Miami Private InvestigationsCorporate investigations at a glance
- Due diligence: independent verification of partners, acquisition targets, vendors, investors and senior hires before money or authority changes hands.
- Internal investigations: employee theft, embezzlement, vendor kickbacks, time abuse, conflicts of interest, misconduct complaints and non-compete breaches.
- Main sources: Sunbiz filings, UCC records, county clerk and federal court files, lawful field observation and interviews with willing witnesses.
- Legal guardrails: no pretexting, no audio interception, no trackers, and FCRA rules whenever a report bears on an employee.
- What you receive: a sourced written report, copies of the records relied on, and testimony when a matter is litigated.
- Credentials: Florida agency license A1800135, veteran-led, bilingual, office in Coral Gables.
Many business losses trace back to information that was available all along: a lawsuit in another county, a lien on the seller's equipment, a vendor whose officers are related to your purchasing manager.
What does corporate due diligence cover?
Due diligence tests the claims a counterparty makes about itself against independent records. Florida's definition of private investigation expressly covers a person's or group's "affiliations, associations, transactions, reputation, or character" (s. 493.6101, F.S.). A typical engagement looks at:
- Partners and investors. Who really owns and runs the entity, what other companies the principals control, and whether their history includes litigation, judgments, regulatory action or failed ventures they did not mention.
- Acquisition targets. Undisclosed lawsuits, liens and secured debts, status and filing history of the entity, and whether the operation you are buying exists at the scale represented.
- Vendors and suppliers. Whether a supplier is a real business, and whether its owners connect to anyone on your payroll.
- Executives and key hires. Claimed credentials and prior roles, within the consent rules below.
When the question is whether someone has the resources they claim, the work extends to property, business interests and recorded debts through asset checks. When the question is whether a facility operates as described, investigators can observe it from public vantage points through lawful surveillance.
Which workplace problems can an internal investigation address?
Businesses often call after police tell them "this is a civil matter," which means the facts must be assembled privately before a lawyer or prosecutor can act. Common matters include:
- Employee theft and embezzlement. Missing merchandise or cash, manipulated expense reports, falsified records and unexplained inventory shrink.
- Vendor fraud and kickbacks. Inflated invoices, shell suppliers and purchasing decisions steered to a related party.
- Time and leave abuse. Claimed sick days spent elsewhere, or errands and outside work on paid time.
- Misconduct complaints. Allegations of harassment, policy violations or conflicts of interest that need a neutral fact-finder and documented interviews.
- Non-compete and non-solicitation breaches. A former employee opening a competing business nearby, or approaching your clients.
- Brand and trademark misuse. Counterfeit goods or a confusingly similar name trading on your reputation; see brand security investigations.
For schemes aimed at the business from outside, such as payment diversion or false claims, our fraud investigations page explains that work.
Which public records do investigators check in Florida?
Most due diligence rests on official records that anyone could request but few people search thoroughly, across every name, entity and county involved:
- Sunbiz. The Florida Division of Corporations' search page covers corporations, LLCs and partnerships by name, officer or registered agent, FEI/EIN and address, plus fictitious names, trademarks, judgment liens and federal lien registrations.
- UCC filings. The Department of State privatized Florida UCC filing, and it directs searchers to the Florida Secured Transaction Registry. Financing statements show which lenders claim an interest in a company's equipment, receivables or inventory.
- County clerk records. In Miami-Dade, the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller offers civil, family and probate case search, criminal case search, and official records such as recorded deeds, mortgages and liens. Other counties are searched through their own clerks.
- Federal courts. PACER "provides electronic public access to federal court records," which matters for bankruptcy filings and federal civil suits that never appear in state dockets.
A name match is confirmed against other identifiers before it goes in a report, and gaps are reported as gaps.
How does a corporate investigation work?
- Confidential consultation. We learn the decision you face or the problem you have found, who is involved, and whether your attorney should direct the work.
- Scope in writing. We agree on the subjects, the questions to answer, the sources and methods, and the deliverable, before any work starts.
- Records research. Entities, principals, filings, cases and liens are mapped and cross-checked.
- Field work where needed. Site checks, witness interviews and public observation.
- Report and briefing. You receive the findings with sources, and we walk you or your counsel through what they do and do not establish.
What a Florida PI can and can't legally do in corporate cases
Agencies are licensed under Chapter 493, Florida Statutes, by the FDACS Division of Licensing. A license gives investigators no subpoena power and no access to confidential bank, phone or employment files.
What lawful corporate work includes
- Searching and analyzing public filings, court records and published material about companies and their principals.
- Interviewing current or former staff and other witnesses who agree to speak.
- Observing and photographing activity that is openly visible from places investigators may lawfully be.
- Advising on video a business records on its own premises, which must carry no audio and can never cover places where people could expect to undress in private, such as restrooms or changing rooms (s. 810.145, F.S.).
What we refuse to do
- No pretexting for financial data. Federal law bars obtaining a financial institution's customer information "by making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation" to the institution or its customer (15 U.S.C. § 6821). We do not call banks posing as anyone.
- No phone records by deception. Obtaining someone's calling records through false statements is prohibited by s. 817.484, F.S. and 18 U.S.C. § 1039.
- No recording private conversations. Interception requires the prior consent of "all of the parties to the communication" (s. 934.03, F.S.), and unlawfully intercepted material is barred from evidence (s. 934.06, F.S.).
- No trackers on anyone's vehicle. Placing a tracking device on another person's property without consent is a felony (s. 934.425, F.S.), and investigators get no exemption their client would not have.
- No trespass or impersonation. We do not enter a competitor's premises without authorization (s. 810.08, F.S.) or pose as law enforcement (s. 843.08, F.S.; s. 493.6118(1)(i), F.S.).
When the subject is an employee: the FCRA
An outside investigator's report about a person can be a "consumer report" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Before an employer obtains one for employment purposes, it must give the person a clear written disclosure, "in a document that consists solely of the disclosure," and get written authorization (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)). Before taking adverse action based on it, the employer must provide a copy of the report and a written summary of the person's rights (§ 1681b(b)(3)).
There is a narrower route for misconduct matters. A communication made to an employer "in connection with an investigation of suspected misconduct relating to employment," or of compliance with laws or the employer's preexisting written policies, is excluded from the definition if it is not about creditworthiness and is shared only with the employer, government agencies, a self-regulatory body or as the law requires. After any adverse action, the employer must still give the employee "a summary containing the nature and substance of the communication" (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(y)). Which route applies is a question for your employment counsel, and we structure the engagement to match.
How are findings reported and used?
- A written report organized by question, with each finding tied to its source document, filing number or observation log.
- Copies of the records relied on, so counsel can obtain certified versions where needed.
- Affidavits or testimony by the investigator who did the work, if the matter reaches arbitration or court.
Evidence gathered this way is judged like any other: it must be relevant and authenticated (s. 90.401 and s. 90.901, F.S.), and a party's own statements can be offered against that party (s. 90.803(18), F.S.). In non-compete disputes, Florida courts enforce only a restrictive covenant "set forth in a writing signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought," and the business must "plead and prove" a legitimate business interest (s. 542.335, F.S.); documented facts about the competing activity help your attorney meet that burden. Miami-Dade business cases are heard in the 11th Judicial Circuit.
What affects the timeline and cost?
Every matter is quoted after scoping; we do not publish a rate sheet. The main drivers are:
- Number of subjects. One company is simpler than a group of related entities and their principals.
- Geography. Each additional county or state where records must be searched adds time.
- Depth. A pre-signing screen differs from a full review supporting an acquisition or a lawsuit.
- Field work. Site visits, interviews and observation require investigator hours that records work does not.
- Deliverable. A briefing memo, a court-ready report and testimony each carry different preparation.
- Your deadline. A closing date may require investigators working in parallel.
Can you help when a deal involves Latin America?
Our investigators work in English and Spanish, so Spanish-language documents and public material can be reviewed directly and witnesses interviewed in their own language. When a counterparty is based abroad, we will tell you which parts of the inquiry can be handled from Florida and where locally licensed help may be needed.
Why businesses and law firms work with us
- FDACS agency license A1800135
- ★ 4.9 from 88 Google reviews
- Veteran-led team
- Bilingual investigators, English and Spanish
Attorneys from Morgan & Morgan, Cornish Hernandez Gonzalez, Asilia Law, Goldberg & Rosen and Scheer Legal have recorded video testimonials about our work. Hear from those attorneys. Client confidentiality is a licensing obligation: releasing client information without authorization is a disciplinary ground (s. 493.6118(1)(e), F.S.). You can confirm our license on the FDACS agency search.
Related services
Schemes targeting the business from outside or within.
Individual history from official records.
Property, business interests and recorded debts.
Counterfeits and misuse of your name or marks.
Documenting conduct in public places.
Investigation directed by counsel.
Available across Florida
Corporate matters are managed from our office at 4000 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 470, Coral Gables, and investigators travel wherever the records, sites or witnesses are.