Corporate Investigations & Workplace Fraud Georgia |  Licensed Private Investigator

Employee Theft and Internal Fraud Investigation

Employee theft and internal fraud are the most common reasons Georgia businesses retain a private investigator. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reports that occupational fraud drains a meaningful share of annual revenue across industries. Small and mid-size companies are hit hardest. They typically lack the internal controls larger organizations maintain. By the time a business suspects an employee, the losses have been accumulating for months.
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Internal fraud investigation covers cash theft, inventory diversion, payroll fraud, expense reimbursement schemes, vendor kickback arrangements, and unauthorized use of company assets. The investigative approach depends on the fraud type. Financial record analysis establishes the loss pattern and scale. Surveillance documents physical theft or diversion in real time. A digital forensics investigation recovers deleted communications, altered records, and electronic evidence identifying participants. Background investigation of the subject employee may reveal undisclosed incidents at prior employers.

The evidence standard depends on intended use. Evidence supporting a criminal referral must meet evidentiary standards that survive a court challenge. Evidence for termination and civil recovery follows a less formal protocol. But chain of custody documentation is still advisable. Any evidence gathered during an internal investigation could end up in civil proceedings later, so the intended use is established before work begins.

Workers Compensation Fraud Investigation

Workers compensation fraud costs Georgia employers and insurers heavily each year. The most common pattern: a claimant collects benefits for a claimed disability while performing physical work elsewhere. That work might be for another employer or in self-employment. It might involve activities that directly contradict the claimed limitation. Surveillance is the primary investigative tool for these cases. Documented video of a claimant performing inconsistent activities is the most persuasive evidence an employer or insurer can present.
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Workers compensation surveillance in Georgia follows standard surveillance law. Observation occurs from public vantage points only. No trespass is involved at any stage. The surveillance report documents the subject's activities with timestamped video and GPS location records. A written activity log accompanies the video. NLA Private Investigator formats that report for the retaining attorney, claims adjuster, or insurer's litigation team. Coordination with legal counsel or the adjuster begins at engagement.

Corporate Espionage and TSCM Investigation

Corporate espionage through covert audio surveillance is a documented risk. It affects businesses in litigation, merger and acquisition activity, competitive bidding, and any situation where a counterparty or former employee had unsupervised premises access. A Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) sweep detects hidden recording devices, active RF transmitters, and covert cameras. Full detail on detection methods and sweep protocols is on the TSCM bug sweep page.
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Intellectual property theft investigation targets the insider threat. An employee, contractor, or former employee may have taken proprietary information, client lists, trade secrets, or confidential business data. A digital forensics investigation of company-owned devices recovers evidence of data exfiltration. That evidence includes documents copied to external storage, emails forwarding proprietary files to personal accounts, and access logs establishing a precise timeline. Combined with background investigation of the subject and open-source intelligence on post-departure activities, the documented record supports civil litigation or a criminal referral under Georgia's Computer Systems Protection Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-9-93.
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The connection between TSCM and IP theft investigation matters. A business suspecting an employee of leaking confidential information should also ask whether the communication environment itself is compromised. A compromised room and a compromised individual create the same symptom but require different remediation. Addressing only one while the other persists limits any corrective action.
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Pre-Employment and Vendor Due Diligence

A pre-employment background investigation for Georgia employers produces a documented record. That record covers criminal history, civil litigation history, professional license status, financial records, and identity verification. Data comes from national investigative databases and primary source courthouse research. Candidates who misrepresent credentials or conceal prior employment history get identified before they're hired. The alternative — discovering it after they've caused damage — costs more.
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Vendor and business partner due diligence follows the same principle. The investigation verifies organizational history, principal backgrounds, litigation records, financial judgment history, and professional license status before a commercial relationship is established. Georgia businesses that skip this step tend to discover the omission only after a fraud or contract breach has occurred. The cost of investigation before signing is a fraction of litigation after.

NLA Private Investigator's background investigation services are investigative reports for due diligence purposes. They aren't consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Employers using investigation findings in hiring decisions are responsible for FCRA compliance through a licensed Consumer Reporting Agency for those regulated purposes. Full detail on the distinction between investigative reports and FCRA consumer reports is on the background check services page.

Executive Background Investigation

Executive background investigation applies an enhanced standard. It targets candidates for senior leadership, board seats, or positions controlling significant financial or operational authority. Standard pre-employment screening isn't sufficient for these roles.
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An executive investigation covers multi-jurisdiction courthouse searches and business affiliation history across all prior employers. It includes civil litigation history in both personal and professional capacities, financial judgment and lien records, professional license verification, media and public records research, and a full digital footprint investigation.
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The business case is clear. An executive who concealed prior litigation or undisclosed business affiliations creates exposure the organization can't contain after the hire. Discovering those problems before the offer is signed costs far less. Publicly traded companies and private equity-backed firms treat executive due diligence as a risk management requirement. Nonprofit boards should do the same.
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The sections above cover the investigative services NLA Private Investigator provides to Georgia businesses. The questions below address the specifics most corporate clients ask before engaging.