Fraud Litigation — Multi-State Asset Tracing
Locating $8.2M in hidden assets across a deliberately obscured trail
Overview
A plaintiff’s litigation team at an AmLaw 50 firm engaged Atlas Veracity to locate assets belonging to the defendant in a $30M commercial fraud case. The defendant had been systematically moving assets into family members’ names and shell entities for over three years prior to the lawsuit.
The Client
An AmLaw 50 law firm representing the plaintiff in a commercial fraud and breach of fiduciary duty case. The plaintiff, a mid-market technology company, alleged that its former CEO had embezzled approximately $30M through a series of fraudulent vendor contracts and kickback arrangements.
The Challenge
The defendant had retained experienced counsel and was aggressively contesting the fraud allegations. During debtor examination, he claimed to have minimal personal assets — a modest primary residence, a leased vehicle, and less than $50,000 in bank accounts.
The plaintiff’s counsel suspected this was fabricated. The defendant had earned over $4M in annual compensation for five years and had a known lifestyle inconsistent with his claimed net worth.
Prior asset searches by two different investigation firms had yielded minimal results, finding only the disclosed primary residence and the leased vehicle.
The litigation team needed comprehensive, court-admissible evidence of hidden assets to support a motion for preliminary injunction and to inform settlement strategy.
Our Approach
Nationwide Real Property Search
We conducted real property searches across eight states where the defendant had personal or business connections, searching not only under his name but also under known family members, associates, and entity names identified through corporate filings.
Entity Mapping & UCC Analysis
Starting from secretary of state filings in the defendant’s home state, we identified 11 related LLCs. We then traced UCC filings, secured transactions, and operating agreement amendments to map the flow of assets into these entities. Several LLCs were managed by the defendant’s spouse and adult children.
Financial Flow Reconstruction
Using available court filings, public bankruptcy records of related parties, and UCC-1 financing statements, we reconstructed the movement of assets from the defendant’s personal accounts into the network of family-controlled LLCs over a 36-month period.
Registry & Lifestyle Analysis
We searched FAA aircraft registrations, state DMV records (where publicly accessible), US Coast Guard vessel registrations, and conducted social media analysis to identify undisclosed assets and spending patterns inconsistent with the defendant’s claimed financial position.
Key Findings
Outcome
Atlas Veracity’s findings were compiled into a court-ready report with source documentation. The plaintiff’s counsel used the report to support a successful motion for preliminary injunction, freezing $6.4M in identified assets. The defendant’s credibility was severely damaged by the contrast between his sworn disclosures and the discovered assets. The case settled four months later for $22M — approximately 73% of the claimed damages — with the defendant’s counsel acknowledging that the asset discovery made continued litigation untenable.
Impact
The investigation turned a case that was trending toward a nuisance-value settlement into a $22M recovery. The plaintiff’s counsel credited Atlas Veracity’s asset tracing work as the single most significant factor in achieving the settlement.