Process Server and Investigation
- +1 (405) 593-3515
- Info@ojpslegal.com
- 3111 West Wilshire Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73116 United States
Process Server and Investigation
Our expert team of attorneys and consultants will be glad to provide necessary legal assistance.
Employee workplace theft and fraud are extremely frustrating. Employees are supposed to come to work and do their job, and in return their employers give them some of the profits. Moral employers also offer benefits, which help sustain their workers and their families. However, even in the best of situations, some employees steal money, goods, services, and even clients. Likewise, some employers engage in wage theft, and that, too, is wrong. When things like embezzlement, fraud, and theft occur, our employee theft private investigators at our private detective agency are ready and willing to help investigate.
Workplace embezzlement is the misuse of funds, be it for a political campaign, business, or governmental agency, by a person entrusted with that money. It is a form of theft, but the individual does not go out directly and steal a pencil. Instead, it is a misuse of entrusted funds given to a person in a position of authority. This crime is especially harmful to employers, because it not only involves the taking of money, goods, and/or services, but also a violation of trust that existed to the person the employer entrusted the funds to.
Embezzlement within a work environment is just another form of theft. All embezzlement, fraud, and theft are stealing. Workplace theft is something legal experts usually refer to as embezzlement or fraud within a company. Theft is still theft, whether from an employee committing fraud or embezzling goods, merchandise, and/or money from the establishment. There are different legal terms and jargon our private detectives use to differentiate between crimes employees and outsiders commit.
Workplace fraud is when an employee obtains goods, services, or money through deception. Unlike embezzlement where the person already has the money, goods, or services and misuses them, fraud is when the employee intentionally deceives someone to obtain the goods, services, or benefits, such as reporting a false number of hours the person has worked.
There are many examples of how workplace fraud and embezzlement in the workplace can occur. Instances of embezzlement and fraud on the job include, but are not limited to, the following:
Theft is a term embezzlement private investigators and police more commonly use when someone from outside a company, organization, or governmental agency directly enters the establishment and steals or plans/collaborates with others to steal, also known as conspiracy to commit theft. Thus, if someone breaks in and takes merchandise, money from the cash register, etc., our private eyes note that this is theft. It is another version of stealing, but the outside perpetrator just uses a different tactic to take the goods, services, or money.
Our Oklahoma polygraph examiners see many types of employees come into our office who face accusations of embezzlement and theft. Employers demand that they submit to a same day polygraph test to prove that they did not embezzle funds or commit fraud. While the federal U.S. Polygraph Protection Act specifically prohibits most employers from forcing their staff to undergo a polygraph test in Oklahoma City as a condition of continued employment, states like Oklahoma that are non-unionized, “right to work” – right to get screwed over – employees and especially contractors can face immediate termination for any reason.
Whatever the case, our fraud polygraph investigations have shown over the many years that employees and contractors most often embezzle services, items, and money or commit fraud in their workplace for one of more the following non-exhaustive list of reasons:
When employees face some kind of external pressure like heavy debts, costly drug or gambling addictions, or some urgent need that serves as a motivation to commit the crime. Sometimes crooks just steal things without financial pressure or motivation, though our polygraph examiners in Edmond, OK note that this is less common.
The second factor that helps lead employees to embezzle funds from their employers is having the opportunity to commit crimes. If an opportunity does not exist, the perpetrator will be less likely to make a brazen attempt that could end up with job loss and legal consequences.
As with most crimes and civil malfeasance, to commit the act most people find a way in their minds to rationalize the act itself. They may steal money to pay for a drug or gambling addiction or to pay for a bail bond or food for a family member.
Employees can also commit white collar crimes against people they hire to work for them. Even when their employees and contractors do their absolute best and give their time at work maximum effort, some bad companies nonetheless steal their wages anyway. Our wage theft private investigators note that the most common forms of wage theft by unscrupulous employers includes, but is not limited to, the following maladaptive tactics:
Some companies will try to add special, illegal “deductions” into workers’ paychecks, so they can reduce the overall amount of money they pay them. Our fraud private investigator at our private detective agency notes that this is highly illegal and is blatant wage theft. No employer has the right to deduct money from the paychecks of employees and contractors, unless the deductions fall within the law’s guidelines.
Some companies will also try to force their workers to perform their job functions off the clock, without pay of any kind. Our polygraph examiner in OKC note that these hardworking employees might find themselves having to work through their breaktimes, lunch breaks, or may work for businesses and organizations where the supervisors and owners require then to come in early and/or leave late without extra pay. Such illegal activity is never okay.
Fraud private investigations can help expose these unscrupulous business practices by uncovering evidence needed to go to labor boards, courts, and even law enforcement personnel, as needed. Our legal team can help secure video footage, help our clients record conversations between them and other individuals at work, can go undercover into the workplace itself, and can help gather the needed paperwork like paycheck photos and timecards which show discrepancies in the amount of time worked and the wages received.
Polygraphs for fraud can also prove beneficial for helping employers and employees confirm or refute allegations of workplace fraud, wage theft, and embezzlement. Our legal staff has conducted these lie detector tests for many years, helping thousands of individuals detect deception and help reign in hostile work environments.
Some businesses simply refuse to pay their workers at all. Whether it is going bankrupt, or the owners are just evil people like Donald John Trump and do not pay people they hire, this is never okay. It is highly illegal, immoral, and harms many people. Not paying employees and contractors threatens workers’ livelihood and could force them to have to live on the streets in poverty.
Some employers have low morals and blatantly disregard the laws. Ignoring state and federal minimum wage guidelines, which themselves are unlivable and do not allow anyone to them to sustain themselves or their families in the USA, is illegal and very unethical. Nevertheless, some supervisors and company owners nonetheless fail to pay their employers and contractors the bare minimum wage that state and federal laws require.
Some of the most common targets of wage theft for employees where the company owners pay their workers less, includes but is not limited to, the following categories of individuals:
People who are new arrivals to the USA, even if here legally, are often vulnerable to lower wages. Employers may pay them the minimum wage, but they may not. If they receive a wage or salary at or above the minimum standard, it is often lower than their USA-born peers. Not all employers are like this, but some are and will not hesitate for a minute to deprive fair, equitable pay to staff they believe they can take advantage of.
Our polygraph examiners and private eyes near me have seen countless examples of unscrupulous employers hiring illegal immigrants to work under the table for cash payments. This enables them to avoid paying taxes, while also paying these individuals less money. Car washes, roofing companies, and domestic workers like nannies, gardeners, and housekeepers are especially vulnerable to wage theft, prompting wage theft investigations.
But since undocumented immigrants are not here legally anyway, these individuals are less likely to complain to governmental agencies, police, and the courts, and their employers know it. These bosses may even directly threaten them with deportation, with some even withholding what few legal documents like passports from other countries they have.
Some employers pay non-Whites less than their racial minority counterparts. Women tend to experience this pay disparity as well, with experts estimating a fifteen percent pay deficit between males and females – not to mention nonbinary and other gender fluid individuals. Our civil rights private investigator sees some employers pay many marginalized groups less, with some wages falling below required state or federal guidelines.
People with disabilities are also especially vulnerable, and polygraph private investigations often turn up deceptive results on employers who intentionally underpay their staff with disabilities. The more significant the disability, the more common it is for employers and others to take advantage of them. While some employers provide rehabilitative services and employ people with disabilities who would otherwise have a difficult time finding work, it nonetheless should not serve as a valid legal or moral excuse to take advantage of others in need.
Our criminal private investigators also find plenty of employers who hire non-family member children to work in their shops and businesses. Some businesses love child labor, because they can get away with paying them less, abusing their rights, and thumbing their noses at the law. Child labor private investigators note that child labor violations can be especially atrocious in certain other countries, but they note the USA is certainly not exempt from child labor private investigations for blatant workplace violations involving kids.
Polygraphs are great for business owners under fire for intentionally misclassifying employees as self-employed independent contractors. Some of them do this to avoid paying their staff overtime, granting benefits, or paying unemployment insurance premiums and taxes for them. Employers can stand to save significant amounts of money with this scheme, even though the people they hire suffer terribly in the financial arena.
Even if done accidentally, companies are still liable to compensate employees for their lost wages, benefits, and other financial compensation regardless of intent. Nonetheless, for their own personal satisfaction and closure, some staff members like to get their bosses to admit or have a polygraphist in Oklahoma prove that their supervisors and company owners did it on purpose.
Many employers and temporary hiring agencies view day laborers and farm workers as expendable. Often suffering unemployment, immigration issues, a lack of education and training, etc., these individuals are ones our private investigators note are especially vulnerable to workplace minimum wage abuse.
Sadly, janitors and domestic housekeepers also fall lower on the socioeconomic scale. Many of these individuals are undocumented workers or immigrants fresh off the boat, airplane, or desert run across the border. Thus, our private detective in OKC at our private investigation agency notes that maladaptive business owners are more likely to underpay, overwork, and mistreat this vulnerable group of people.
Food service workers, strippers, and other tipped workers are another underpaid class of individuals. Often reliant on the good nature and tips of their customers, state and federal laws often permit company owners to pay them next to nothing for the “privilege” of receiving tips for nearly free services they have otherwise provided.
While tipping culture has increased to almost absurd levels recently with almost every business offering the “option” for customers to tip in almost every industry now, some laws allow employers to keep as much as half of the tipped employees’ tips, allowing them to use that money toward paying the already extremely low wages they give them as a “tip credit” per se.
As mentioned earlier, fraud polygraph investigations often uncover ruthless employers who intentionally misclassify their employees as independent contractors who are self-employed. They do not want to pay them the same rates, provide benefits, or afford them the other legal protections they would otherwise rightfully enjoy. Our Oklahoma private eyes are experts in helping to bring justice to these abused workers.
Sadly, our workers’ rights private detectives discover that some companies simply do not pay their employees time and a half or whatever else it is they are entitled to when working more than forty hours each week. This wage theft is highly illegal, yet some bad companies without moral owners continue to push the legal limits and willfully violate the law anyway.
Some employers at businesses, organizations, and governmental agencies engage in workplace theft from their hardworking employees because they are inconsiderate, arrogant, narcissistic jerks who think that state and federal laws do not apply to them. Lacking boundaries and morals, they do as they please without regard to harm it causes the people working for them.
Polygraphs can do much good in helping to prove that an employer intentionally stole an employee’s or contractor’s wages. When evidence showing stolen tips, non-payment of overtime, etc., is lacking, a lie detector test for employee wage theft is a perfect way for an employee to help shine the light on the theft and for an honest employer to help find exoneration.
Polygraph examiners in Oklahoma City are adept at helping to solve issues of employee wage theft, embezzlement, and fraud. They can conduct wage theft polygraphs and test employees to see if they underpaid their employees. Likewise, when insufficient evidence exists to prove guilt and the employee is willing, our polygraphists in Oklahoma can also help determine if staff members committed fraud or embezzled funds, services, and/or goods/merchandise from her/his/their employer.
Polygraph investigations are affordable, quick, and convenient. They do not take much time for us to complete, and for a small extra fee our legal team can happily provide a full written report of the results. This is a fantastic option for those seeking answers to important questions involving complex legal issues in the workplace.
Our fraud private detectives near me can also offer a wide variety of services to help combat workplace fraud, embezzlement, and theft from businesses, schools, and governmental agencies. Some of these tactics include, but are not limited to, the following:
Surveillance is an excellent option for catching staff members suspected of Workers’ Compensation Insurance fraud and those who take tangible goods. By watching them, our surveillance private investigator can see where they go, what they do, what they take with them, where they take it to, and when. Likewise, if they claim to have gotten injured on the job and then are out committing fraud by playing sports or lifting heavy objects, when they should be at home resting in bed.
You can also hire a private investigator near me to go into your workplace as an undercover supervisor or fellow employee. Our legal team can become the eyes and ears of the company, blending in with the others working there and seeing what happens from an up-close, in-person view while working and interacting with others.
Our legal team can also interview employees, supervisors, and owners during embezzlement private investigations. Our PI agency staff can also review video and audio recordings, such as CCTV footage. By putting the pieces together through deductive reasoning, we can help discover what really happened and who committed the crime.
When you have witnesses, payroll stubs, CCTV footage, and other paper and digital trails that indicate possible criminal activity and which require a thorough examination, our private eyes in OKC are more than happy to take time to review and evaluate them for you. This will free up your time to do other things and take care of your business’s needs.
One would be surprised at what others will put out there on social media about themselves and their activities. From admitting to guilt in crimes to cheating on spouses to sharing all their personal and private information, some people voluntarily put everything about their lives there in public for everyone to see. Private detectives and police alike love social media scans as a fantastic tool for solving both civil and criminal matters.
Our digital private investigator can and will look everywhere across a wide range of websites and social media platforms on your behalf. We will tailor our investigation to your specific needs, goals, and desires. No one beats the quality and depth of our social media scans.
Our firm can also run national criminal background checks and civil background checks for you. These investigations can provide great insight into employee’s history of behavior and activities outside of the workplace. If an employer or employee suspects fraud, locating a criminal record or even constant civil lawsuits that indicate fraud, theft or embezzlement can serve as corroborating evidence that can complement other case evidence.
Our PIs can also testify in front of labor boards, in courtrooms, and can proffer evidence to law enforcement agencies as well about anything we have seen, experienced, or come across during embezzlement and fraud investigations. This testimony can prove vital to proving or disproving allegations of Workmen’s Compensation fraud, misuse of funds, and other criminal and civil violations. Our assistance can help make or break a case.
Polygraphs are not cheap, but they are much less expensive than fraud private investigations. For an embezzlement lie detector test, a client can expect to pay about five hundred fifty dollars without a written report. If you as the employer or employee/contractor also desire a written report at the end for further official documentation of the results, then it will cost about an extra hundred dollars. Prices for everything do go up with time and inflationary adjustments, so the cost to hire a polygraph examiner might be higher when you read this.
Please inquire with the administrative staff at our private investigation agency in OKC about the current associated costs for polygraphs and theft private investigations. Our rates always remain extremely competitive with the going market values for the services we provide, and our legal professionals remain some of the most experienced, highly educated experts in the entire state of Oklahoma.
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