Charles Merken Investigations, Inc.

 Private Investigations

Litigation Support Services • Criminal Investigations/Cold Cases

Litigation Support Services - Preparing a strong legal defense depends on acquiring as much information as possible.  Whether you are preparing for a criminal, civil, divorce or child custody case, we are here to help you obtain, prepare and present the evidence you need to prove your case.  Our services include: expert witnesses, public information searches, witness interviews, depositions, background checks, uncovering hidden assets and other anonymous data gathering.

Asset Verification and Debtor Reconnection Services

During this economic downturn forces beyond everyone’s control have changed the prevailing mentality, pushing many responsible individuals who normally pay their debts on cars, boats, planes and other assets to stop payments on loans and to simply ignore any phone calls or written communications from lenders when in fact the lenders may even be offering a way to minimize payments or other form of assistance in resolving the debt short of repossession.

Often times debtors move, turn off their phones or attempt to hide assets believing that the asset will be repossessed.  We have found that in many incidents these are hard working responsible people, simply afraid to ask for help or communicate with their lenders.

Reconnecting these individuals with the lenders and verifying the condition and location of the asset is not as simple as sitting behind a desk and searching data bases. Our investigators utilize a broad range of tools and resources to find individuals and assets.

Once the individual is located our investigators will make contact and hand deliver any request made by the lending institution in a professional manner, photograph the asset and provide a detailed evaluation to our client regarding the asset and the individual.  This service provides the lender with a cost/benefit analysis to help determine the direction of asset recovery options.

In many cases this action can subsequently produce the most efficient result which is the debtor reconnecting with the lender and working out a payment option, or in the worst case a better allocations of resources should the client decide to move forward with a lost asset recover option.

Asset Investigations - When large sums of money are involved individuals can be very devious at hiding assets from business partners, spouses/ex-spouses, relatives, court judgments or anyone else who may have a legitimate claim to those assets. In today's electronic world it is possible to trace financial transactions through a variety of ingenious sources.  Our expert team of asset investigators are very adept at tracking down hidden assets and providing you with the information you need to get your fair share.

Crime Scene and Accident Investigations - Let's face it, most of us know that our police officers, district attorneys and criminal courts are overworked.  Critical information that can either prove or disprove a case is often missed.  Unlike the TV shows, our public servants do not have unlimited resources for testing DNA, analyzing voice transmissions, reconstructing crime scenes and testing hypothetical theories.  Fortunately you can get this level of analysis with the help of our experienced and detail-oriented investigators. They will review police reports, reconstruct crime scenes and re-trace the initial investigators steps, frequently catching what others miss.  If additional research, lab tests, interviews, electronic analysis and other time-intensive steps are needed we go the extra mile to be sure it's done.  Our investigation specialists can then testify to their findings as expert witnesses with the knowledge, terminology and credibility to convince a judge or jury.

Missing Persons - You may be trying to find a runaway child, a deadbeat dad, missing relatives, old classmates, your birth father or an old girlfriend.  We can help.  With access to some of the largest databases in the world, we can frequently retrace the steps of your missing person through multiple address and name changes until we find them. We can also facilitate your reunion in a sensitive and appropriate manner.  

Background Checks - When hiring a new employee, setting up a pre-nuptual agreement, extending credit or hiring a new nanny you need to know who this person is. Our extensive background checks include credit history, criminal records, employment history, previous marriages and much more.  Discovering the reason for previous dismissals, civil judgements, questionable associations and other potentially harmful information can save you and your loved ones from untold heartache and/or financial loss.

Forensics Accounting - A detailed review of your books by an experienced forensics CPA can reveal discrepancies that could be costing you far more than you realize.  Our investigation can detect and prevent costly embezzlement and manipulation of company assets.

Confidentiality and discretion are always paramount in every one of our private investigations.

  We can provide expert witness testimony to help you prove your case.

In criminal and cold case investigations our detectives have the time, expertise and resources to uncover clues that the police may have missed. 

Hidden assets could be keeping you from receiving all that you're owed. Let us help you find and lay claim to those hidden assets.

Our detectives can reconstruct and shed light on accident and crime scene investigations that may have been hastily done by law enforcement.

Let us help you find your loved one.  Our extensive resources can track down,  and establish contact if you wish, with your missing person.