Situation – A mid-size national retail chain security team was alerted by one of their store clerks that a manager at the same store was stealing merchandise. In order to maintain impartiality, the security director decided to reach out to an independent third-party agency and chose MADPI GLOBAL as their investigation team.
Action – The MADPI GLOBAL team started phase one of the investigation by gathering information about the employee in question and conducting a thorough background check which included an in-depth online component. This check, conducted by our OSINT team, identified several online marketing platforms that had listings of the client’s merchandise being sold by the subject. We gathered all evidence into a report and began preparations for the second phase of the investigation: surveillance on the store.
The surveillance team confirmed that the manager was taking boxes of merchandise from the store and taking it home. From home, the subject was selling the goods to whoever wanted to purchase it. People were observed picking up boxes filled with merchandise and money was exchanged between them. All of the above activity was video recorded and also put in the report.
The third phase of the investigation involved our undercover agent buying the merchandise from the subject. The transaction was audio and video recorded and added to the report.
In the final phase of the investigation, we interviewed the subject and obtained written confession which included detailed quantities of stolen merchandise, approximate amounts made from selling the merchandise, and several security deficiency insights.
Results – MADPI GLOBAL presented the final report to the client with all the findings which included detailed description of the investigation, exhibits, pictures, audio and video evidence, and recommendations on security, risk management and prevention. The client terminated the employee and filed criminal changes. Later, due to the good nature of the client, the charges were dropped because the employee agreed to return remaining merchandise and reimburse the client on what had been stolen plus expenses for the investigation.
The client followed up on our recommendations and with our help implemented changes into security setup at stores, internal policies and risk mitigation procedures. Our successful response to their initial case led MADPI GLOBAL to provide the client with other consulting and investigative services on every following occasion since.
