It's Thursday and after a long day out in the field, we are wrapping things up. An email inquiry is placed with our company, I make a mental note to look at it tomorrow but being the workaholic that I have grown to be I look at the email. The email states: I would like to find my son's father, I believe that he still resides in the area. I need to find him as my 10 year old son is starting to have questions about him and desires to know him. The email has a telephone number and an email address attached. Well so much for wrapping it up for the night. I contact the potential client and she tells me a story, ten years ago the client gave birth to a wonderful son, however due to circumstances the client felt that it would be better to leave and attempt to raise her son on her own. As time goes by the client starts noticing that her son had inquiries about who his father was. The client swallowing her pride decided to do what was best for him and not herself. She wanted the father contacted, she was even willing to forgo the child support etc, all she wanted was her son to get the opportunity to know his father.
After hearing her story, I immediately started working on the case. I found a phone number and as luck would have it the voice mail was a personal one and announced the fathers name. I left a message stating that I was reaching out to the subject on behalf of his son, his son wants the opportunity to know his father, the Mother is willing to allow for this to happen with minimal contact from her in order to see their son be happy. I leave my contact information and pray for the best. The following day, I hear nothing. I call again in the early evening and again there is no response. I leave another message. Of course at this time I am considering all of the things that could be, maybe the subject has married and has a family, that family does not know about his past and the subject does not want to jeopardize what he has now built. Maybe he thinks that I am trying to play a trick on him and take him for his money. Matters such as these are delicate, so after pondering for awhile about what to do I come up with a plan. I have my client write a letter explaining what her intentions are, I also ask her to include her son's direct contact information so that the subject can get in touch with their son completely bypassing her.
The following evening at 8:30 p.m., I and an associate go to the subjects residence. The residence is dark, there are no lights illuminating from within. I open the gate to the residence and knock, I take a couple of steps back as I do not want to intimidate the subject. I am hoping that the subject will see myself and my female associate and not view us as a threat. The subject comes to the door. I introduce myself and see instant recognition in his eyes. The subject states so your the guy that has been calling me and I tell him yes I am. I then explain that his ten year old son is yearning to meet him, that being a father is the greatest experience a man can have, and that my client is willing for him to establish contact on his own accord. I also tell him that I hope that he does the right thing. I give him the letter, he accepts and as I turn to leave, he says " Thank you very much for doing this", he shakes my hand and says that he will be in touch with me if he is unable to get in touch with his son. My associate and I hurry back to the car and call my client who is located three hours from me, I risk upsetting the client to tell her the good news. The client immediately cry's tears of joy and thanks God for the opportunity. I tell her that I will be in touch if the subject contacts me but to keep her ears open just in case he calls on his own.
Two days later I get a message, the subject reached out to his son. The son and the subject had spoken and had even exchanged pictures. My client is elated as she see's the picture of the subject and remarks how much he has changed and how happy she is for the both of them. I tell the client that I will pray for her and her family and that I hope to be able to continue to watch them grow. In the end this client only wanted what was best for her son, not for herself, not for the father, but her son. This unselfishness touched me personally. Now I get to sit back and watch them grow on my Facebook feed.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
He never knew
Morrow Detective Agency takes three pro bono cases a year. This is our way of giving back to the community. The cases have to meet certain criteria, the person may not have the means to finance an investigation, the investigation has to be something that will help better the clients life, and of course it has to be something that we can do. Our investigator Steve Morrow was contacted by a potential client, this client who is in her thirties had never met her father. She only knew bits and pieces of what was told to her while she was growing up. In one story she heard that her Father may have worked at a restaurant here in Simi Valley. Another story was that he may have been living among friends while being out here. All our client knew for sure was a name. She did not know how old he was, whether he had any siblings, what type of work that he did. Oh and she also knew that her father had no idea about her. She heard that her father had partied pretty hard back in the day and her Mother decided that he may not have been in the right frame of mind to take on fatherly duties. All my client really had of him was a picture but one that did not show his face.
We accepted this case and started working on it from the beginning. We contacted the restaurant but hit a dead end, none of the people knew the man, and the previous owners from the late 70's early 80's had passed on. We ran a database search and called all of the men that fit the criteria but were unsuccessful. We even looked at yearbooks from around that time frame and contacted the people with matching last names, but were unlucky in locating him. Obviously we were going to need more information, and our client was reluctant to speak with her Mother given the circumstances, we could understand her trepidation in doing so. So we interviewed other family members, ones that may have remembered the guy, or heard things about him. One family member in particular recalled that her Mother hung out with him and said that he was around the same age of her Mother. This information by itself was not enough, but it did help in narrowing our search field. Finally our client, after being coached by our investigator spoke with the direct source of information, her Mother. Her Mother did not disclose much but did mention that her Father only lived in Simi for a short while and was originally from the Burbank area. With this new information we were able to go through old information, that old information led us to more current information. Eventually we were able to narrow our pool down to someone that we were 90% sure was our clients father, a look at his Facebook picture cemented our theory.
Now comes the most delicate part of the investigation, the reaching out to the subject and telling them that they are being searched for by a relative that they have never met and maybe never even knew that they had. We contacted the gentleman in the morning. We told him who we were and explained why we were calling. The subject confirmed that he was in Simi at the time our clients Mother was dating him, he even recalled dating the clients Mother but recalls that it was not for long. The subject stated that he heard that she was pregnant but when he saw her she did not say anything to him about our client possibly being his child. He never knew that he had a daughter out there. The subject was elated, he had always felt that he was selfish for not having any children and it had grown to be one of his deepest regrets. With our clients permission we provided a photo of the client to the subject who said "she is mine, look at that nose." It took a little while but our client reached out to her Father. It almost seemed like fate as my client would be visiting her in-laws that lived in the same area as her Father. Our client met up with her Father and they had a great meeting. Our agency is pleased to watch this family connect and grow through Facebook, seeing the photos and hearing the stories of the client and her Father's similarities has reminded us of the great work that investigators can do.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
We accepted this case and started working on it from the beginning. We contacted the restaurant but hit a dead end, none of the people knew the man, and the previous owners from the late 70's early 80's had passed on. We ran a database search and called all of the men that fit the criteria but were unsuccessful. We even looked at yearbooks from around that time frame and contacted the people with matching last names, but were unlucky in locating him. Obviously we were going to need more information, and our client was reluctant to speak with her Mother given the circumstances, we could understand her trepidation in doing so. So we interviewed other family members, ones that may have remembered the guy, or heard things about him. One family member in particular recalled that her Mother hung out with him and said that he was around the same age of her Mother. This information by itself was not enough, but it did help in narrowing our search field. Finally our client, after being coached by our investigator spoke with the direct source of information, her Mother. Her Mother did not disclose much but did mention that her Father only lived in Simi for a short while and was originally from the Burbank area. With this new information we were able to go through old information, that old information led us to more current information. Eventually we were able to narrow our pool down to someone that we were 90% sure was our clients father, a look at his Facebook picture cemented our theory.
Now comes the most delicate part of the investigation, the reaching out to the subject and telling them that they are being searched for by a relative that they have never met and maybe never even knew that they had. We contacted the gentleman in the morning. We told him who we were and explained why we were calling. The subject confirmed that he was in Simi at the time our clients Mother was dating him, he even recalled dating the clients Mother but recalls that it was not for long. The subject stated that he heard that she was pregnant but when he saw her she did not say anything to him about our client possibly being his child. He never knew that he had a daughter out there. The subject was elated, he had always felt that he was selfish for not having any children and it had grown to be one of his deepest regrets. With our clients permission we provided a photo of the client to the subject who said "she is mine, look at that nose." It took a little while but our client reached out to her Father. It almost seemed like fate as my client would be visiting her in-laws that lived in the same area as her Father. Our client met up with her Father and they had a great meeting. Our agency is pleased to watch this family connect and grow through Facebook, seeing the photos and hearing the stories of the client and her Father's similarities has reminded us of the great work that investigators can do.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Are you really a pizza man?
Stop me if you have heard this before. A client needs someone served and they need them served now, the last time they tried to serve the guy he was evasive and they were not able to get it done. They have tried the sheriff, they have tried another server, but now they are going to try you.
These calls are common, we receive them all the time. Now when the subject knows that the client is out to get him, you have to resort to subterfuge and out of the box thinking. Every good investigator/server has a few tricks up their sleeves. We at Morrow Detective Agency have invested in costumes just for these occasions. Costumes allow for you to get through the guards, it allows for you to get within reach enough to get the job done. We get a service out in the Glendale area, we have been warned that this guy probably wont answer the door and that he never answers for anyone and they have not been able to get him and he needs to be served within the next 15 days. So we dig into our bag of tricks and pull out our pizza man costume. Pizza men/women are out every night driving down streets and knocking on doors, and most people answer for them. So we go to the subjects residence and the neighborhood is dark, after walking and even knocking on the wrong door (the neighbor opened the door for us and even pointed us in the right direction) we happen to come up to the walkway right as the subjects wife closes the door. We knock and the wife answers, we ask for the subject and the wife yells for the subject and even adds why did you order a pizza when you knew I had food cooking? The subject looks confused as he approaches our pizza man. The subject is then told that this is not a pizza delivery but a legal document delivery, we give the subject his paperwork and he is not happy, not all. He then ask's are you really a pizza man? We smile and tell him not under normal circumstances, but these were not the normal circumstances. The subject still dazed about the situation shakes his head, asks for the name of our company which we give him, he bids us goodnight and our job has been accomplished.
Our client was extremely happy about this service. It just goes to show that sometimes you have to think outside the box, or maybe even bring one in order to get the job done.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
These calls are common, we receive them all the time. Now when the subject knows that the client is out to get him, you have to resort to subterfuge and out of the box thinking. Every good investigator/server has a few tricks up their sleeves. We at Morrow Detective Agency have invested in costumes just for these occasions. Costumes allow for you to get through the guards, it allows for you to get within reach enough to get the job done. We get a service out in the Glendale area, we have been warned that this guy probably wont answer the door and that he never answers for anyone and they have not been able to get him and he needs to be served within the next 15 days. So we dig into our bag of tricks and pull out our pizza man costume. Pizza men/women are out every night driving down streets and knocking on doors, and most people answer for them. So we go to the subjects residence and the neighborhood is dark, after walking and even knocking on the wrong door (the neighbor opened the door for us and even pointed us in the right direction) we happen to come up to the walkway right as the subjects wife closes the door. We knock and the wife answers, we ask for the subject and the wife yells for the subject and even adds why did you order a pizza when you knew I had food cooking? The subject looks confused as he approaches our pizza man. The subject is then told that this is not a pizza delivery but a legal document delivery, we give the subject his paperwork and he is not happy, not all. He then ask's are you really a pizza man? We smile and tell him not under normal circumstances, but these were not the normal circumstances. The subject still dazed about the situation shakes his head, asks for the name of our company which we give him, he bids us goodnight and our job has been accomplished.
Our client was extremely happy about this service. It just goes to show that sometimes you have to think outside the box, or maybe even bring one in order to get the job done.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
A guy from out of town
Morrow Detective Agency works a wide range of cases, some of those cases delve into the infidelity spectrum. A lot of my clients know who the individual is that their significant other is seeing. They just require the proof and sometimes even the camaraderie of not being alone while dealing with this painful exhibit of betrayal.
A client calls our offices and advises that he believes that his wife may be cheating on him. He knows who the guy is, and believes that the guy will be flying in from New York for a few days. The clients wife has been acting distant and has mentioned that she will be going out of town to sort some things through, she assures the client that she has no intention of meeting or seeing this guy. We start our investigation and observe the woman go to Los Angeles Airport, she waits and is eventually greeted by an unidentified male who fits the description and resemblance of a photograph of our guy from New York. The guy places his luggage in the back of the car and enters and they depart the area. The couple is followed to a nice hotel in the Santa Monica area. They have their vehicle parked by the valet and our investigator follows them into the hotel. They check in and we still do not see any public affection. They enter into their room and our investigator waits down stairs in the lobby area. About an hour and a half later both parties come down, they look fresh and are dressed nicely, they enter into the restaurant area of the hotel and position themselves in an area where they are very much by themselves. The couple are observed sitting closely and holding hands, an intimacy has started occurring. Our investigator decides that it is worth overstepping in order to record this moment. A photograph is obtained. After about another hour and a half the couple go upstairs. We end our surveillance as there is nothing further that we can observe, we did however learn how much the couple paid for their meal and also were able to take a photo of a receipt to prove that the clients wife had in fact been there and had also paid for the meal. On the way out we took photos of the wife's vehicle to show that she was in fact staying overnight at the hotel. We even clarified with the front desk that a reservation for three days had been made.
Our client confronts his wife with the information that was obtained. She immediately apologizes and confesses. Our client is happy because his wife has now acknowledged her wrong doing and has resolved to fix their issues. Infidelity can make a person feel inadequate, paranoid, alone, and depressed. The person that is being cheated on may be berated by the unfaithful party for having suspicions and feeling the way that they do. They often are told that they are crazy, jealous, or controlling. Our client adopted the trust but verify policy when he called us. He hoped that his hiring us would not be fruitful, but he trusted his gut and moved forward. Unfortunately his gut proved to be correct. If you are going through this know that you are not alone, there are people out there that can help you. Just give us a call.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
A client calls our offices and advises that he believes that his wife may be cheating on him. He knows who the guy is, and believes that the guy will be flying in from New York for a few days. The clients wife has been acting distant and has mentioned that she will be going out of town to sort some things through, she assures the client that she has no intention of meeting or seeing this guy. We start our investigation and observe the woman go to Los Angeles Airport, she waits and is eventually greeted by an unidentified male who fits the description and resemblance of a photograph of our guy from New York. The guy places his luggage in the back of the car and enters and they depart the area. The couple is followed to a nice hotel in the Santa Monica area. They have their vehicle parked by the valet and our investigator follows them into the hotel. They check in and we still do not see any public affection. They enter into their room and our investigator waits down stairs in the lobby area. About an hour and a half later both parties come down, they look fresh and are dressed nicely, they enter into the restaurant area of the hotel and position themselves in an area where they are very much by themselves. The couple are observed sitting closely and holding hands, an intimacy has started occurring. Our investigator decides that it is worth overstepping in order to record this moment. A photograph is obtained. After about another hour and a half the couple go upstairs. We end our surveillance as there is nothing further that we can observe, we did however learn how much the couple paid for their meal and also were able to take a photo of a receipt to prove that the clients wife had in fact been there and had also paid for the meal. On the way out we took photos of the wife's vehicle to show that she was in fact staying overnight at the hotel. We even clarified with the front desk that a reservation for three days had been made.
Our client confronts his wife with the information that was obtained. She immediately apologizes and confesses. Our client is happy because his wife has now acknowledged her wrong doing and has resolved to fix their issues. Infidelity can make a person feel inadequate, paranoid, alone, and depressed. The person that is being cheated on may be berated by the unfaithful party for having suspicions and feeling the way that they do. They often are told that they are crazy, jealous, or controlling. Our client adopted the trust but verify policy when he called us. He hoped that his hiring us would not be fruitful, but he trusted his gut and moved forward. Unfortunately his gut proved to be correct. If you are going through this know that you are not alone, there are people out there that can help you. Just give us a call.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Sexual Harassment
Imagine being a young lady, your going to school but like most kids struggling between hitting the books and keeping food in your refrigerator. You take a part time job and try to make friends and keep your social life an active one. All of this sounds like the norm right?
A few years ago I received a case that involved just that as stated above, however this young lady began alleging that one of her supervisors was coming on to her quite strongly. According to the young lady she was a waitress in a restaurant at a popular resort she attended a University in the area and was trying to make ends meet. This young lady we will call her Jane was an attractive young woman, outgoing, friendly, and a little naive to how the world works, but she was nineteen and that is to be expected. Jane was a good worker who often worked whatever extra hours she could grab in between her studies. After a few weeks Jane was going out with her other co-workers to clubs and parties. One of Jane's bosses who we will call David started taking notice to Jane, at first Dave would stop by during the off hours to see how Jane was doing, one of these times Dave asked Jane if she would like to go to a local club that a band was playing at. Jane said yes. Jane shows up at the club thinking that other co-workers were going to be attending this event, but was surprised when Dave advised that she was the only one. Jane did not think anything of the situation and decided to have a good time. As time progressed in the evening Dave had a little to much to drink and stated that he felt Jane was beautiful and he wanted to get to know her better. Jane taking into consideration that Dave was drunk dismissed his attempts of affection.
The following week Dave did not speak with Jane that much until the following Friday. Jane starts receiving text messages from Dave asking if she would like to go out to another club with himself and some other co-workers, Jane stated that she would. Jane shows up and again notices that there are no other co-workers at this particular event. Jane not wanting a repeat of last time makes up an excuse and leaves. Dave texts her later on in the evening asking why she left and and can she come over the next day. Jane ignores the texts. The following Monday Jane is called into Dave's office. Dave tells her that her level of productivity is not where it should be and that she is receiving a warning. Jane was surprised as she had never received any complaints or had any issues in the past while working for the company. Jane feels that she has gotten the wrong end of the stick and complains to Dave's manager. Dave's manager as it turns out is good friends with Dave and he takes Dave's side. Dave proceeds to make Jane's working life a living hell. He starts giving her tasks that are not in her job description, he demands that she stay later in order to get the tasks done. He switches her schedule around so that now it is affecting her school work. A few months and Jane is failing her classes and files for a leave of absence. Jane hires an attorney and the attorney gets in contact with the owner of this company. The owner after finding all of this out hires an investigator and I happen to the be investigator that picks up the case. I interview Jane first in a secluded area at the employers. Jane recounts what had happened but adds some new text messages and phone calls that Dave has made since her leaving the company. In the middle of interviewing Jane, Dave walks into the room, see's her and I, and then walks out. I notice Jane start shivering and becoming despondent. I ask her if she is ok and she nods yes. She states he has been harassing me to the point where I can't sleep, I can't eat, and I have had to withdraw myself from school. I assure Jane that we will substantiate what she has stated has happened, I have her email me the text messages and I record the voice mail messages with the date and time announced.
I next interview Dave's manager who pretty much states that he did not know about a sexual harassment issue until Jane had filed for a leave of absence, that Jane had been a great worker but a couple of months before she filed her work product and activity started diminishing. The manager advises that there is a strict fraternization policy and the managers and employees are not supposed to hang out outside of work and work activities. I interview a bartender at the place of employment who states that he knows for a fact that Jane had complained to the manager prior to the managers recollection because he had went with her to complain due to her being nervous and afraid, he even shows a text that he had with Jane while she waited in the managers office, that text is dated and he emails it over to me. I speak with another employee who had little to offer in regards to the sexual harassment claim but learned that Dave and his manager were really good friends and that Dave was the Godfather of the managers son.
Finally I interview Dave. Dave states that he has not contacted Jane outside of work for anything that was not work related. That Jane has come to work smelling of alcohol and has been doing substandard work. I ask Dave for his employee evaluations for the whole time that Jane has worked at the employer and I note that he had given her rave reviews until about the time that she started accusing him of overstepping his managerial duties. I then play the voice mails that he left for Jane asking for her to come back to work so he can see her pretty face, and how much he missed seeing her walk by his office. I show him the text messages and confirm that his telephone number is the one that sent them saying how lonely he was at night and needing her body next to him to help keep him warm. Dave starts to pale, he then starts to tell his version of the truth. That Jane was hitting on him and he was reciprocating, that he did find he attractive and did not want to get into trouble as he was married and did not want his wife to find out that he and Jane were interested in each other. I asked him why would he continue to contact her when clearly text messages showed that she was not responding. Dave had no reply. I asked him why would he leave voicemail messages for her at 12:00 a.m. and did he have any text messages or voicemails to substantiate his claims. He did not. Dave than did something that has only happened two other times in my career. He breaks down and apologizes for all that he has done. He acknowledges that Jane was telling the truth and that he felt that her kindness towards him was romantic interest. I thanked Dave for his candor and concluded the interview. Dave's best friend asks to see me before I leave their facility. He asked me what I uncovered in my investigation. I tell him. As I tell him I see him get smaller and smaller in his seat. When I tell him that I know that he and Dave have an out of work relationship and that there is confirmation that Jane had complained well before her leave of absence, the manager asks me for my tapes. I tell him that the tapes go straight to the office, copies will be made and the owner will get them.
About two months later I received a call from Jane. Jane tells me that the owner called her and apologized, that he offered to reimburse her for all of her losses and wanted to make her suffering whole. Dave and his manager buddy were no longer working with the company and the company also decided to give Jane a grant for her school funding. This wont erase the embarrassment, the pain, or the humiliation that Jane suffered. But it can help Jane to feel better about the company and do something bigger than that which was afflicted upon her.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
A few years ago I received a case that involved just that as stated above, however this young lady began alleging that one of her supervisors was coming on to her quite strongly. According to the young lady she was a waitress in a restaurant at a popular resort she attended a University in the area and was trying to make ends meet. This young lady we will call her Jane was an attractive young woman, outgoing, friendly, and a little naive to how the world works, but she was nineteen and that is to be expected. Jane was a good worker who often worked whatever extra hours she could grab in between her studies. After a few weeks Jane was going out with her other co-workers to clubs and parties. One of Jane's bosses who we will call David started taking notice to Jane, at first Dave would stop by during the off hours to see how Jane was doing, one of these times Dave asked Jane if she would like to go to a local club that a band was playing at. Jane said yes. Jane shows up at the club thinking that other co-workers were going to be attending this event, but was surprised when Dave advised that she was the only one. Jane did not think anything of the situation and decided to have a good time. As time progressed in the evening Dave had a little to much to drink and stated that he felt Jane was beautiful and he wanted to get to know her better. Jane taking into consideration that Dave was drunk dismissed his attempts of affection.
The following week Dave did not speak with Jane that much until the following Friday. Jane starts receiving text messages from Dave asking if she would like to go out to another club with himself and some other co-workers, Jane stated that she would. Jane shows up and again notices that there are no other co-workers at this particular event. Jane not wanting a repeat of last time makes up an excuse and leaves. Dave texts her later on in the evening asking why she left and and can she come over the next day. Jane ignores the texts. The following Monday Jane is called into Dave's office. Dave tells her that her level of productivity is not where it should be and that she is receiving a warning. Jane was surprised as she had never received any complaints or had any issues in the past while working for the company. Jane feels that she has gotten the wrong end of the stick and complains to Dave's manager. Dave's manager as it turns out is good friends with Dave and he takes Dave's side. Dave proceeds to make Jane's working life a living hell. He starts giving her tasks that are not in her job description, he demands that she stay later in order to get the tasks done. He switches her schedule around so that now it is affecting her school work. A few months and Jane is failing her classes and files for a leave of absence. Jane hires an attorney and the attorney gets in contact with the owner of this company. The owner after finding all of this out hires an investigator and I happen to the be investigator that picks up the case. I interview Jane first in a secluded area at the employers. Jane recounts what had happened but adds some new text messages and phone calls that Dave has made since her leaving the company. In the middle of interviewing Jane, Dave walks into the room, see's her and I, and then walks out. I notice Jane start shivering and becoming despondent. I ask her if she is ok and she nods yes. She states he has been harassing me to the point where I can't sleep, I can't eat, and I have had to withdraw myself from school. I assure Jane that we will substantiate what she has stated has happened, I have her email me the text messages and I record the voice mail messages with the date and time announced.
I next interview Dave's manager who pretty much states that he did not know about a sexual harassment issue until Jane had filed for a leave of absence, that Jane had been a great worker but a couple of months before she filed her work product and activity started diminishing. The manager advises that there is a strict fraternization policy and the managers and employees are not supposed to hang out outside of work and work activities. I interview a bartender at the place of employment who states that he knows for a fact that Jane had complained to the manager prior to the managers recollection because he had went with her to complain due to her being nervous and afraid, he even shows a text that he had with Jane while she waited in the managers office, that text is dated and he emails it over to me. I speak with another employee who had little to offer in regards to the sexual harassment claim but learned that Dave and his manager were really good friends and that Dave was the Godfather of the managers son.
Finally I interview Dave. Dave states that he has not contacted Jane outside of work for anything that was not work related. That Jane has come to work smelling of alcohol and has been doing substandard work. I ask Dave for his employee evaluations for the whole time that Jane has worked at the employer and I note that he had given her rave reviews until about the time that she started accusing him of overstepping his managerial duties. I then play the voice mails that he left for Jane asking for her to come back to work so he can see her pretty face, and how much he missed seeing her walk by his office. I show him the text messages and confirm that his telephone number is the one that sent them saying how lonely he was at night and needing her body next to him to help keep him warm. Dave starts to pale, he then starts to tell his version of the truth. That Jane was hitting on him and he was reciprocating, that he did find he attractive and did not want to get into trouble as he was married and did not want his wife to find out that he and Jane were interested in each other. I asked him why would he continue to contact her when clearly text messages showed that she was not responding. Dave had no reply. I asked him why would he leave voicemail messages for her at 12:00 a.m. and did he have any text messages or voicemails to substantiate his claims. He did not. Dave than did something that has only happened two other times in my career. He breaks down and apologizes for all that he has done. He acknowledges that Jane was telling the truth and that he felt that her kindness towards him was romantic interest. I thanked Dave for his candor and concluded the interview. Dave's best friend asks to see me before I leave their facility. He asked me what I uncovered in my investigation. I tell him. As I tell him I see him get smaller and smaller in his seat. When I tell him that I know that he and Dave have an out of work relationship and that there is confirmation that Jane had complained well before her leave of absence, the manager asks me for my tapes. I tell him that the tapes go straight to the office, copies will be made and the owner will get them.
About two months later I received a call from Jane. Jane tells me that the owner called her and apologized, that he offered to reimburse her for all of her losses and wanted to make her suffering whole. Dave and his manager buddy were no longer working with the company and the company also decided to give Jane a grant for her school funding. This wont erase the embarrassment, the pain, or the humiliation that Jane suffered. But it can help Jane to feel better about the company and do something bigger than that which was afflicted upon her.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Stealing in the name of the Lord
These are hard times, and often enough some of us cling to our religions to seek spiritual fulfillment and guidance. Because of the feeling of community and in some religions the teachings of giving some people easily fall pray to the vultures that are out there waiting for them. Below is a case that illustrates how some can be preyed upon and what they could have done to prevent it.
One Thursday afternoon our offices received a call from an attorney that we occasionally do some work for. The attorney has a client that is in dire need of locating someone that has conned and swindled them out of thousands of dollars. Our investigator Steve Morrow called the clients and made arrangements to meet with them at their residence the following morning. The following morning our investigator met with the two clients they were both elderly and heavily involved with their church. The clients explain that they had recently come into some money and a minister that was visiting their church had started speaking to them about investing into a recording project that he was working on. The minister advised our clients that the project would bring in several million dollars and that they would receive not only their investment back, but also 2% of the returns for the sales and cd royalties from the project.The minister further made things appealing by stating that our clients church would also benefit from this transactions with new vans that would be purchased and donated to the church in honor of our clients. Our clients mulled the idea over and finally relented and made a deal.
The minister and a business associate met with our clients at our clients bank, our clients asked the minister how the check should be addressed and the minister stated in their name. Our client acquiesced to their request and received a cashiers check from their bank, the minister cashed the check and gave half of the money over to his associate. At first the minister kept in touch with my clients, calling them and even visiting their church. But soon other people started asking questions about the project, the minister would make an excuse and eventually stopped receiving calls and going to the church altogether.
A few months later the client gets in touch with an attorney, and the attorney had the clients call us. Our investigator immediately called the minister in an effort to see whether the minister was still using the same con. Utilizing a suitable pretext, the minister began to try and sell our investigator on the same exact scam that he did with our clients, our clients who were hearing the conversation over speaker phone listened. Our client even wrote down questions that they wanted answers to, the minister answered their questions which would help them secure more evidence to present to the judge. After 20 minutes of trying to con our investigator, our investigator exited the conversation with the probability of a call back. The only difference in the conversation between the minister and our investigator was the buy in price, the minister was asking our investigator for $20,000. At this point our investigator advises the client as to what needs to be done and we start working on our case.
Approximately three weeks later our offices have located the minister, we have also located other cases that the minister has been involved in. Now we are standing outside of the ministers door ready with some legal documents that will be needed in order to initiate a law suit against the minister. We knock on the door and an elderly woman about 80 plus answers the door, she advises that she is the ministers mother and that the minister is not in at the moment but will be coming back home later to take her to the doctors office, not wanting to press the issue and now confirming where the minister resides, our investigator decides to wait until the one day where most ministers in this religion do their work, Sunday. The following Sunday morning our investigator arrives at the ministers residence, the sun has not come out yet, but knowing that this is church day we did not want to risk losing the minister. At approximately 7:30 our investigator approaches the ministers residence and hears gospel music being played loudly from the inside of the residence. Our investigator knocks on the door, the door creaks open and the older lady from our previous attempt is observed through the crack of the door, suspicion immediately shows in her face and our investigator explains that we need to speak with the minister, she advises that the minister is asleep right now. At this time we have tried to sit and wait a few times, we advise that the minister is being sued and that we have paperwork for him, the mother gets really upset and yells that she is not accepting the paperwork, at this time our investigator had obtained photographs of the lady and respectfully placed the papers on the doorstep and took photographs of them.
On the way back to our offices our investigators phone rings, our client calls and says that the minister has been calling all morning and has left several messages. Our client asks us what should be done, we advise that the client should tell the minister to pay up, that all that is done in the dark will come to light and until the minister gives a full refund. Our client made several mistakes in this case, had they run a background investigation they would have found that this minister has committed these type of crimes in the past. Also they should never have issued the minister a check in the ministers name, the minister stated that they represent an organization, our clients should have addressed the check to the organization. Our client should have made more of an effort to know exactly how the ministers business was run, where it was located, who worked for the business, and also obtained weekly reports on the project. Our client just felt that since this was a minister and was a purported person of God, they should automatically be believed, unfortunately they learned that this minister was stealing from the Lord.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
One Thursday afternoon our offices received a call from an attorney that we occasionally do some work for. The attorney has a client that is in dire need of locating someone that has conned and swindled them out of thousands of dollars. Our investigator Steve Morrow called the clients and made arrangements to meet with them at their residence the following morning. The following morning our investigator met with the two clients they were both elderly and heavily involved with their church. The clients explain that they had recently come into some money and a minister that was visiting their church had started speaking to them about investing into a recording project that he was working on. The minister advised our clients that the project would bring in several million dollars and that they would receive not only their investment back, but also 2% of the returns for the sales and cd royalties from the project.The minister further made things appealing by stating that our clients church would also benefit from this transactions with new vans that would be purchased and donated to the church in honor of our clients. Our clients mulled the idea over and finally relented and made a deal.
The minister and a business associate met with our clients at our clients bank, our clients asked the minister how the check should be addressed and the minister stated in their name. Our client acquiesced to their request and received a cashiers check from their bank, the minister cashed the check and gave half of the money over to his associate. At first the minister kept in touch with my clients, calling them and even visiting their church. But soon other people started asking questions about the project, the minister would make an excuse and eventually stopped receiving calls and going to the church altogether.
A few months later the client gets in touch with an attorney, and the attorney had the clients call us. Our investigator immediately called the minister in an effort to see whether the minister was still using the same con. Utilizing a suitable pretext, the minister began to try and sell our investigator on the same exact scam that he did with our clients, our clients who were hearing the conversation over speaker phone listened. Our client even wrote down questions that they wanted answers to, the minister answered their questions which would help them secure more evidence to present to the judge. After 20 minutes of trying to con our investigator, our investigator exited the conversation with the probability of a call back. The only difference in the conversation between the minister and our investigator was the buy in price, the minister was asking our investigator for $20,000. At this point our investigator advises the client as to what needs to be done and we start working on our case.
Approximately three weeks later our offices have located the minister, we have also located other cases that the minister has been involved in. Now we are standing outside of the ministers door ready with some legal documents that will be needed in order to initiate a law suit against the minister. We knock on the door and an elderly woman about 80 plus answers the door, she advises that she is the ministers mother and that the minister is not in at the moment but will be coming back home later to take her to the doctors office, not wanting to press the issue and now confirming where the minister resides, our investigator decides to wait until the one day where most ministers in this religion do their work, Sunday. The following Sunday morning our investigator arrives at the ministers residence, the sun has not come out yet, but knowing that this is church day we did not want to risk losing the minister. At approximately 7:30 our investigator approaches the ministers residence and hears gospel music being played loudly from the inside of the residence. Our investigator knocks on the door, the door creaks open and the older lady from our previous attempt is observed through the crack of the door, suspicion immediately shows in her face and our investigator explains that we need to speak with the minister, she advises that the minister is asleep right now. At this time we have tried to sit and wait a few times, we advise that the minister is being sued and that we have paperwork for him, the mother gets really upset and yells that she is not accepting the paperwork, at this time our investigator had obtained photographs of the lady and respectfully placed the papers on the doorstep and took photographs of them.
On the way back to our offices our investigators phone rings, our client calls and says that the minister has been calling all morning and has left several messages. Our client asks us what should be done, we advise that the client should tell the minister to pay up, that all that is done in the dark will come to light and until the minister gives a full refund. Our client made several mistakes in this case, had they run a background investigation they would have found that this minister has committed these type of crimes in the past. Also they should never have issued the minister a check in the ministers name, the minister stated that they represent an organization, our clients should have addressed the check to the organization. Our client should have made more of an effort to know exactly how the ministers business was run, where it was located, who worked for the business, and also obtained weekly reports on the project. Our client just felt that since this was a minister and was a purported person of God, they should automatically be believed, unfortunately they learned that this minister was stealing from the Lord.
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Reflections 2014
Being a private investigator is one of the professions where what you do or don't do matters. This year Morrow Detective Agency has reunited four families, kept one person from going to jail for a crime that they did not commit, exposed multiple insurance fraudsters, and caught some cheating spouses. The hundreds of cases that we have worked this year have largely been successful. But it is the cases that we have not been able to resolve that stick in our minds.
For instance a man was adopted out as a baby, he is now in his fifties, has some information about his mother, this man does not have the means to pay for our services, so our company wanting to give back to the community at large, decided to take on this case at no charge (we accept three cases a year that we do not charge for). We search for this man's Mother, call hundreds of women sharing his mothers first and middle name. We contact attorneys, we search public records, we bang on the wall, bang some more, and unfortunately find that we do not have the tools to take the wall down-at least not right now. We never truly stop working on these cases, right now as we speak, it sits on my desk positioned in a way that it stares at me and lets me know that we haven't looked everywhere because if we had we would have found her. In addition to this case for this individual we do find a family member, but that family member unfortunately does not want to have anything to do with the client. The case is not hopeless, it just needs time and some more work.
However if you only dwell on your failings, you can go crazy. On Christmas day a client that we reunited with her father sent me photos of herself and her father, she also sent photos of her Uncles, and her Aunts. The smile on her face makes the whole year a success for us. The emails that we received from clients thanking us for our extra efforts and stating that because of what we did they were able to get a successful conclusion on their end, reminds us that what we do matters. The young man that is walking free after being accused for a crime that he did not commit embracing his freedom and the opportunity to be able to spend time with his family a and friends reminds us that our families are important, they are the ones that will stick with you when every one else turns around and runs. The wife who got what she needed from our agency in order to proceed forward and divorce her husband that was cheating on her, reminds us that even in the darkest of situations there is still hope and good things can come from the bad.
So here is hoping that 2015 will be bigger, better, and more challenging than 2014, that all of us are reminded of the things that matter most to us. That we all have the tools needed in order to break down whatever walls are holding us back. We at Morrow Detective Agency would like to say thank you to our clients, to our friends that have been following us on Facebook, on Twitter, and reading our blog. Thank you to everyone that has referred us over to someone that did not think that they could get the answers they needed. You all's esteem in us is what has helped us help others. Thank you all and may 2015 be healthy and prosperous for you!
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
For instance a man was adopted out as a baby, he is now in his fifties, has some information about his mother, this man does not have the means to pay for our services, so our company wanting to give back to the community at large, decided to take on this case at no charge (we accept three cases a year that we do not charge for). We search for this man's Mother, call hundreds of women sharing his mothers first and middle name. We contact attorneys, we search public records, we bang on the wall, bang some more, and unfortunately find that we do not have the tools to take the wall down-at least not right now. We never truly stop working on these cases, right now as we speak, it sits on my desk positioned in a way that it stares at me and lets me know that we haven't looked everywhere because if we had we would have found her. In addition to this case for this individual we do find a family member, but that family member unfortunately does not want to have anything to do with the client. The case is not hopeless, it just needs time and some more work.
However if you only dwell on your failings, you can go crazy. On Christmas day a client that we reunited with her father sent me photos of herself and her father, she also sent photos of her Uncles, and her Aunts. The smile on her face makes the whole year a success for us. The emails that we received from clients thanking us for our extra efforts and stating that because of what we did they were able to get a successful conclusion on their end, reminds us that what we do matters. The young man that is walking free after being accused for a crime that he did not commit embracing his freedom and the opportunity to be able to spend time with his family a and friends reminds us that our families are important, they are the ones that will stick with you when every one else turns around and runs. The wife who got what she needed from our agency in order to proceed forward and divorce her husband that was cheating on her, reminds us that even in the darkest of situations there is still hope and good things can come from the bad.
So here is hoping that 2015 will be bigger, better, and more challenging than 2014, that all of us are reminded of the things that matter most to us. That we all have the tools needed in order to break down whatever walls are holding us back. We at Morrow Detective Agency would like to say thank you to our clients, to our friends that have been following us on Facebook, on Twitter, and reading our blog. Thank you to everyone that has referred us over to someone that did not think that they could get the answers they needed. You all's esteem in us is what has helped us help others. Thank you all and may 2015 be healthy and prosperous for you!
Morrow Detective Agency is a licensed private investigation firm located on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles, Ca in Simi Valley, CA. Morrow Detective Agency is capable of performing surveillance, process service, locates, background investigations, asset investigations, and more. Please feel free to visit our website at www.MorrowDetectiveAgency.com or give us a call at (805) 823-3540 and allow us to make your problem our solution!
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