DDC was recently engaged to conduct a thorough background check of the CEO of a US public company in connection with a legal action, after our client had engaged a competing firm that produced no actionable results.
We checked everything, everywhere he ever was. We found an archived bio on a former employer’s website. That old bio differed substantially from his current bio. The old bio claimed that the CEO was licensed to practice law for a certain amount of years (at that time) and it mentioned two prominent law firms where he claimed to have practiced.
DDC found that he was not licensed to practice law anywhere in the United States for most of the time period claimed in the archived bio. Furthermore, he was only a summer intern at one of the law firms (and thus not practicing law, as he had not yet passed any state bar exam) and did not work at the other firm.
An interesting aspect of this assignment was that this person was affiliated with several businesses over the last 20 years as an advisor, or as a friend or relative, of a principal in businesses that were found to be Ponzi schemes, or that were accused of fraudulent activity. In each case, the CEO was not directly implicated.
Peter Barakett, President
DDC Investigations LLC
DDC – Due Diligence Consulting LLC
