IRS Recommends Business Entity

Of all the choices you make when starting a business, one of the most important is the type of legal organization you select for your company. This decision can affect how much you pay in taxes, the amount of paperwork your business is required to do, the personal liability you face and your ability to borrow money. Business formation is controlled by the law of the state where your business is organized.

This fact sheet provides a quick look at the differences between the most common forms of business entities. The most common forms of businesses are:

Sole Proprietorships
Partnerships
Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

While state law controls the formation of your business, federal tax law controls how your business is taxed.  Federal tax law recognizes an additional business form, the Subchapter S Corporation.

Read

Here

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

IRS Increases Mileage Rate

The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes

The rate will increase to 58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2008. This is an increase of eight ( cents from the 50.5 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2008, as set forth in Read here

Intelligence Community Reference Book–At Last The “Idiots Guide”

 

Want to know all about the National Security Act of 1947 or the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 or even the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002?  Well, you can get in bed on a rainy afternoon, flop under the covers and read this book.  It has everything you want to know from homeland security to information privacy and other legal rights of Americans.  Check it out:

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released the Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book. This book was published in 2007, but has just been released to the general public. It includes legislation, procedures, and guidelines related to intelligence and national security. All documents in the book are unclassified.

Don’t forget PIAVA is having its meeting tonight in Vienna, VA.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Information Insights Inc.

PIAVA Meeting Wednesday June 18

PIAVA is having its monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 18, 2008, in Vienna, VA.  The meeting starts at 7 p.m. with dinner.  Our speaker is Bill Stollhans, owner of Potomac Investigative Services LLC, Fairfax, VA.  Bill is a PIAVA member and former president of PIAVA.  He will speak and discuss “Mortgage Fraud Today.” 

Bill is a former Assistant Director, FBI, Special Agent and Chief Financial Office (CFO) for the FBI.  He has over 30 years experience in law enforcement and investigations.  He was graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Business Administration.  Among other things, Bill specializes in financial investigations. While with the FBI and over the last few years, Bill has conducted numerous mortgage fraud investigations.

Our meeting should be the usual educational, informative and fun time for our members and guests.

If you are interested in attending as a guest, contact me at president at piava.org.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Information Insights Inc., McLean, VA

 

More Phishing Scams–Child Support

News from the FBI about new phishing scam:

 The FBI and its partner, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), have received reports of phishing attacks targeting users of EPPICards. The EPPICard is similar to a debit card. EPPICards are issued by a state agency for the purpose of receiving child-support payments. The cards are currently used in 15 states.

Individuals have reported receiving e-mail or text messages indicating a problem with their account. They are directed to follow the link provided in the message to update their account or correct the problem. The link actually directs the individuals to a fraudulent web site where their personal information, such as account number and PIN, is compromised.

Individuals have also reported receiving an e-mail message asking them to complete an online survey. At the end of the survey, they are asked for their EPPICard account information to allow funds to be credited to the account in appreciation for completing the survey. Providing this information will allow criminals to compromise the account.

Click Here For Whole Story

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Information Insights Inc.

 

At The NALI Conference Today

PIAVA is at the NALI conference today in Arlington, VA.  Yesterday, NALI members and conference attendees toured the Library of Congress learning all the various types of information available through research.  After that the members/attendees walked up to Congress to talk with their representatives about current issues in the professional investigative industry.

Today, various people are giving presentations on attorney/private investigator relationships, “At Risk Protection & Investigations,” managing large investigations, locating hidden assets, fraud investigations, business due diligence investigations and digital forensics.  Attendees receive continuing education credits for going to the sessions.

Some of the exhibitors here are Jimmie Mesis, PI Magazine, www.pimagazine.com, IRB’s Kristen Gilley, www.irbsearch.com, is here along with OTL Tactical, Beth Kalyan, www.otltacticl.com, Tina Green, El Dorado Insurance, www.eldoradoinsurance.com, Mike Yergey, Yergey Insurance Agency, www.yergeyins.com, Paige Arrington, G.A. Public Records Service, www.gaprs.biz, Shawn Monroe, www.paraben.com, and Amanda Cunha, Locate Plus, www.locateplus.com.

Our good friend Rosalie Folino, J&R Folino, LLC, www.jrfolinollc.com, stopped by and assisted the writer in clarifying information and, most importantly, spell checking live time.

Now is lunch time, and we will be back with more news later.

Bill Lowrnce

President PIAVA

Troy Fleming Attends NALI Conference

Troy Fleming, legal investigator for Brown & Jennings PLC law firm in Roanoke, VA, is attending the NALI Conference in Arlington, VA. Troy is the Southeast Regional Director of NALI.  NALI is the National Association of Legal Investigators headquartered in Lansing, MI. see www.nalionline.org

Troy is a member of PIAVA and represents the Roanoke, VA, chapter.

Troy is also a member of the Inner Circle of Investigators, www.icinvestigators.com, an elite group of investigators specializing in sophisticated civil litgation matters.

The National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI) was formed in 1967 with its primary focus to conduct investigations related to litigation. Membership in NALI is open to all professional legal investigators who are actively engaged in negligence investigations for the plaintiff and/or criminal defense, and who are employed by investigative firms, law firms or public defender agencies. An applicant must have a minimum of 24 months of documented full-time employment in this endeavor.

NALI Conference Social Hour Starting Arlington VA

The NALI members attending the conference here in Arlington, Va, are arriving for the social hour.  Later tonight there is a dinner and PIAVA will be around to see if the food is good.

Follow the news and events at the NALI conference here at the PIAVA Blog.

Court Challenge To New Virginia SSN Law

 BJ Ostergren, a Virginia privacy advocate, filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a new Virginia law prohibiting citizens from disseminating Social Security numbers that anyone can legally obtain from government Web sites.  Click Here Read Whole Article

Ostergren claims the statute is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech. She filed in the US District Court and is asking the federal court in Richmond to block enforcement of the law until the case is decided.

Ostergren has mined famous people’s personal information, such as SSNs, and put them on her website to show how the government does not protect citizen information. 

The Virginia General Assembly passed the new legislation last summer, and, if I had to guess, I would guess that the new law was aimed at Ostergren hoping to stop her posting public officials personal information.

 

At NALI Conference Arlington VA Today–Right Now

PIAVA is at the NALI conference in Arlington, VA.  We are on site now and will be posting the latest happenings.  NALI’s membership is composed of professional investigators.  NALI members are here at the conference from all over the United States.

More to come later.

BIll Lowrance

President PIAVA

 

National Association of Legal Investigators–NALI

NALI is having its national conference today through Saturday in Arlington, VA. Click here for information, at the Doubletree Hotel, Arlington, VA. City-National Airport, 300 Army Navy Drive,Arlington, Virginia 22202, Tel: 703-416-4100.

PIAVA is an exhibitor at the conference and will be posting news and information from the conference live.  Check back through out the next few days to updates and information.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

How To Find Out Who Owns A Small Business

This is a great article by Genie Tyburski, Web Manager, The Virtual Chase, on how to find out who owns a small business.

“There are a number of resources and research strategies for finding business owners. I’ll outline several methods, starting with relatively easy approaches and free sources of information. Then I’ll suggest several harder-to-accomplish tactics that still utilize free sources and I’ll end by mentioning some commercial databases.

This how-to article focuses on small businesses because it’s generally harder to find information about them. However, you may use these sources and methods to find owner information for large private companies as well. In some cases, you might even find the names of officers and others in upper management.”

Click Here Finding Company Owner

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Great Business Research Resource

Go to the below sites for a good business research resource–Public companies, private companies, news searches and a ton more.  Check it out.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Rutgers Research Guides Business

Rutgers Research Guide Companies

Private Investigator Licensing For Computer Forensics

Intersting article about private investigation licensing for computer forensics experts.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Summary. Some states define “private investigator” for PI licensing purposes in ways that can include digital forensics. State PI legislation invariably exempts lawyers, but the scope of that exemption may be limited to people who have an employer-employee relationship with the attorney, meaning that third-party digital forensics examiners (“DFEs”) may have to be licensed as PI’s. The limited scope of the attorney exemption could also bring what many consider as litigation support activities within the scope of state PI regulation. There can be criminal penalties for unlicensed PI’s and, in at least one state, for people who hire unlicensed PI’s.

DFEs operate in a fundamentally different manner than private investigators and PI regulation should not extend to digital forensics. To the extent there is regulation it should be consistent across the Unites States – the national and international scope of many companies and transactions means that many cases and investigations will necessarily be multi-jurisdictional and consistent rules are needed to avoid unnecessary burden and expense.

Click Here For Whole Article

ACFE Webinar On Social Engineering

AFCE, the premier certified fraud examiners site, is having a webinar on social engineering.  Social engineering is getting information from people through various manipulative schemes–pretexting, phishing etc.  This webinar sounds like it should excellent for the professional investigator.  See AFCE Webinar

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

 

Social Engineering - The Foundation of Today’s Fraud Schemes June 19, 2008 at 12:00 PM EDT Duration: 100 minutes Many fraudsters are adept at utilizing social engineering to successfully execute their schemes. The art of manipulating people, whether through pretexting, phishing, or other information-collecting techniques, is based on exploiting human weaknesses and decision-making biases to the direct benefit of the fraudster. This presentation will detail the elements and indicators of social engineering, provide examples of current social engineering schemes, review the risks entailed by these schemes and provide best practices for risk mitigation. Learning Objectives: • Understanding social engineering principals • Identifying the red flags of social engineering attempts • Possessing best practices and resources for related risk mitigation Who Should Attend: • Certified Fraud Examiners and other anti-fraud specialists • Law Enforcement • Loss prevention and security professionals • Forensic accountants • Internal and independent auditors • Business managers and professionals assuming fraud deterrence or investigation responsibilities Speaker Jon McDowall, CFE, PCI, CIFI Chief Executive Officer Fraud Resource Group Prices listed below reflect the Early Bird Discount and will end on June 12: Member $99 Non-member $149

PIAVA Member Benefits–John E. Reid Interviewing Seminar

PIAVA members have benefits.  One is a discount on the well known John E. Reid company, Reid Company, seminar on interviewing and interrogation.  Professional investigators, like PIAVA members, interview hundreds and thousands of people during the ordinary course of business.  Now, PIAVA members can attend the Reid course and enjoy a discount off the full price. See information below:

JOHN E. REID AND ASSOCIATES

209 WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD, SUITE 400 CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60606

Recognized As The World Leader In Interview And Interrogation Training

  PIAVA Members Qualify For A Discount To Attend Our Upcoming Seminar

July 22 - 24, 2008 / Washington, DC

John E. Reid and Associates, The Originators and Developers of The Reid Technique, will be in Washington DC on July 22 – 24 presenting our exclusive 3-Day Seminar The Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation.  This seminar will be held at the Westin Washington.

The standard fee for the 2008 3-Day Seminar is $595 per person.  PIAVA, with PIAVA participation in the Reid Preferred Group of Associations program, members can attend at the reduced fee of $440 per person (a savings of $155 per person).

Call Bill Lowrance, president PIAVA, for details in signing up for the seminar.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Background Checks–Mistakes

  Business Week recently published an article entitled “The Trouble with Background Checks.”  Click for Story Here

The article points out that the “$4 billion business of background screening is booming.” Professional investigators know that “background checks” includes many things, and some checks may be very thorough or be shallow and produce mistakes. Many companies are looking for mass produced, inexpensive “background checks” to decide hiring employees. The prospective employee must consent to a background check of unknown origin and unknown detail.

Business Week points out that background screening companies profits have soared over 40% last year. The trouble with many background checks is making sure the information is correct, accurate and up to date. In addition, it is very nice to know the competency of the employees actually doing the background check. These type of background checks are generally just a search of computer data bases of various kinds. Some “screeners” will interview references. But will some reference dislike the applicant and tell vicious tales about the person? Who knows? Will the “background screener,” who is likely underpaid, be able to discern from the conversation the truthfulness of the reference’s statement?

I have been contacted by some government contracted background investigators who were checking on applicants for government jobs. i was not impressed with the method, nature or thoroughness of the interview. I could have told the investigator that the applicant was personally known to me to be the devil, and I do not think that would have slowed down the questioner.

If you are having background checks done by one of the larger companies, make sure you know what you are getting in return for you $24.95, $54.95 or whatever the amount you pay for the background check.

Bill Lowrance
President PIAVA

Hewlett-Packard Pretextors Fined

  From Wired:  A key figure who pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection to the Hewlett-Packard spying scandal was ordered Wednesday to pay hefty fines and to refrain from selling personal phone records obtain fraudulently via pretexting.

A Florida judge ordered Bryan Wagner to pay $428,000 in ill-gotten gains and his co-owner of Eye in the Sky Investigation, Cassandra Selvage, to give up $110,762, according to a default order in a civil suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission. The two did not defend themselves in court, an FTC spokeswoman said.  Click Here for Wired Blog Story  See Also PC World Article

Click Here FTC Press Release

“According to the FTC complaint, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides that a customer’s phone records may only be disclosed “upon affirmative written request by the customer.” But the agency alleged that since at least 2005 Action Research Group, Inc., and its principals, Joseph and Matthew DePantes, sold confidential customer phone records, including lists of calls made and the dates, times, and duration of the calls, to third parties, without the knowledge or consent of the customers. To get the records, these defendants relied upon the other defendants, Eye in the Sky Investigations, Inc., Cassandra Selvage and Bryan Wagner, who obtained them from phone companies through “pretexting” – using “false pretenses, fraudulent statements, fraudulent or stolen documents or other misrepresentations, including posing as an account holder or as an employee” of a phone company. Selling the records constitutes an invasion of privacy that could endanger the health and safety of consumers, the agency alleged.

The DePantes and ARG agreed to settle the FTC charges. Defendants ESI, Cassandra Selvage, and Bryan Wagner are subject to default judgments entered by the court.

The settlement and default judgments permanently bar the defendants from obtaining, marketing or selling customer phone records or consumers’ personal information derived from those records. They also bar the defendants from pretexting or using others to pretext to obtain consumers’ information. The settlement order entered a judgment in the amount of $67,000 against the DePantes and ARG, the estimated amount of ill-gotten gains the defendants earned from their illegal scheme; the judgment was suspended upon a payment of $3,000 based on the defendants’ inability to pay. In the default judgments, the court ordered Wagner to give up $428,085 in ill-gotten gains and ESI and Selvage to give up $110,762.”

PIAVA May 21 Richmond Meeting A Big Success

  Clint Van Zandt receives PIAVA custom made coffee cup from PIAVA President Bill Lowrance

 (Photo by Ron McKown)

About 26 PIAVA members and guests attended our first Richmond, VA meeting last Wednesday.  We had a great social hour, an even better dinner and our guest speaker Clint Van Zandt was the highlight of the evening Threatlink.  Dr. Van Zandt had a fantastic presentation discussing the many well known and interesting cases he worked while in the FBI and in private business.  Perhaps the most interesting to the members and guests were the Unabomber case and the Jon Benet Ramsey case.  Dr. Van Zandt was instrumental in providing identifying information on Theodore John Kaczynski, the unabomber (see Wikipedia Theodore_Kaczynski).

In addition, Dr. Van Zandt traced the origins of forensic criminal profiling starting with England’s “Jack the Ripper” cases (see Wikipedia Jack_the_ripper) through present day. 

The essence of Dr. Van Zandt’s talk was threat assessment and profiling.  He displayed various ransom notes, threatening letters and other threat communications, and he explained his analytical process in defining the threat, the nature of the initiator and the seriousness of the threat.  He outlined appropriate responses to either diffuse the situation or bring the incident to a successful conclusion.

PIAVA’s first Richmond meeting went well and all enjoyed the entertaining and informative evening.

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Do Not Hire A Criminal

   The NY Times has a story today about running background investigations or checks on job applicants especially at higher levels.  You do not want to hire a CEO or CFO of a company if the person was convicted of embezzlement, do you?  The story gives examples of accountants or other financially responsible employees stealing money and company assets.

Better read this before hiring a new employee.

Click Here NY Times

Bill Lowrance

President PIAVA

Information Insights Inc. McLean, VA