CASE STUDIES

Actual case studies from Live Site Security

Employee Theft Situation: Fortune 500 consumer goods client reported suspicion of company employees redirection inventory potentially worth several hundred thousand dollars per year for resale and personal gain. Approach: Client initially requested that undercover operatives be placed in their facilities to detect theft of product and time. Corporate officers were advised that this proposed solution would not be an effective use of resources due t low probability of gaining meaningful intelligence or hard evidence. Live-Site Security recommended that a team of three agents be deployed to interview and interrogate employees to gather evidence that could be used both in the civil and criminal arena. Resolution: After three days of interviews with the eleven employees, Live-Site Security uncovered an elaborate, ongoing scheme to steal product and sell on the open market. Within ten days, forty-six employees in three different States were identified as being involved. All employees involved were terminated. Coordinating with local enforcement, seventeen individuals were arrested and received felony convictions, with thirteen receiving prison sentences.	Vendor Fraud Situation: Major health services client entered into purchase agreement for approximately $8 million of computer equipment and paid for the order in full upfront. After several weeks pass, client realized that the vendor in question had ceased business operation with no intention or returning client funds or fulfilling the order. Approach: Live-Site Security deployed two consultants to multiple cities to investigate vendor operations, interview client and vendor employees, and track funds domestically and internationally. Resolution: After three days of interviews, it was determined that 98% of the funds we located in an offshore account. Live-Site Security personnel coordinated investigative efforts with U.S. Federal Agents, client counsel, and foreign law enforcement and bank officials to effectively freeze the funds and document the situation for potential prosecution. Twelve days later a wire transfer returned 98% of the funds to client account.
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Executive Investigation Situation: A Human Resource Director called on Live-Site Security at the direction of the Chairman of the Board and informed us that the President was known to be having an affair with a subordinate. Notwithstanding the fact that the executive was married, company policy expressly prohibited such office relationships. The clients also determined that there was a significant risk of legal action by the female against the company and the executive if and when the relationship eventually became public. Approach: Although the affairs was routinely known and discussed within the company, the Chairman had no hard evidence to support termination of the employees for violating company policy. Live-Site Security was engaged to operate a ten-day surveillance, which soon caught both subjects in compromising positions and places on videotape. Resolution: Live-Site Security management presented its findings to the corporate board and discussed strategic options to resolve the situation, with the goal of minimizing the risk of a lawsuit from either party. The board agreed that Live-Site Security should manage the termination process for both employees in a discreet and confidential manner using the video evidence as justification. This enabled the client’s Human Resources department t maintain a level of separation from the process to minimize legal risk while effectively bringing the situation to a close.	Bug Sweep/TSCM Situation: A major software company was concerned about recent setbacks in product development and personnel recruitment that seemed more than mere coincidence. CEO noticed that competitors were introducing leading-edge software products only days before client planned to launch its own products with similar features. In addition, several career applicants had recently turned down significant job offers only to join competing firms days later. Approach: After conducting a security risk analysis of their won, board members engaged Live-Site Security to conduct an electronic eavesdropping detection sweep of their corporate facilities. During an exhaustive sweep of the facility it was discovered that the client’s phone lines were being monitored, specifically in the product development department. Two small video cameras and one listening device were found recording the activities of employees. Lastly, Live-Site Security specialist detected a listening device in the Human Resources Director’s office coffeemaker. Resolution: Because the device were from the black market, there was no feasible means of directly discovering those responsible for planting them. After consultation with Live-Site Security, management chose to remove the devices immediately rather than leave them in operation and provide misleading information to the culprits. Soon thereafter, client’s success with the new product launches and hiring of the key personnel improved dramatically. Client continues to engage Live-Site Security for regular electronic eavesdropping sweeps.
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Inventory Theft Situation: Recreational equipment manufacturer retained Live-Site Security to help increase profits and identify lost revenue due to suspected misappropriation of inventory by employees. Approach: Two consultants were deployed to interview key employees and follow up with interrogation of employees suspected of inventory theft. Within eight hours of commencing interviews, two employees admitted their involvement in a conspiracy to redirect product to sell at various venues across the U.S. Resolution: Live-Site Security quickly uncovered the entire network of employees involved in this scheme, with eleven additional employees admitting guilt in an effort to avoid possible criminal prosecution. In consultation with client executives, it was determined that the best course of action was to let time pass before proceeding in order to avoid a significant disruption to ongoing business operations from employee defection before replacements could be hired. The client was also wary of negative publicity surrounding the situation, so Live-Site Security proceeded under confidentiality and supported client’s request to avoid prosecution. During that time, a dozen employees resigned or never returned to work. The suspected employees were replaced, and profits for the following quarter doubled.	Sales Lead Redirection Situation: A major U.S. financial institution retained Live-Site Security to investigate a recent disproportion of advertising expenditures versus the number of clients inquiring about and subsequently obtaining loans. Client reported that it had recently increased spending on national and local advertising to over $2 million per month, yet metrics for closed business had shown no noticeable improvement. Approach: Live-Site Security consultants were deployed to interview several employees in the loan sales and IT departments. Our consultants quickly determined that several of the client’s loan officers were selling leads to other financial institutions for personal gain. In addition, interviews confirmed that the client’s IT staff was grossly mismanaged and under-staffed allowing competitors to easily access proprietary computer data containing specific leads. Live-Site Security consultants also interviewed numerous potential loan applicants who had originally called our client but were subsequently routed to a new company in a follow-up phone call by client staff. Resolution: In a matter of days, Live-Site Security delivered a comprehensive report of findings and specific recommendations to client. Implementation of these recommendations resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of calls received, loan applicants processed and loan approvals. Client’s return on advertising spend for the first quarter after the completion of this project was in excess of 400%.
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Employee Surveillance Situation: A major trucking company retained Live-Site Security because recent fuel and hourly wage expenditures were not consistent with historical experience for several trucking routes across the U.S. Conventional vehicle tracking devices and monitoring systems used by the client were ineffective in providing answers. Approach: Live-Site Security personnel developed a surveillance plan for specific trucks with known schedules. Surveillance initially confirmed that all tracking systems were working properly and being monitored professionally. After several days of surveillance, Live-Site Security uncovered an elaborate plan by several employees to use company resource for personal gain. Workers from a competing logistics firm were meeting client drivers along the designated route and loading additional freight on their trucks, effectively “piggy-backing” loads on an existing truck route. After the client’s trucks traveled across the country, workers from the same firm would meet the driver again t unload the freight before the truck reached its final deliver point, paying the drivers in cash for their “services”. Meanwhile, remote monitoring from the corporate facility indicated that the drivers were on the correct route without deviating significantly from their schedules. Resolution: Live-Site Security reported its findings along with photo and video proof to client executives. Employees involved in the scheme were immediately terminated and prosecution is pending using the gathered evidence as support.	Legal Support Situation: A major international law firm retained Live-Site Security to assist with a case alleging that a client’s Chief Financial Officer was engaged in manipulating the company’s financial statements and directing personnel in his department to do the same. If true, the company and its key personnel could be guilty of securities fraud and regulatory violations and would face legal challenges on several fronts. Approach: Live-Site Security completed a thorough interview and interrogation process with dozens of current and former employees. Our consultants produced legal documentation, including statements signed under the penalty of perjury verifying that employees were indeed guilty of inflating figures, falsifying regulatory forms and creating non-existent off-shore companies and bank accounts. A detailed report was provided to the client law firm which served as the foundation for a case report forwarded t the U.S. Attorney’s Office in an effort to comply with federal investigations. Resolution: The documentation produced by Live-Site Security under the client’s guidance resulted in several guilty pleas and favorable trial results. By confronting their internal issues head on and aiding federal authorities with investigation, the client company was able to effectively mitigate legal action on a corporate level and confine the scope of legal proceedings to several employees acting alone to protect their own careers.
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