foreshadowed the problems to come. ICI's Standard Background Check includes research of all city, county, state, and federal court records, and we would have found the arrests that shed light on Mr. Sebik's behavior.
The Incomplete Resume: An Executive's Missing Years Papering Over Past Problems
Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap won high praise from Wall Street analysts for his cost-cutting approach as CEO of Sunbeam. Closer scrutiny of the company's balance sheets, however, showed the results were not as rosy as they seemed. When the big profits promised by Mr. Dunlap were nowhere to be found, Sunbeam fired him. Lawsuits filed by burned investors and a very public investigation of fraud by the SEC followed. (Story by Floyd Norris of The New York Times, 7/16/01)
Warning Signs Sunbeam wasn't the first time Mr. Dunlap had been accused of fraud while serving as a top executive.
Through research of court records, ICI's Standard Background Check would have revealed Mr. Dunlap's legal battles with two former employers who had fired him under similar suspicions of accounting irregularities. Although Mr. Dunlap failed to include these employers on his resume, ICI's skilled investigators would have noticed the discrepancies while verifying his work history.
Case of Vanishing Manager and Missing Millions
Over the course of several years, Martin Frankel used investors' money to acquire small insurance companies, then plundered the companies' cash reserves to finance a luxurious lifestyle. When he sensed investigators closing in, he fled the country with millions – possibly even billions – of dollars. (Story by Deborah Lohse and Mitchell Pacelle of The Wall Street Journal, 6/21/99)
Warning Signs With so much at stake, investors should have called ICI before trusting Mr. Frankel with their money. In 1992, Mr. Frankel was banned from the securities industry.
ICI's Standard Background Check would have revealed that Mr. Frankel had been banned from the securities industry for questionable business practices. Further, a reference check would have revealed a trail of disgruntled former business partners.
