Reflections 2016

Happy New Year everyone, I know, we are a little late. But our sentiment remains the same. When one decides to become a private investigator you take on many different roles. You take on the role as a counselor. You take on the role as an advocate. You take on the role as a problem solver. And sometimes when things go right, you become your clients champion. 

As we reflect on our 2016 year, we realize how blessed we have been to close two decades old cold cases. Two foundlings, one of which was our own Rosie Morrow's case, and the other of a gentlemen who became not just a client but a friend. He saw Rosie's case on the news and enlisted our services to try and help him as well. We have helped in tipping the scales of justice by obtaining evidence that showed that the wrong person was being held behind bars for a crime that they did not commit.  We have caught those that attempted to cause fraud to our insurance system by claiming to be injured when they did not appear to be when they thought no one was watching. 

We have received the greatest gifts, photo's of clients that were reunited with their children after years of not seeing them and fighting to have those moments with them. We cherish these at the greatest compliment, knowing that God has decided to bless us with the opportunity to be an agent of change in these peoples lives. We have helped spouses who suspected that their spouses were cheating, delivering the bad news at times, but also sometimes delivering the good news that no infidelity was occurring. We have helped get people answers, whether they were the facts that they wanted to see or not. Small changes, but priceless to those that needed to know. 

While we reflect on the cases that we were able to bring to a successful conclusion, we have to acknowledge the ones that still remain cold. The cases whose folders still remain on our desktops as a constant reminder that we have not looked everywhere. They not only illuminate on our computer screens but also in our minds. A reminder that someone is still in pain, that their answers still remain unknown. 

One of those cases is that of a young woman who only has photograph of her father that she recently obtained from her mother. Her mother, who is not a fan of her search efforts for her father  only provided minimal information for she does not want to revisit that part of her life. Her Mother maybe knowingly or unknowingly, holds the key to unlocking the door that will lead us to her daughters father. 

We also think of an adoption case. A biracial woman who we assisted in locating her mother. Her mother a Caucasian woman from the south, lacked any empathy or desire to help her now grown up daughter. Shutting down and refusing to answer questions about the why, or also as importantly, the who her father is.  My client is hoping to connect with him. DNA may be the gateway for solving that case. That case is currently waiting for Ancestry DNA results to move forward. 

Already 2017 has presented us with the opportunities to reunite family, to help those that feel that justice has been fleeting. It has been a pleasure to be of service to those of you in 2016 and before. We appreciate you allowing us to be apart of your story. We at Morrow Detective Agency hope that you have a blessed and successful New Year!

Beauty through the cracks

It's an early sunday morning in the tenderloin district in San Francisco, the fog is just starting to dissipate. Our investigator is waiting eagerly for a facility that specializes in helping mentally and physically disabled women get back on their feet to open. Today after two months of investigating is the end of a case that has been a lifetime of questions for a client.  

Morrow Detective Agency is honored to take on pro bono cases, especially ones that involve putting a family back together or helping the innocent regain what is theirs. We were tasked to help a client locate their Mother that they had been taken away from when they were young. Back in the late eighties a woman who was a former decorated military soldier had started making a family, unfortunately as her family was forming she started her bout with schizophrenia. This eternal battle that she was stricken with eventually led to her losing custody of her children. My client was placed into the system and eventually with another family. As time went by the client wondered about her parents as well as her siblings. 

The client was lucky to meet some wonderful genealogists who were able to assist her with getting clues, she reached out to the state and was able to get a copy of her birth certificate. But that is where the biggest part of the puzzle formed, the name on the birth certificate seemed to belong to a person who no longer existed. At this point our company was contacted and we decided to do what we could. A thorough search was conducted and we were able to discern that the woman had in fact changed her name. A search on that name produced a history of a transient lifestyle, it also showed other of the client's siblings coming in and out of the mother's life. Eventually our search led us to San Francisco. We placed phone calls and found out that the Mother had gotten hold of her illness and was residing in a place for homeless women who have mental or physical disabilities. We attempted to find a good number for the women but all the numbers we had came back disconnected. We called the manager of the building and asked that they pass over a message to their tenant. 

Two months go by with no word back from the mother. The questions of course are still ever prevalent, did the subject not want to be connected to her family? Did the manager fail to pass on our message over to her? Had the subject relapsed into her illness and not be able to discern reality from illusions? The only way to find out would be to go up to the city by the bay and see for ourselves. 

On this Sunday morning our investigator is told that they will not allow visitors into the building until after 8 o clock. The neighborhood that the woman resides in is not the best, however sometimes if you allow yourself the time to see past your fears, you can observe some great things. While walking through the neighborhood we observed a man going from doorway to doorway with a broom and a bag, cleaning his neighbors doorway. We observe a man running to a donut shop and coming out and handing a homeless man a warm donut. Through the dirt and grime and the feeling of dismay of how a country as rich as ours is can have streets like this in it, there was beauty. 

8 o clock comes and we are admitted into the building, a small Asian woman with kind eyes asks our investigator if we can help her get her mail, which she has to stand on her tip toes in order to get. We gladly assisted her and she led us to the old school lift. We asked if she knew the woman we were searching for and said that she did. She said that the woman was nice but kept to herself. Our investigator get's off on the second floor and the small woman smiles and wishes the investigator a great day. Room 219 was located at the end of the hallway,  as we walk through the hallway some of the women that were greeting each other got quite and gave us suspicious stares. We get to the unit and knock on the door and after a moment the door cracks open partially. We explain to the woman who we are and more importantly who we are there for. We say the name of her child, the name on the birth certificate that has since changed and the woman corrects us. A light of recognition is in her eyes. She opens the doorway and though still guarded comes out and is ready to hear the rest. After explaining why we were there she simply asked what does the client want to know? We tell her that the client want's to know if she is ok? The woman smiles and says that she is. We ask the woman if it will be ok for the client to call her. The woman sadly shakes her head, she unfortunately cannot afford a telephone. The woman said that either the client is going to have to write her or come down and see her. But she was more than willing to speak with her.  We ask the woman if she would be willing to allow for us to take her picture so that the client can see her. The woman gladly has her picture taken. After a few more minutes of idle chit chat about San Francisco our investigator tells the woman goodbye and we depart the city by the bay. We pass on the confirmation of finding the mother to the client who is ecstatic and making arrangements to communicate with her

All we can hope is that the Mother will be able to continue to gain ground against her illness and that her family will all one day be reunited. It is easy to look at the surface of things and think that is the only thing worth seeing, however if you just take a moment and study things you may see the beauty that has slipped through the cracks. 

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!

 

The one that got away

We often start our blog with one day a client called. Well today, we are not going to disappoint. One day a male client called. He needed for us to find a woman that he used to know. As is our normal screening process for these type of request, we asked the client about his story. The client was originally from a mid-western state. While working for a manufacturing plant he started getting close to a woman who worked as an office manager. The woman was pretty and had an outgoing personality. The client and the woman would spend time together on breaks and would make the occasional phone call. After a while the client and the woman got to be close, unfortunately the client was called to move to the west coast and eventually fell out of touch with the woman. Fast forward approximately 23 years. The man is no longer in a relationship that he started here on the west coast. He reflects as we all have a tendency to do about happy times, and the people that were around.

After providing us with his story, we advised the client that we have certain rules that we strictly adhere to when working on these type of reunification cases. The primary rule is that we will complete a reunification if both parties agree to it.  If the target ( the person we are seeking) does not want to be reunited with the individual than we don't provide our client with their contact information. This protects the target from being stalked, the client from becoming a stalker, and our company from the nightmare of helping someone put themselves in the position to do someone some harm. The client of course had some questions about this, his main question was how would he know that we had successfully concluded our job if the target declined to be contacted by the target. We advised him that we request that the target goes on recorded record to state that they do not wish to be contacted by the target. The client agreed to our terms and provided us the information that we would need in order to get started on his case. 

Imagine searching for someone with an extremely common name, something like Jane Smith. Well our client was searching for a similar common name. The only saving grace with this case was he had an approximate age range. Not a birthday, but a decent age range. We searched for the target with the given parameters and came up with 5 potential subjects. The first subject was in Iowa, further investigating showed that she worked as a dispatcher and was married. A soft inquiry was made and we were able to determine that she was not the Jane that we were searching for. The next Jane we caught up to had three children and was divorced. She coincidentally also was an office manager. However after speaking with her we were able to determine that she did not know our client. The other two remaining targets were the same, not the right people. The last name on the list was the one that we were hoping to avoid, this Jane had unfortunately passed away.  We were able to determine some of our findings by speaking with her mother who confirmed that she did work for the company that our target had worked for. We also were able to locate an online obituary that had a picture on the front cover. 

After compiling all of this information we had to do the hardest part of the job. We presented it to our client. Our client was shocked when he heard the information. He stated that he had known that she was having some challenges before she left and he wanted us to find out how she died. He felt that she may have fallen victim to foul play. The following morning we made our inquiries and found out that the she had in fact been a victim of foul play, but to herself. She had unfortunately committed suicide. This news devastated our client.  It was not what he had planned to hear, it certainly was not the ending that he was hoping for. Our client filled up with regret, he felt that he could have been the one to change this ending of her story. Unfortunately she became the one who will forever be the one that got away. 

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!

No refunds for the lonely

Being single in modern times is tough, you open up social media and are inundated with photographs of seemingly happy couples, or post's of couples being at romantic places. Most of us do not want to be alone. We weren't designed to be so. 

A client of mine called one evening. She had met a gentlemen online through another friends Facebook page. After chatting with this person, both online and on the phone she started to get some feelings for him. The man advised my client that he was a widower, his wife died of a heart attack last year, and he was left to raise their minor aged daughter alone. The man was finally going through his grieving process and was ready to find someone to move forward with in his life. My client wanting companionship as well,  and was delighted that this mans desires matched her own. After a short while things started to slowly change. The man told my client that he sometimes has to fly out of the country on business and that he would be going to Nigeria on a trip. 

While out of the country my client and her paramour continue to keep in touch. They speak daily and the man starts to ingratiate himself into her life. One day the man calls my client and says that he is in need of her help. As she knew he was out of the country but his daughter was at his sister's house and he needed some money to send to her for her birthday party, would she mind sending $100.00 to help him out? My client happily wires the money to his sister so that his daughter could have a great birthday party. Another couple of weeks go by and the man calls my client again, this time he has been robbed of some money and he is trying to get out of the country to go to his next place of business. He asks if she could please send him $500.00 to help him out? My client goes to the store and wired him the additional $500.00.

Another week goes by and the man is keeping in touch with my client. As they are cementing plans to meet face to face, tragedy strikes again. The man is stuck out of the country and needs money to pay for a new passport to go back home, he states that he is being held on the continent and will need an additional $5000.00 in order to come home. At this point my client becomes highly suspicious, she calls our offices and gives us the name, address, telephone number, deceased wife's name, and the name of the mans daughter. Before she continues on with this she wants to make sure that he is who he says he is and that everything is legit. Normally when a detective agency is supplied with all of this information we are able to pull in a lot of results. Well that did not happen, in fact, there was nothing, the name and date of birth could not be found in any databases. The address that he said he bought and lived in, could not be found anywhere, no county recorders recorders or tax records. The telephone number came back with no subscriber information, this usually indicates a prepaid burner phone. No deceased wife as well. The biggest kicker was when we were able to take his social media photographs and link them to different accounts with different names. We also were able to locate stories about him specifically and were able to find real photos of the con artist. 

Obviously by now you can see that this is fraud. My client was being strung along and taken for a ride. Once we reported our findings to her, our client became upset. She confronted the man with what we found and the man lied about it to the end, he even stated that he wanted to speak with the investigator and asked if the client had something for the investigator. But by this time it was too late the client saw through his charade, unfortunately there are no refunds for the lonely though, since anything you wire overseas comes with a warning. Hopefully someone out there will read this and not be taken advantage of, if you are going through this or you know of someone who is we encourage you to speak with either law enforcement or a professional licensed investigator. Thankfully my client contacted us before she was thousands of dollars in the hole. Some people aren't that lucky. 

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!

She just keeps disappearing

We have written about these type of cases before, however this one has some differences. We were first contacted by this client at the beginning of the year, the client's ex wife was keeping a minor aged child from him, despite a court order stating that he has the right for visitation. The client's family had hired a different investigation company and they were unable to locate the woman. The client was able to subpoena the woman's records and found out that she was in the Southern California area. We immediately ran the woman through our databases but found nothing but old address information. When you are in these type of situations you ask who else would have this information? Does the subject have any close relatives or friends? Utilizing a pretext on the subjects Mother led us to her. We found her vehicle parked in front of a residence and after sitting and waiting around the subject came out accompanied by her and our client's child. We happily reported back to our client that we located the subject, the next few weeks our agency spent time serving her and other occupants of the residence. They go to court and our client is able to win more time as well as orders that she cannot withhold her residency information from the client. All is good...or so we thought.

A few months later we get another call from the client, the client needs for us to confirm whether the subject still resides at the address or whether she has moved. After several trips over to the subjects residence we finally make contact with a subject who confirmed that the woman moved a month and a half ago. We report back to our client of our findings, we again run the woman through databases, this time the databases showed her address that we had found, but due to her just moving a short time ago, they had not caught up to her new address. At this point the woman is investigator savvy, She knows the tricks of the trade, or at least how she was found last time, so a pretext to her and her relatives yielded no results. Now we have options, here, we can wait for the databases to catch up, we can sit and wait at a relatives house around the holidays and try and tail her from there, or we can wait for the mandatory visitation that she has to bring the minor to, and try and follow her home from there. We went with the third option, and the third option led us to place in the valley area. We happily report back to our client where the woman is now residing and more importantly, where his child is living when the child is not with him.

We often wonder why grown people would act this way? Outside of abuse, whether it be physical, sexual, or verbal, it is not ok to with hold a child from either parent. Even if that parent is falling short or late on child support. Surely if the tables were turned the mother of this child would not appreciate having to jump through hurdles in order to do what is her God given right, be a part of her child's life. So we present a question to you, do you think that this is ok, if so why, if not why?

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!

Selfish

In the world of divorce or broken relationships one thing is forever prevalent. Greed. Well let me retract, maybe not all of the time, but definitely more often than not. Private investigators are utilized a lot in custody cases specifically. The scenarios can vary, they can go from investigating allegations of abused time and neglect, allegations of one of the parents not working, allegations that the other parents significant other is not good or fit to be around the kids...etc. Or it can boil down to just being greedy and not wanting to share time with the other parent for personal reasons.

One day our offices were retained by an attorney client to assist in locating a woman who had taken of with her and the client's child. The client had been trying to see his child for the past year and every time he got close the woman would take off and her family would help in hiding her. Normally we are skeptical with these cases due to the amount of abuse and stalking that is going on in the world, however we conducted a background investigation on the client and found nothing that would indicate that abuse had occurred. After taking down the information that the client had provided to his attorney we set out to locate the woman and her daughter. Database searches were not able to pull up any new information. We utilized pretext calls to no avail. Finally after continuing to hit brick wall after brick wall our we decided to locate the woman's Mother. Most Mom's know where their kids are living. We sat on the Mother's residence for a couple of days and finally the woman and her child showed up. We quickly took a photograph of the woman and the child. The woman left the child and we followed her to her place of employment. We were able to determine what time her shift would end and came back at the end of the shift time. The woman was followed back to her Mother's residence and then after picking up the child, to her residence. The following morning we reported our findings back to our client. The client decided that they would like for our investigators to serve papers on the woman to initiate reunification and custodial time. 

A couple days later we went to the woman's residence and knocked, we heard noises in the residence and even heard the t.v. volume get turned down, but no one responded to our inquiry. We decided that we would attempt service at the woman's place of employment since she obviously was not opening the door or attempting to interact with anyone. The following morning our investigator waited for the woman to show up at work, when she did we served papers on her and even took a photograph since the woman was refusing service. We filed the paperwork with the court, including the picture, and the woman never showed up. The judge issued orders for a slow reunification, my client would be able to see his daughter every Saturday for eight hours, this would take place for about a month and half and then the time would get extended. The only problem was that these new orders needed to get served on the defendant, our offices attempted services again and the woman was no longer living at her residence, we went to her job and found out that she had quit her job as well. One of the employees feeling empathy to my client's situation advised that the woman moved out of state down south. We reported this back to the client's attorney and the attorney decided to sit on the case and wait a while. 

The following year our offices were contacted and we were requested to locate the woman as the client heard that she was being seen around town. Taking a short cut from our prior experience we waited at her Mother's house and sure enough she showed up. We again attempted to serve her but she denied the paperwork, this time we not only took photographs but also recorded the attempt. Our investigator had to go to court and give testimony and show supportive evidence, the judge found the woman in contempt of court but unfortunately she did not want to involve law enforcement as she felt that this would have a negative impact on the child. I guess the other negative impact, the child growing up without a father was not as serious or at least not considered to be as serious.  

Another year goes by, our offices are contacted by the client directly, he tells us that he knows where his child is going to school and he needs the woman served again, this time the judge was putting orders for full custody for my client due to the woman's blatant disregard for the system. We again waited around and finally got the paperwork to the woman for the third time. This time the woman accepted the paperwork, she even asked for our client's phone number which was in the documents. A funny and amazing thing happened after that. The woman called my client and arranged for him to see his child. After that day the client and his child have grown closer and he has been able to be a part of the child's life. We recently received a photograph of the client with his child. 

We don't know why this woman kept her child's father from being a part of the child's life, we don't know what prompted the woman to change her mind. But we do know that the look in the child's face and the look in our client's eye tells us that no reason outside of abuse is enough. The damage of kids growing up without their parents is unacceptable. It has been proven that children grow up to be better balanced and more successful when both parents are actively engaged in their lives. We at Morrow Detective Agency hope that more people will take that into consideration before going the selfish route. 

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!

Dealing with the mentally ill

In this line of work you are bound to come into contact with people that are mentally ill. In insurance fraud cases you may get hired to conduct surveillance to determine whether someone's lifestyle is reflective of what they or their attorney's are alleging it to be. You may receive a call from a potential client who says that they are hearing voices inside their homes, or that every time they come home things are missing or are being moved around. You may also get the call that someone is being followed or they feel that they are being watched. Dealing with these cases takes a certain amount of empathy and sometimes being open minded. 

In 2010 we worked a case in the Oakland, California area. The insurance adjuster needed to know where a claimant was residing as the information that they had on the claimant was sketchy. Normally with cases like these you start with a place that you know that the person will be and follow them home. On this day our investigator goes to a doctors office located in the Jack London Square area. The claimant arrived approximately 15 minutes before the appointment. The claimant looked like he had fallen on rough times. Once our investigator was able to confirm that this was the claimant, we positioned ourselves in area that we could follow the claimant from the appointment. About 40 minutes later the claimant exited the building and we started to follow him. The claimant walked and continued walking for approximately 2 miles. As he walked we noted that he appeared to be having a conversation, but with no one in particular, our investigator used a camera to zoom in to see if the claimant was using a blue tooth but he was found to not be using one. The claimant eventually arrived at a shelter, he got into line and entered into the shelter where he was out of view for approximately 30 minutes. The claimant then exited the shelter and our investigator noted that he had a paper bag in his hand, he walked for a short while and then was observed laying down on the sidewalk under a freeway bridge. The claimant ate his food and continued to converse with himself. Our investigator watched the claimant for approximately  four hours before hearing back from the adjuster, the adjuster advised our investigator to discontinue the surveillance, and they also would not  need to pursue any more surveillance on this subject as he had a psychological claim. 

In 2013 our offices were referred a case in the Gardena, California area. We were advised that the client believed that her house was being bugged and that someone had also placed a camera within the residence. Our investigator arrived at the client's residence and upon arrival immediately noticed aluminum foil in the windows, light fixtures, and covering the electrical outlets. Our investigator started searching the apartment for wireless camera's and listening devices, while we were conducting our investigation the client became more and more agitated, she stated that she had immigrated to the United States and believed that the President was spying on her. She also advised that the President himself had installed camera equipment into her residence. Our investigator continued looking through the residence and found nothing to support her claim of the President or anyone for that matter watching her. Our investigator noted that the client had pictures of her daughter in the residence and inquired about that relationship, the client called her daughter and requested that we speak with her. Our investigator spoke with the daughter who stated that her mother had been suffering from mental health issues for a while and asked that our offices do what we can to help her. After hanging up with the client's daughter we devised a plan. We told the client where she could get anti bugging equipment and showed her how we used the equipment. We did this in hopes that the client could calm her paranoia's and hopefully live a fuller life. About a year later the client called our offices and did inform us that the President found out that we had been there and that we were too good and they stopped bugging her house. 

In 2014 our investigator met a gentleman at the courthouse while we were filing some paperwork. The gentleman asked if our investigator could assist him in a neighborhood dispute. Our investigator stated that we could help him out and made an appointment to come to his residence in the Los Angeles, California area. Our investigator arrived at the client's residence and immediately observed a huge wall with no trespassing signs plastered and spray painted all over it. Several cameras were noted to be placed on the walls and also on the roof of the house. The client welcomed our investigator and had our investigator go into his backyard. While speaking to the client our investigator noted that there was larger than normal populace of bee's in the area. The client started talking about his dispute with his neighbor, he said that his neighbor had been going on his property and spraying pesticide and weed killer on his property. The client wanted for our investigators to conduct surveillance on Wednesdays when the neighbor did yard work, the client also wanted for our investigator to find out who the gardener was so that we could speak to him and see if he was putting pesticide in his yard. While we were talking a bee flew onto the arm of our investigator and our investigator batted the bee away. The client all of a sudden goes into a frenzy and starts yelling at our investigator, he states that the neighbor must have gotten to us since we are trying to kill his hive too. Our investigator quickly informed the client that we did not know his neighbor and reminded him that we were there at his request. The client started sweating profusely and started cussing and yelling to the point where saliva was frothing at the corners of his mouth. At this time our investigator told the client that we did not believe that we could be of service to the client. The client yelled at us and we excused ourselves and vacated the premises. The client called us later on that evening and apologized asking if we could come back and help him. Our investigator stated that we sympathized with the client, but we would have to decline the case. 

It is not unusual to get calls with strange requests, from the woman that called us to find Tom Cruise because she had his baby and he is ducking her, to the woman that called and said that Jesus and Lucifer were having tea at her table and she needed me to come over to facilitate a peace contract. We as investigators need to handle these calls as professionally and considerately as we can. For every one of these people that think someone is watching them, there is a few that are correct. Just because your being paranoid, does not mean that you don't have a reason to be. 

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!

Sealed with a kiss

Infidelity, cheating, stepping out, all terms that reference the same thing, someone is doing something with someone that they are not supposed to be. 

Our last blog was about a client that suspected that his wife was cheating on him and was later on proven to be wrong (refer to the blog when your wrong), this blog is about a client that suspects his wife is cheating and his suspicions are proven to be correct. A client calls, we will name him Simon to keep things simple, and states that he believes that his wife is seeing someone else. The reasons he gives are that his wife has made a new friend, and she has been seen around town with this new friend at various eateries and bars. Simon said that he approached his wife, we will call her Kelly, about her new friend and Kelly tells him that there is nothing going on, that they are just friends and that they are hanging out because her friend is having a hard time with life right now. Simon is no fool, he want's to believe his wife but his gut is telling him that something isn't right. 

Simon starts noticing other things, Kelly is more argumentative and is using excuses to get out of the house and out of sight. She has started an aerobics class that is two hours. Her girlfriends are now starting to have problems in their relationships and Kelly needs to be there for them. Simon is at his wits end. Simon gives us a call, he will be going out of town on business for a week and wants to see if the mouse will play. We get all of the pertinent information and tell him that we will see what we can do. We start our surveillance the following day and Kelly is observed going to a store, going to the gym, getting coffee, and going to work. We break off at work and decide to pick it back up after the work hours. In the evening we go back to her place of employment and follow her home, she is at home for about two hours before she comes out dressed for the kill. She jumps into her vehicle and departed the area. Kelly is followed out of the city for about 25 miles. She arrives at a nice restaurant and enters into the restaurant. Our investigator gives her a couple of minutes before going in. 

Kelly is observed sitting at a booth with who else but the friend, we will call him Ralph, she is sitting right next to him and not across from each other. Our investigator finds a suitable vantage point and observes Kelly and Ralph as they flirt and engage in conversation. At this time all Kelly and Ralph are doing is flirting and though it is not appropriate, it is not damning evidence either. After approximately 45 minutes our investigator notes that they are about to get their bill and we hurriedly exited the restaurant. 

Kelly and Ralph exit the restaurant, Ralph walks Kelly to her vehicle and they stand by the trunk of her vehicle, Ralph embraces Kelly and is observed grabbing on her butt. Kelly then brings him in close and seals the deal with a kiss. All the while they are doing this they don't see our investigator recording their activities. At this point we have everything that is needed, Ralph is more than just a friend, and to top it off our client advised that his wife told him that she would be visiting one of those girlfriends that was going through a hard time. After the make out session in the parking lot, Kelly gets in her vehicle, Ralph walks over to his and he starts driving out the parking lot with Kelly in tow. We follow them to a residential area about 15 minutes away from the restaurant, Ralph pulls into a garage and Kelly exits her vehicle, they both walk into the residence and close the garage door. We mark Kelly's parking spot to determine if she stays or leaves. When we return in the morning Kelly's vehicle is parked in the same exact spot and there was no movement. 

Now is the hard part, explaining to the client that his suspicions were accurate, that the wife he has been with for almost two decades has stepped out on their marriage. That the guy he suspected is in fact more than a friend. We show the client stills of his wife kissing Ralph, the client takes a deep breath and says that it was what he thought and that he would be alright. He then starts asking the questions that are all too common, why would she do this to their family?  What is going to happen to their family and the future that he thought they were both trying to build? Unfortunately we don't have those answers. Our investigator advises him that we will keep him and his family in our prayers. 

After working dozens and dozens of these cases, we have seen the devastation that it can cause. Children, in laws, friends, and communities are affected by these decisions. So we caution you with a bible verse Luke 12:3.  What is done in the dark, will come to light. 

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!

When your wrong

On a Monday afternoon our offices receive a call from a client who is insistent that his wife is having an affair. The client believes that his wife is having an affair on her lunch break and that her lunch break is not set but usually takes place between 11-1, he asks if we would be willing to take on the case and we agree to look into the matter for him. First day of surveillance we set up where we can watch both the exit door as well as the vehicle, we sit until 1 and report to the client that there was no outside activity observed. The client understood and then requested that we come out to his residence in the morning as he believed that one of his neighbors was involved in the affair, we make arrangements with the client to be out at his residence in the morning for the following day. 

We get out at his residence at approximately 5:00 a.m., which is the time that he departs to go to work. We set up in an area where the back yard wall and the front of the residence can be observed. At approximately 7:15 a.m., the subject departs for work, we follow her to make sure that she is not making any stops in between, which she does not. She goes to work, exits her vehicle and does not socialize with anyone on the way in. We report back to the client who says that he is perplexed as he believes that she has been engaging in this activity for quite a while. 

We continue on conducting surveillance for the client for the next few days and find that the subject does not appear to be engaging in any adulterous activities. The client wanted us to go to the extreme one morning and wanted our investigator to hide in the bushes in his backyard to insure that his wife was not climbing any fences to get into a neighbors yard, we declined to do this. We explained to the client that maybe the affair has ended and that maybe he and his wife should go see a counselor. Now normally you would think that people are happy to hear that their suspicions may not be valid or that if they were they are no more, our client was not happy about this at all, in fact he insisted that his wife was still doing this activity and even reasoned that she may have built an underground tunnel to get to her neighbors in order to continue the affair. We did check his backyard and found no tunnels lol. 

Unfortunately, we rarely find out the outcome of our cases, we hope that this client took our advice for the sake of his family and got the therapy that he and his wife needed in order to build a stronger relationship minus the suspicions and espionage. 

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!

Falsely Accused

Imagine one night you are taking a walk through a park on your way home, you see some friends and stop and talk with them as you speak with them the police come and surround you, the next thing you know you are patted down and placed in cuffs. You are told to stand on the sidewalk your friends are all now cuffed and placed in the same predicament. Minutes later you are told that you are being placed under arrest for Robbery, Sexual Assault, and Street Terrorism. You are taken to jail and processed. You are looking at 40 years in prison. The district attorneys office has police officers and crime scene technicians, you have a defense attorney and if you can afford one an investigator. 

My offices happened to get a call about this case approximately a month after the arrest. The attorney stated that her client said that at the time of the alleged crime he was not even in the area and therefor it would have been impossible for him to have committed this crime. We interview the client and he provides us a time line of where he was, when he was there, and who he was with. We track down his witnesses and confirm the times that he was with them and the places he went with them to. We are able to discern that there definitely was a time discrepancy. Now we turn our attention to the victim of the crime. After several attempts we were able to finally be able to speak to the victim who was a minor with the permission of the mother. The victim was very much traumatized by the whole event but stated that they would be willing to speak to us about the matter. We started off by asking the victim about their day, the victim stated that they woke up in the morning, hung around their home until the afternoon, then went out and hung out with some friends. They decided to go to a local carnival and after that they walked through the park. While walking through the park they were approached by four males, one of who brandished a weapon and told them to stay put and give them their belongings, the victim stated that another male pulled them aside and started fondling them, they even attempted to get into the victims shorts but were not able to due to the victims belt. For whatever reason, after the robbery and the physical altercation, the guys committing this crime departed the area. I asked the victim if she remembered what the suspects looked like, she said she did and even knew one of them, I asked her to describe them to me, she described them and none of them matched the ethnicity of my client, I also asked how tall were they, the victim gave heights that were well below the height of my client, I then showed the victim a picture of my client and asked had the victim seen him there that night, the victim said no, I also asked if my client was the one that had tried to get into their shorts and the victim said absolutely not as my client was a Caucasian male and the suspects were not Caucasian. I asked the victim if they ever pointed at my client and said that he was a part of this robbery or sexual assault the victim stated that on the night everything happened an officer drover them by where they had picked up my client and their friends, the officers asked the victim if they recognized anyone and the victim pointed to the individual next to my client, the victim than asked the officer to please get them out of there as the victim knew that these individuals were affiliated with a local gang. The victim apologized ( if you can believe that) for my client getting arrested and wrongfully accused of this crime. 

The evidence that we obtained was taken to the district attorneys office, keep in mind we could prove that our client was at a different place when the alleged incident occurred, and that the victim stated that he was not there, that he was taller and of a different race than the people that had allegedly committed the crime. The district attorneys office took a while to respond. Our client sat in jail an additional two months before the judge reviewed the new evidence that we had and decided to throw the case out. We use this case to show that you can get arrested wrongfully, that you can be guilty by association. If this client had not had the resources to launch an investigation there is a high probability that they would have done a plea bargain and done some time for a crime that they did not commit. 

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!

Beware!

Last week our offices received a call from a potential client wanting some background investigations done. The client had gotten divorced and had been speaking to some interested parties  via the internet for the past few months, now the interested parties have attempted to evolve the relationship into something else and my client wanted to know who they are before making that level of commitment.  The client  provided us with  two names. John Brown and John Smith. 

John brown we found out  was a convicted felon and born in Alabama  and settled in Tennessee. He was a career criminal having been convicted with robbery  and assault charges. 

John Smith  was found to be married and very much living in a different  state than was told to our client. Though  he had no convictions it was found that he had been born  in Washington.  

Why does it matter where  these individuals were born? Both of these individuals  stated that they were  born in Italy.  One of the individuals  stated that  he worked  in West Africa and that he had never been in any trouble. My client  was scheduled to pick up Brown from the airport  to be formally  introduced  and she was going to introduce  him to her minor aged daughter.

The bottom line is you never know who is on the other side of the screen. Make sure that you exercise due diligence before you send any money or introduce them to your family. 

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!

She only wants what is best

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!