» Investigations
Background/Due Diligence investigations are at the heart of our business. Clients come to ICI before putting capital and reputations at risk in such ventures as initial public offerings, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, equity participations, and hiring high-level executives. Call ICI.
Don't become a subject of these kinds of stories. . .
How Well Did CBS Check Out Contestant?
Summary 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 as such, we would have found the arrests
The Incomplete Resume: An Executive's Missing Years Papering Over Past Problems
Summary 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.
In addition, 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. Sunbeam could have avoided a humiliating scandal by consulting with ICI first.
Case of Vanishing Manager and Missing Millions
Summary 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. ICI's Standard Background Check would have revealed that Mr. Frankel had been banned for life from the securities industry in 1992 for questionable business practices.
Further, a reference check would have revealed a trail of disgruntled former business partners.
A Resume Distringuished By What It Didn't Mention
Summary Becton Dickinson thought it had the right man for the job, but didn't know the whole story. The medical devices company was embarrassed to learn only too late that its medical director was a convicted felon and had misrepresented his past.(Story by Melody Petersen of The New York Times, 9/6/01)
Warning Signs ICI's Standard Background Check would have revealed that Dr. Seymour Schlager was convicted of attempted murder in Illinois in 1991 through on-site research of court records and news media.
With a few phone calls, ICI's investigators would have also discovered that, rather than working for a small pharmaceuticals company from 1992 to 1998 as he claimed in his resume, Dr. Schlager in fact had spent most of that time period in prison.
