August 31st, 2009
In my previous blog post I started discussing the services McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. provides to its clients, whether they are litigators, corporate houses, big and small businesses or families worried about the activities of certain members. I talked about pre-employment screening, international investigations, insurance investigation and document verification, and asbestos defense litigation. In this post I’m going to throw some light on the remaining services we provide as an investigative group based in Andover, Massachusetts.
Litigation and Trial Preparation Services: in order to win a lawyer needs strong backup information. Thoroughly substantiated and documented facts are the backbone of your case whether you are working as a defense or plaintiff lawyer. Our investigators can do all the field work while you focus on serving your client better and preparing your case. We can interview the witnesses and verify their testimonies, we can also trace witnesses that can totally alter the direction of the trial. Basically, of you want information gathering, witness interviewing, and facts verification conducted, you can totally rely on our investigative services.
Corporate investigation: as your organization grows, so does grow the scope of financial frauds, copyright and patent infringements and of course, partnership related deceitfulness. You continuously need to protect your intellectual property rights and you have to be vigilant all the time in order to survive in the cut-throat competition where people are just waiting to pounce upon a loophole and get a piece of your pie. From surveillance to internal investigations we can get you all the information you need to keep your organization stable, secure and assist with your risk management.
Family Matters & Domestic Investigations: these are difficult assignments both for our clients and investigators because first, it can cause irreparable hurt to particular family members, and second, the investigators have to work on totally unpredictable situations and keep everything under the wraps as much as physically and technologically possible. We carry out investigations for divorce settlement, child custody, drug and physical abuse, property dispute and infidelity.
Surveillance: our state-of-the-art surveillance investigators can help prevent, detect and eliminate fraud. We help attorneys, claims investitigators and concerned family discover the facts and document them with video evidence.
Providing world-class investigative services requires grit, determination, perseverance, a knack for smelling trouble and clues, a highly trained analytical mind, physical and mental agility and last but not the least, experience. At McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. we’ve got it all.
Tags: background investigations, Boston Massachusetts International Investigator, Due Diligence, Insurance international Investigations, Litigation support, Massachusetts Private Investigator, Risk management, Surveillance Investigator, Witness interviews, Witness locates
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August 24th, 2009
You must have strenuously worked for years to build your reputation and toiled hard to gain exceptional recognition for your business trademark. Your customers and clients vouch for your quality and service whenever they come across your trademark. A trademark is a symbol people use to recognize your company or business. You earn profits when people buy your product or use your service after seeing your trademark. If someone uses your trademark to promote his or her product or service, he she is earning a profit that must legally have been yours. It’s infringement of your profits. It’s trademark infringement.
The same goes for your patent. When you develop a new idea or a formula or invent something that can earn you huge profits, you get it patented at the patent office so that whoever wants to use your idea or formula or invention he or she has to first pay you the amount you demand for giving the permission. If someone does that sort of business without your permission, it is patent infringement.
At McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. we carry out two levels of trademark and patent infringement investigations: 1. We find out whether the infringement is actually happening, and documenting the infringement by making purchases of the knock off items or gathering what ever other evidence your attorneys need to shut down the illegal activity. 2. We prepare the evidence we collected to it will be admissible in court.
Some additional services we offer:
- Photographic and video proof of illegal knock offs
- Documents and account details
- Undercover buys of counterfeit products
- Collection of office stationery and product samples
- Sampling of local and Internet advertisements and other promotional campaigns
- Relevant interviews with employees and customers and clients
With our extensive experience in investigations and an immense assortment of resources at our disposal we can easily dig out the hidden information β across the international border β and get you the information that can help you protect your trademark, copyright and patent rights.
Tags: Copyright investigations, international trademark infringement investigations, knock off items, Private Investigator, Trademark infringement investigations
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August 21st, 2009
Are you constantly posting updates on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or FriendFeed so that your friends and colleagues know what you’re up to and what cool activities you’ve been doing lately? Do you ever consider that some of these updates can cost you your job? It’s already happening to numerous social networking enthusiasts.
Many of your postings on these social networking websites can act as the proverbial boomerang and cause you unforeseeable damage. Hiring companies and professional investigators routinely comb through social networking websites to gauge the nature of activities carried out by job candidates, and even existing employees.
Ever since the Internet started being used in the offices managements all over the world defined ways to make sure employees didn’t use the net simply to chat, exchange personal emails or visit objectionable websites. This could be easily accomplished within the office premises, but they had no control over their employees’ online activities outside of their offices. This changed after the onset of social media and networking websites. A mere glance over a compilation of your social networking activities can give lots of information to your current and future employees.
Having active and vibrant profiles at social networking websites is perfectly normal these days. The problem manifests when you start showing traits that don’t find favor with your current or future employees, like, bitching about your job, making derogatory remarks about your seniors, colleagues, or even people in general, posting lewd content, gossiping about people behind their backs, posting sensitive company information, boasting about how you made a fool of your previous employee and posting racial slurs. In some cases even your political and religious beliefs can get you in trouble, but these are extreme cases.
You can say your social networking activities pretty much define your philosophy and attitude and whatever you post, most of it, is publically, easily available, to whoever makes enough effort to get it.
So do I mean to say you shouldn’t post much on social networking websites? No. Social networking websites are a great way of keeping in touch with your friends and sharing useful and interesting news and information with them. Just be aware that anybody can access the content you post on social networking websites. Treat social networking conversations as real-world conversations: don’t say things about people you don’t want people to say about you. Don’t make postings recklessly; they might have far-reaching implications.
In other words…”don’t say or write anything you would not want written on the front page of the New York Times” because it just might end up there.
Tags: background investigations, Corporate due diligence, corporate Investigations, pre employment screening, Private Investigations, Private Investigator, Social Networking Investigator
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August 19th, 2009
The primary purpose behind our comprehensive pre-employment screening process is that it frees you of all the tensions involved with hiring the right person for your company. With job applicants approaching you from not just within your own town or city, but from other cities and countries too, it’s not only extremely expensive to hire competent personnel, it can be excruciatingly costly if the antecedents of the applicant are not verified and he or she misleads you or your hiring department as a result.
Our process of carrying out pre-employment screening
The process of carrying out pre-employment screening can be as simple and as complex as your requirement. All in all, here’s the process that we follow at McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc d/b/a EmploySecure.com:
- Your job applicants sign the release form: If you want to conduct a pre-employment background check upon your applicants must should sign a release form that indicates they have no objection to the check. We proceed only after receiving the release form.
- You initiate the process: After logging onto your secure account at EmploySecure.com you initiate the pre-employment screening process.
- The screening takes place: At EmploySecure.com our client’s decide the level of background check they want to conduct on their applicants. It can be as simple as verifying a Social Security number to conducting multi county and federal criminal searches, credit and driving history reports. Our experienced researchers and investigators visit relevant places and collect the information and review it for you.
- A detailed report is prepared: Once all the information is gathered a detailed report is prepared that you can access through your secure account at EmploySecure.com.
If our report listed negative information on the applicant which may adversely effect the hiring decision you should provide a copy of the report to the applicant and a pre-adverse letter notifying the applicant you are about to take negative action. Also provide the applicant a copy of the FCRA Summary of Rights. Once that is completed you can send a notification of adverse action.
In case there’s a positive outcome, there’s no hurdle stopping you from hiring the applicant. In both the cases you can bask in the glory of having made the right hiring decision.
Visit our pre-employment screening website for more information www.EmploySecure.com
Tags: background checks, background investigations, criminal records check, employee screening, massachusetts background checks, Massachusetts Pre employment screening, pre employment screening
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August 12th, 2009
Attorneys and law firms require accurate, reliable and substantiated information to prepare a strong case and protect their clients against adverse court ruling. Here at McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. we often use our expertise and resources to gather information for courtroom appearances to help litigators prepare their cases for trial, settlement negotiations orΒ subrogation. Our investigation is backed with verifiable logistical support, documents and if available, audio-visual evidence.
Our detectives and investigators can prove to be invaluable for:
- Pre-trial preparation and investigations
- Conducting witness interviews
- Substantiating and verifying evidence and allegations
- Carrying out criminal history searches
- Locating and documenting historical events critical to the case
- Conducting background checks and court document searches
- Going through police reports
- Identifying and compiling evidence
- Researching, evaluating and locating assets
- Locating witnesses
We can also investigate the illegal use of trademarks copyrights, patents and corporate or business names to help attorneys protect their clients from the misuse of company’s brand and reputation. Aside from these we can also help you in cases involving civil, criminal and domestic investigations, intelligence gathering, death cases, jury profiling, medical malpractice, computer research, forensic, locating lost heirs and undercover operations.
We have been providing these Investigative and Litigation services both globally and locally in the greater Boston Massachusetts area, as well as southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Tags: Boston Litigation Support, Boston Massachusetts International Investigator, Interviews, Litigation support, Massachusetts Asbestos Defense Litigation, Massachusetts Attorney Services, Massachusetts Litigation Support, New Hampshire Attorney Services, Witness locates statements
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August 10th, 2009
Family matter and domestic investigation is a highly serious issue and we take utmost care when handling these types of investigations. But what does such investigation involve and why do you need an investigative agency to help you with such sensitve and personal matters? You may hire us or an other respected, experiance firm to investigate when you have concerns about some of the following:
In the midst of a child custody battle
Worried that your spouse is taking drugs
You suspect your spouse of infidelity
You want to conduct general surveillance
You want to verify the credentials and background of someone new you are dating
Internet dating and relationships
You are trying to obtain child support
You are involved in an inheritance litigation
You are dating someone from an Internet dating service and have no direct access to the needed information regarding your new date
There are many more reasons …
Extreme discretion is required when personal matters are involved because when you are conducting non-personal investigations such as pre-employment screening, international investigation, litigation preparation and corporate investigations it is understood that these are routine investigations and they take place irrespective of what relationships both the parties have. But family matters and domestic investigations tread on a very thin line; a little bit of carelessness or insensitivity on the part of the investigative agency can leave long-lasting psychological breaches and even break up families.
We have many years handling domestic, family matter investigations in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and around the globe.
All the videos and photographs that are taken and all investigative tasks are handled with strict confidentially and they are never, ever shared with others.
Infidelity is one of the most painful experiences and it gets worse if you are not aware that your partner or spouse is cheating on you. The private investigators at McLaughlin Investigative Group understand the problems being faced and are committed to help clients with these issues by obtaining the required proof. Also, background investigations are done to check on potential partners. Many clients are concerned about confidentially. We assure our clients of handling their cases with complete confidentiality.
Tags: Boston Domestic Investigations, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Infidelity Massachusetts Domestic Investigations, New Hampshire, Rhode Island family investigations
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August 5th, 2009
At McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. we understand the devastating effect asbestos leaves on its unsuspecting victims their families, but we firmly believe that not all of the defendants listed in these law suits belong there. In many cases these defendants are only listed in a lawsuit because they were in business during an era when asbestos was sometimes used in specific products and there only “wrong doing” is they are still in business today. Many of these business get sued with little or no proof linking their products to the plaintiff’s exposure.
We help companies defend themselves in these product liability cases by documenting the plaintiff was not exposed to their products and also by looking at alternative exposure issues.
We closely work with the law firms from around the country who specializing in asbestos defense litigation, especially in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. We gather evidence by tracking down witnesses from decades ago, researching old public documents and begin to the tedious process of investigating these claims. When an individual suffers from mesothelioma because of his or her exposure to asbestos and then files a lawsuit against the company we work with defense councils to get the facts verified. Our purpose is not to make a strong case even when the company is at fault but explore all the possibilities and facts so that a fair defense can be mounted.
We carry out thorough background checks on claimants: where they have been working, what have been their lifestyle and recreational habits, what has been their family health history, have they actually been exposed to asbestos where theyβre claiming to have been exposed β basically, we specialize in developing alternative exposure in asbestos defense litigation. Along with myriad other cases we have investigated occupational asbestos exposure and help defense counsel for automobile, boiler manufacturing and joint compound-sheetrock industries.
Our team of highly experienced investigators are well-equipped to carry out sophisticated investigations. We exercise extreme sensitivity while carrying out the investigations and speaking to witnesses, while always being extremely professional in our approach.
Until next time…
Tags: Boston Investigator, Massachusetts Asbestos Defense Litigation, Massachusetts Private Investigator, Private Investigator
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August 3rd, 2009
Our worldwide investigative experience enables us to provide you international investigation services across a wide array of categories. We work diligently to provide topnotch international investigative services in areas such as business, family law, litigation, insurance cases, pre-employment screening and background verification. Although we are located in the greater Boston Massachusetts and locally covering New Hampshire and Rhode Island, we have rendered our services in the following countries:
Albania β Republic of Albania
Angola β Republic of Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina β Argentine Republic
Armenia β Republic of Armenia
Australia β Commonwealth of Australia
Austria β Republic of Austria
Bahamas, The
Bangladesh
Belarus β Republic of Belarus
Belgium β Kingdom of Belgium
Benin β Republic of Benin
Bermuda (UK overseas territory)
Bolivia β Republic of Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil β Federative Republic of Brazil
Bulgaria β Republic of Bulgaria
Cambodia β Kingdom of Cambodia
Cameroon β Republic of Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde β Republic of Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad β Republic of Chad
Chile β Republic of Chile
China β People’s Republic of China
Colombia β Republic of Colombia
Comoros β Union of the Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica β Republic of Costa Rica
Croatia β Republic of Croatia
Czech Republic[20]
Denmark β Kingdom of Denmark
Dominica β Commonwealth of Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador β Republic of Ecuador
Egypt β Arab Republic of Egypt
El Salvador β Republic of El Salvador
Eritrea β State of Eritrea
Ethiopia β Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Fiji β Republic of the Fiji Islands
Finland β Republic of Finland
France β French Republic
Germany β Federal Republic of Germany
Ghana β Republic of Ghana
Gibraltar (UK overseas territory)
Greece β Hellenic Republic
Guam β Territory of Guam
Guatemala β Republic of Guatemala
Guinea-Bissau
Haiti β Republic of Haiti
Honduras β Republic of Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary β Republic of Hungary
India β Republic of India
Indonesia β Republic of Indonesia
Ireland – Ireland
Israel β State of Israel
Italy β Italian Republic
Jamaica
JapanKazakhstan β Republic of Kazakhstan
Kenya β Republic of Kenya
Korea, South β Republic of Korea
Kosovo β Republic of Kosovo
Lebanon β Republic of Lebanon
Liberia β Republic of Liberia
Liechtenstein β Principality of Liechtenstein
Luxembourg β Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Malta β Republic of Malta
Mexico β United Mexican States
Moldova β Republic of Moldova
Morocco β Kingdom of Morocco
Nepal β State of Nepal
Netherlands β Kingdom of the Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand
Nicaragua β Republic of Nicaragua
Nigeria β Federal Republic of Nigeria
Norway β Kingdom of Norway
Palestine
Panama β Republic of Panama
Paraguay β Republic of Paraguay
Peru β Republic of Peru
Philippines
Poland β Republic of Poland
Portugal β Portuguese Republic
Puerto Rico
Romania
Russia β Russian Federation
Rwanda β Republic of Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Serbia β Republic of Serbia[35]
Sierra Leone β Republic of Sierra Leone
Singapore β Republic of Singapore
South Africa β Republic of South Africa
Spain β Kingdom of Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan β Republic of the Sudan
Sweden β Kingdom of Sweden
Switzerland β Swiss Confederation
Syria β Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan β Republic of China
Tanzania β United Republic of Tanzania
Thailand β Kingdom of Thailand
Togo β Togolese Republic
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey β Republic of Turkey
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda β Republic of Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States β United States of America
Uruguay β Eastern Republic of Uruguay
Uzbekistan β Republic of Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam β Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Virgin Islands, British
Virgin Islands, United States
Zambia β Republic of Zambia
We have succesufully carried out Investigative cases in more then 90 countires.
In this globally connected world we can very easily go from one country to another, from one continent to another. Since it is easier to travel and communicate across countries and continents, people can easily commit frauds, present forged documents, make dubious claims, fudge evidence, change identities and carry out financial embezzlements with little or no recourse. Even if you have some legal rights on foreign jurisdictions, these rights mitigate in the absence of prior verification and screening. International investigation becomes all the more significant in such case scenarios.
The various categories under which we provide international investigation services are:
Due diligence reporting
Merger and acquisition investigation
Foreign Driver License / Document Verification and Driving Histories
Insurance claims
Intellectual Property investigations
Counterfeit and Grey market product
Case specific investigations
Background investigations on potential partners and investors
Our agents and investigators are adept at conducting international probes, surveillances and inquests.
Until next time…
Tags: Boston Massachusetts International Investigator, Insurance international Investigations, International Investigations, Private Investigator International Investigations
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August 2nd, 2009
Surveillance is a very critical part of providing professional investigative services, and in fact it is during surveillance that all the arts of the trade come to the fore and manifest the true investigative capabilities of individuals and organizations. At McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. we take great pride in providing surveillance services to a slew of clients.
From cheating spouses to corporate swindlers and security threats, covert surveillance is the best method of obtaining right information, resolving complex issues and preventing fraud and malpractice. Our surveillance services are performed under most demanding conditions using the latest technology and sophisticated gadgetry. Although we provide surveillance services in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, we are equally capable of transcending international boundaries and covering international arenas.
You would hire our surveillance services if you are:
Concerned about the security of your office or industrial complex.
Worried that your company assets and resources are being diverted or misused.
Suspicious about the way your spouse or another family member has been behaving of late or simply want to know whom they are meeting and where they are going when they are not with the family, or if one of your kids is taking drugs.
Thinking that your business secrets are being ferreted out.
Generally trying to clear some misunderstanding.
Facing employment-related charges from a disgruntled worker.
Fighting a custody or child-support battle.
All surveillance activities are carefully documented and you are delivered timely reports with supported documents and video evidence if available.
Surveillance is a multi-faceted occupation that demands expertise in handling complex equipment like cameras while driving. One needs to be extremely fit because you never know where you have to go and where you have to hide and whom you have to encounter. We have highly experienced surveillance experts who have either worked as independent detectives and investigators for years, or have worked in police or the forces on various national and international assignments. When you partner with us for your surveillance needs, you always get the right information at the right time in the apt format.tio
We provide our clients with detailed reports, invoices and DVDs of the video footage obtained.
Please visit our website, www.McLaughlinPI.com for more information or just call our office 978-474-8801 about your surveillance needs in Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or any where in the world.
Tags: Boston Massachusetts Surveillance Investigator, New Hampshire Private investigator, Private Investigator surveillance, Rhode Island Private Investigator Investigator
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July 29th, 2009
Studies have established that 40% of people put misleading information on their resume.
Pre-employment screening saves you from litigation and costly hiring mistakes. When you hire people for your organization a lot is at stake in terms of money, time, reputation and even your brand. Once you have hired a person you and your company can be held liable for his or her actions especially when you don’t hire him or her through proper pre-employment screening procedure.
Hiring aptly talented and trustworthy employees is highly critical for your survival and growth whether you are a small business or a Fortune 500 company. As technology and science takes long strides, screening requirements have evolved into intricate exercises. Simple reference checks just donβt work these days as security breaches, data and identity thefts, workplace harassments, drug addiction and financial embezzlement are becoming rampant.
At McLaughlin Investigative Group Inc. pre-employment screening division, www.EmploySecure.com we use the state-of-the-art technology and well-established procedures and methods to provide world-class pre-employment screening services in Massachusetts, Boston and nationwide. Our services include, verifying and collecting information regarding:
County level criminal records
Federal criminal records
State driving records
Address to criminal records
Employment verification
Education verification
Drug testing and screening
Statewide criminal search
Nationwide criminal search
Credit reports
Workerβs compensation records
Social security number verification trace
Weβll be discussing all these services in various blog posts, whenever the context permits.
Is pre-employment screening prohibitively costly? Hardly. While hiring a suitable employee for your company you may spend anywhere between $4,000 and $50,000, you can avail our pre-employment screening services at a tiny fraction of this cost; merely 0.5% to 2%, dependent upon the features you want included.
Do you think pre-employment screening is an overkill and waste of money? Although we donβt believe in spreading phobias and a feeling of mistrust between employers and employees, as Iβve mentioned above, over 40% job candidates lie on their resumes. Worse, almost 11% pre-employment screenings reveal criminal records. These figures more than justify thorough and professional investigation and verification before you hire someone.
To learn more about screening your potential employees and how to make sure your company is compliant with FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), visit our screening website, www.EmploySecure.com.
Until next time…
Tags: Boston Pre employment screening, criminal records, Massachusetts criminal records, Massachusetts Pre employment screening, Nationwide screening services, New Hampshire Pre employment screening
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