Soon after her husband started making lots more money in his business, he left Cathy with four very young children to raise alone. For nearly a decade, Cathy occasionally heard tidbits about him, that he visited his mother one afternoon or met an old friend for coffee. No one seemed to know where he lived. Cathy was always told that her ex-husband had likely lost his business since he no longer had an income. In fact, he was destitute.
But Cathy never believed these slivers of information. After all, she knew her ex-husband very well. She knew how much he enjoyed driving sports cars and dining out in popular restaurants. She knew he would never fare well without flaunting his fortune. All along, she suspected that her ex-spouse was only playing games, all in an effort to avoid financially supporting his children.
For years, the financial strain on the family fed Cathy’s anger. She tried several times to locate her ex’s whereabouts, but every lead was a dead end. As the children grew older, concern about college expenses began to keep Cathy awake at night. When her oldest child was a senior in high school, Cathy saw an attorney who encouraged her to make an appointment with .
She wanted to know where he was and whether or not he was in a position to financially support the children’s college. The divorce decree was clear that he was responsible for some of the costs in addition to the child support that had not been paid for years. It was a problem but she had no idea where to find him.
Because our investigators have access to data which is not available to the general public, immediately developed a plan of action. The first goal was to find this absent parent and then to conduct an asset investigation as well as, hopefully, a business asset investigation since Cathy felt he still had a business somewhere.
It is very common in well-to-do circles that one spouse or the other hides assets in a divorce. If suspected, in the state of Indiana, proof of hidden money or other divorce assets that were undisclosed during divorce proceedings, a divorce decree can be set aside and the terms adjusted within seven years of the order.
However, one ex-spouse can always take the other to court if situations change. And that is what Cathy decided to do. She wasn’t getting the child support outlined in the order for starters, and she wanted her children to have the opportunity to go to university.
With social media engineering as a powerful investigative tool, investigators began to monitor the social media sites of the man’s family members. Soon after, one of our investigators located a Facebook photograph of Cathy’s ex-spouse, standing with relatives in what appeared to be an office. Friends and family had posted conversation on the site, regarding the grand opening of his second office. In addition to the social media activity, our investigators also conducted a thorough background investigation. Cathy’s ex was located three states away, operating a lucrative business under his partner’s name.
Though works closely with law enforcement officers, we do not place people under arrest. Our job was to provide necessary information to give Cathy the evidence she needed for her attorney. She could press charges for non-payment of child support and also return to court to get what she felt her children were entitled to receive for their future.
As always, takes seriously the task of uncovering the truth with facts. We are known as one of the top Indiana Asset Search Investigators. That’s our job and we do it well.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
