A U.S. client was planning to start a small online business with someone they met through a professional networking platform. The other person presented themselves as a serial entrepreneur with experience in e-commerce and digital marketing. They suggested splitting responsibilities and asked the client to handle the initial payments for software subscriptions and marketing tools, promising to reimburse their share once revenue started flowing.
The communication was professional and motivating, and the idea itself was reasonable. However, the client wanted to be sure that the partner was real, experienced, and trustworthy before committing financially and legally.
The client asked us to verify whether the person’s entrepreneurial claims were accurate and whether there were any warning signs worth considering before starting the project.
We examined publicly accessible information: business entity records, corporate filings, digital footprint, domain ownership history, social media timelines, professional claims, and civil litigation records. No intrusive or unlawful methods were used.
Here is what we were able to establish. None of the companies the person claimed to have founded appeared in state or federal corporate records. Domain names listed in conversations were either inactive or owned by unrelated parties. The digital footprint did not reflect entrepreneurial activity, long-term projects, or any trace of previous business operations. Civil filings indicated disputes involving partnership agreements and unreturned investment contributions.
These findings did not confirm the professional story presented in messages. Instead, they suggested a pattern of presenting ambitious business opportunities and shifting the financial burden to new partners at the early stage of cooperation.
After reviewing our findings, the client chose not to enter into the arrangement and avoided a situation that could have resulted in financial loss and legal complications.
Personal and identifying information has been removed to protect privacy.