General Investigations

Let’s face it, Things happen to the best of us and at some point, everyone needs an investigator.  Whether it’s your business, children, personal life, money or safety, investigators are without question the most efficient productive way to protect and retain what means the most to you.  

Have you ever wondered why the very best attorneys out there all have their own investigators?  The answer is results. Good investigators provide the essential admissible results you need to protect what you have worked so hard to attain.  

Over the past few decades, Hargraves Investigative & Security Solutions has literally saved lives, protected children, reunited loved ones, recovered lost finances and saved business’s millions of dollars.  We are a part of the solution. We take great pride in making a difference in these troubling times for our clients.

Some of our services include:

• Criminal Defense Investigations
• Insurance Fraud Investigations
• Civil Litigation Investigations
• Personal Injury Investigations
• Corporate Investigations
• Background Investigations
• Surveillance Investigations

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

When you are charged with a crime, the state or federal prosecutors use a team of law enforcement investigators to enhance their case in court. Keep in mind, most of these law enforcement officials are naturally only looking for the evidence to enhance their case, not to prove your innocence.

Most defendants rely solely on their defense attorney to find a way to prove their innocence or mitigate the charges against them. This is why, statistically, most people will lose their case or not get the result they want in Court.

The very best defense attorneys recognize this, and come to the table with the same firepower as the prosecution by using their own team of investigators working to find the evidence you need to get the results you want.

CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONS

Our Corporate Security Evaluation is conducted by the White Collar Division for businesses that are looking to be proactive rather than reactive. There are many companies that operate in a “High Risk” field business. Companies are more worried today about being compliant with FTC, DCP, and other regulatory agencies than they are about the bottom line. Our White Collar Division will do a complete corporate investigation and evaluation of your business to ensure you have the securities in place to protect you and your business from fraudulent or criminal exposure.

CIVAL LITIGATION INVESTIGATIONS

Civil cases are private disputes between individuals or organizations in which a person or entity will bring forward complaints that another person or entity failed to uphold their legal duty. A private investigator can be hired by one or both parties involved and can gather evidence in a reliable, legal manner.

Divorce/Child Custody Investigations: Divorce and Child Custody cases can be very frustrating and messy with loved ones caught in the middle. It is important that these cases are handled with professionalism and consideration to the children who stand the most to lose. Divorce and custody issues can be stressful, costly and drag on with unresolved concerns on both sides. The outcome of these cases will often affect the lives of those closest to you.

In Divorce, Child Custody, Visitation, Child Support, or Alimony, it is absolutely necessary that all available evidence can be presented to the evaluator and Court. The neglect or inability to collect this evidence can result in the loss or mistreatment of the most important possession you have, your children. Our investigators know how to find and collect the admissible information you need to give you the best and most complete representation in Court.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS

Pre-Employment Investigations

“Often the Best Hiring Decisions are the Ones You Don’t Make”

Finding qualified and capable employees, especially in a tight labor market, can be a challenging and time-consuming endeavor. Employees who have just the right stuff can be hard to come by. Considerable attention should be paid to screening applicants. Make sure to ask appropriate questions to assess candidates accurately while at the same time avoid taking illegal or discriminatory actions during the evaluation process. In particular, it is advisable employers perform pre-employment background checks (of which there are many types) to identify applicants whose history might be problematic – possibly disqualifying them gainful employment. Employee dishonesty (worst case: outright theft) can be incredibly disruptive and costly to a company. The ultimate goal of the hiring process is to be thorough and fair, turning promising prospects into productive and committed employees (right people, right fit). And remember often the best way to deal with problem employees is never having hired them in the first place.

The candidate has the skills, qualifications, talents, ambition… But is she trustworthy? Honest?

The Cost of Making the Wrong Hiring Decision

A Company is Only as Good as Its Workforce

The law of negligent hiring places responsibility directly on the employer for the failure of hiring managers to reasonably investigate the background of applicants. Most often, negligent hiring cases involve a failure to act. For example, employers are most frequently sued for hiring employees without looking into their criminal backgrounds or failing to check references that may signal a problem.

An estimated 60% to 70% of employers nationwide perform some type of background screening. To a
considerable and understandable degree, companies today feel compelled – due to specific legal requirements (e.g., see newly issued guidance from the EEOC) or responsibilities imposed through liability decisions – to expend greater efforts investigating the statements and backgrounds of prospective hires. Such efforts aim to verify the accuracy of claims and uncover potentially disqualifying reasons to deny initial employment (or even discontinue employment of current employees). Hargraves Investigative Agency, can assist companies take appropriate and proactive steps to vet prospective hires, while navigating the various state and federal laws regulating such practices. Listed below are various examples of some of the products we offer.

Due Diligence Before Hiring: Increasingly a Must-Do

• Applicant Disclosure Forms
• Criminal Reports
• Credit Checks
• Social Sec Number Verification
• Bankruptcies and Evictions
• Work/Educational History
• Candidate Evaluation Templates
• Un/Lawful Interview Qs
• Sample Rejection Letters
• Legal Briefs
• EPL Insurance (EPLI)
• Private Investigation

We offer employers three levels of service, from which they can select the pre-employment screening approach that best suits their business interests. As well, investigative options can be broadened to include the scope and scale that only a full-service licensed agency can offer.