The complaint filed in Puerto Rico at Florea v. Bocra, U.S. District Court, District of Puerto Rico, Index No. 11-02102, basically alleges that private investigator Terry L. Gilbeau of Checkmate Investigative Services, Inc. and / or Virginia-based private investigator Nicole Bocra, had improperly searched for assets thought to be connected to a divorce. As more fully… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Privacy Laws
Subscribe to Privacy Laws RSS FeedRevisiting A Lawsuit Against Two Private Investigators
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Privacy LawsLawsuit Claims PI’s Could Have Illegally Accessed Bank Info, explained that plaintiff Victoria Florea had filed two lawsuits against private investigators Nicole Bocra and Terry L. Gilbeau, president of Checkmate Investigative Services, Inc. The first of these lawsuits was voluntarily discontinued by plaintiff Florea and her lawsuit filed October 17, 2011, then took its place…. Continue Reading
Lawsuit Claims PI’s Could Have Illegally Accessed Bank Info
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Privacy LawsOn January 12, 2011, my local counsel commenced a civil lawsuit in Puerto Rico against two private investigators. One of the defendants in the January 12th lawsuit* was Mr. Terry L. Gilbeau of Rocklin, California. Mr. Gilbeau is a newly admitted attorney, a Certified Fraud Examiner and president of the Checkmate Investigative Services Inc. private… Continue Reading
Piercing The Bank Secrecy Veil During A Marital Asset Search
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Privacy Laws, Swiss Banks"Illegally Accessing Customer Information At U.S. Banks" characterized the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act as a U.S. bank secrecy law. On the one hand, it and other bank secrecy laws around the world protect the privacy of bank customers entrusting financial information to banks. On the other hand, bank customers can easily abuse these laws during a fraudulent… Continue Reading
Illegally Accessing Customer Information At U.S. Banks
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Identity Theft, Illegal Asset Searches, Privacy LawsBank secrecy laws enable bank customers to entrust their confidential financial information to banks across the globe, as the OECD explains at page 19, ¶ 29 of “Improving Access To Bank Information For Tax Purposes“. By obligating banks to protect a bank customer’s confidential information, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act at 15 U.S.C. § 6801 (b) provides bank… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: January 1, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Identity Theft, Money Laundering, Privacy LawsThe "Asset Search News Roundup: January 26, 2009 " mentioned that Heartland Payment Systems was subjected to what might have been the biggest credit / debit card information theft in the U.S. Mr. Albert Gonzalez was ultimately indicted for that privacy law violation / computer intrusion and other ones. In fact, Mr. Gonzalez pleaded guilty… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: December 12, 2009
Posted in Asset Search News, Privacy Laws, White-Collar Crime GenerallyAttorney Arienne Irving’s December 4, 2009 Judgment of Acquittal pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 29, raises the general issue of lawyers or clients who might use illegal eavesdropping equipment to "research" an adversary. I previously wrote about violating privacy laws via eavesdropping at "Attorney Christensen’s Wiretap Conviction". That article explained how former attorney Terry Christensen had,… Continue Reading
Violating Federal Law In An Asset Search
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Privacy Laws, White-Collar Crime GenerallyToday’s article is based on an ongoing investigation, the facts of which are changed below for privacy reasons: Ralph claimed in his New Jersey divorce that he had a low net worth, although he was a medical doctor who once had a thriving private practice. Ralph’s claim made his divorcing wife Nancy believe that… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: September 10, 2009
Posted in Asset Search News, Privacy LawsThis "Asset Search News Roundup" is about two New York criminal defense attorneys who among other things, were accused of violating privacy law by possessing illegal eavesdropping equipment. On August 20, 2009, attorneys Robert Simels and Arienne Irving were found guilty of importing and possessing illegal eavesdropping equipment in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§2512 (1)… Continue Reading
Using Foreign Computer Evidence Against An Accused Hacker
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Identity Theft, Money Laundering, Privacy Laws, White-Collar Crime GenerallyAlbert Gonzalez was arrested in the Southern District of Florida on May 8, 2008 pursuant to this warrant: Click On The Arrest Warrant To Enlarge It The arrest arose out of Mr. Gonzalez’s alleged computer hacking / identity theft scheme which was later outlined in a May 14, 2008 New York superseding indictment. This superseding… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: July 12, 2009
Posted in Asset Forfeiture, Asset Search News, Privacy Laws, Public CorruptionThe "Asset Search News" for this week discusses my interview by AssetForfeitureWatch.com; Transparency International’s press release about Kenyan police corruption; and the file assistant who pleaded guilty to computer intrusions in violation of U.S. privacy law. +AssetForfeitureWatch.com provides the law enforcement community with training / support in the area of asset forfeiture. Last Tuesday, AssetForfeitureWatch.com… Continue Reading
The Element Of Identity Theft In Different White-Collar Crimes
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Identity Theft, Money Laundering, Privacy Laws, Public Corruption, White-Collar Crime GenerallyIdentity theft can play a role in white-collar crimes ranging from money laundering to tax fraud. Perhaps most interesting are the schemes which share identity theft and money laundering as common elements, like the one mentioned at "A Tax Fraud & Identity Theft From Miami". Identity theft and money laundering are similarly alleged to have… Continue Reading
Accessing E-Mail As Part Of An Asset Search
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Privacy LawsDuring an asset search, subpoenas or other court-related discovery can be used to access an adversary’s e-mail. This access to electronically stored information like e-mail, may be authorized by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 (a) (1) (A) (ii) & (b) (2) (B) and additional discovery rules, as is more fully set forth in my post… Continue Reading
Computer Intrusions That Violate Privacy Laws
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Privacy Laws, White-Collar Crime GenerallyMy post "Pretexting During An Asset Search" explained that using false pretenses may violate privacy laws during an asset search. "Attorney Christensen’s Wiretap Conviction" additionally mentioned the case of a California attorney who violated privacy laws by conspiring to wiretap a divorcing spouse’s phone. Privacy laws however, don’t just criminalize certain types of pretexting or… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: September 20, 2008
Posted in Asset Search News, Privacy LawsThe hacking of vice presidential candidate Governor Palin’s e-mail account at Yahoo, is examined by this "Asset Search News Roundup". Based on the Washington Post’s "Hacker impersonated Palin, stole e-mail password ", the hacker violated federal privacy law 18 U.S.C. § 1030, (Fraud and related activity in connection with computers). The hacker is also suspected… Continue Reading
Attorney Christensen’s Wiretap Conviction
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Privacy Laws, Public CorruptionAttorney Terry Christensen was convicted along with private investigator Anthony Pellicano on August 29, 2008, as reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal Law Blog. According to the criminal minutes from his trial, Mr. Christensen had been found guilty of his two-count indictment for violating 18 U.S.C. 371 (Conspiracy) and 18… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: September 6, 2008
Posted in Asset Search News, Privacy Laws, Public CorruptionMr. Frank Lowy of Australia; Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila; and articles regarding privacy issues; are all mentioned in this "Asset Search News Roundup": Although the U.S. Senate Subcommittee report "Tax Haven Banks And U.S. Tax Compliance" accused Mr. Frank Lowy of concealing $68 million in a suspected tax fraud, The Australian Business advised… Continue Reading
Pretexting During An Asset Search
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Identity Theft, Privacy Laws, White-Collar Crime GenerallyPrivacy and other federal laws generally prohibit pretexting, (the use of false pretenses), when contacting a U.S. bank, phone company or government agency for confidential information. One example of pretexting would be using a false identity while phoning a bank to elicit a bank customer’s personal account information. If an information broker, private investigator, etc…. Continue Reading
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act & An Asset Search
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Privacy LawsThe Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) at 15 U.S.C. § 6801 et. seq., protects the privacy of customers who provide information to U.S. financial institutions. Although there are some important exceptions mentioned at 15 U.S.C. §6821(c) – (g), GLBA restricts access to “nonpublic personal information” like bank account numbers, account balances, etc. In some cases, GLBA can… Continue Reading