Menu
Bringing together specialized investment intelligence, expanded human intelligence capabilities, and Gryphon’s global due diligence and investigative expertise to deliver deeper insight for complex business and investment decisions.
For over 35 years, Gryphon has been a leader in providing innovative solutions in due diligence, investigations and business intelligence. Our approach blends information and data with human insight, enabling clients worldwide to make hiring and investment decisions, to navigate complex global markets, and to power up their litigation strategy with critical—and hard to find—information.
What you don’t uncover during diligence can carry significant financial and reputational consequences. Mark Woodward examines how deeper open-source and primary-source research can reveal risks surrounding executives, management teams and potential investments. Read Full Article Here
Is your company regularly verifying the information listed on candidates’ resumes? You should be. In today’s competitive job market, resume fraud is more common than many employers and investors realize. Case in pointA client recently hired Gryphon to conduct due diligence on an individual. The individual had listed on their LinkedIn profile and their company bio, that they had been awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from a university in the United States. However, when we ran the information through a third-party verification site, the university was not listed. This was unusual as most U.S. universities are represented. The bigger pictureHere is where the initial red flags started to appear. After searching the school’s website, we could not locate a registrar or any contact information. There was a general e-mail that noted there would be a guaranteed response by staff within 24 hours. Furthermore, the address of the university listed on their site was in Delaware; however it was an address for an office building, rather than a school. A 2023 survey by ResumeLab indicated that 70% of job applicants admitted to lying or considering lying on their resumes. After not receiving any response from the general e-mail, Gryphon’s experienced investigators decided to dig deeper into this university: We identified media that indicated that this school was possibly a “diploma mill” school, which was listed as a “university” affiliated with a Pakistani-company that offered diplomas and degrees through hundreds of American fictitious schools. This company was part of an investigation in 2019 in which its CEO and other executives had been sentenced to prison. Further research into the school identified that the school’s website had contained fake photos for their “faculty” that were stolen from other university websites. The bottom lineSurface level checks would not have uncovered this detailed information surrounding the fake degree the individual self-reported to have received. When organizations are considering a new hire, an investment opportunity or a new partnership, Gryphon is the trusted partner that provides them with the deep, actionable intelligence they need to assess and appropriately size risk, and make confident, fully-informed decisions. To learn more, contact Gryphon at [email protected].
The start of a new year often brings the temptation to make resolutions – those promises we vow to keep, only to find ourselves struggling to maintain them by February. However, there’s one resolution that’s not only achievable, but critical for your business’s long-term success – committing to thorough due diligence. Why Is Due Diligence So Important? In today’s fast-paced world, the risks of fraud and misinformation are ever-present, and the need for thorough verification has never been greater. Imagine hiring a new employee without verifying their qualifications or investing in a company without detailed knowledge of its leadership and track record. The consequences of a lack of diligence can be devastating – including financial loss, reputational damage and legal troubles. Gryphon: Your Partner in Due Diligence Gryphon understands the critical importance of thorough due diligence, and we provide the tools necessary to protect your business from these risks. Our time-tested due diligence process is designed to identify the potential risks in any business transaction and provide you with the actionable intelligence needed to make informed and confident decisions. Make the Right Resolution This Year This new year, resolve to take your business to the next level. Whether you’re hiring new talent, expanding operations, or pursuing key acquisitions, ensure you are taking the necessary steps to protect and grow your business. To learn more about how Gryphon can help, contact us at [email protected].
False information. Misuse of funds. Unnecessary risk. Hiring a due diligence firm that prioritizes artificial intelligence tools over experienced human researchers may result in misleading and incomplete due diligence reports – at a significant risk to your business. Thorough due diligence still requires a personal touch that addresses the blind spots inherent in large language model AI tools, which can otherwise miss important red flags visible only to a competent human investigator. Case in point A client recently hired Gryphon to conduct due diligence on an e-commerce company that disclosed being involved in a federal civil lawsuit. The subject had told the client that it had simply been seeking damages for undisclosed liabilities stemming from its acquisition of a separate e-commerce company. A surface-level investigation would have found that the subject company was properly registered, that it had not been the target of any regulatory proceedings, and that it had received dozens of five-star customer reviews on mainstream corporate rating websites. An automated approach to due diligence relying on AI tools may have stopped there—with the client receiving a report giving the impression of a well-respected company with a nominal litigation profile. Such an impression would have been highly misleading. AI results should be fully vetted by an experienced human researcher – like those at Gryphon. The big picture Gryphon’s experienced investigators recognized the e-commerce company’s business model as similar to known varieties of get-rich-quick scams. Evaluating the company’s online presence through this lens raised several red flags that would have otherwise been missed: First, Gryphon identified the dozens of glowing customer reviews as highly suspect, given that they are routinely faked by get-rich-quick scams, even on normally reputable rating sites. Research into the subject’s disclosed commercial lawsuit found that the acquired e-commerce company and its former owners were subsequently targeted by a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit for scamming clients out of tens of millions of dollars. While the subject of the report was not mentioned in the FTC suit, its principal ultimately co-signed a multi-million dollar injunction that liquidated the assets of the scam enterprise acquired by the subject. The bottom line As many due diligence companies continue to trend towards a greater reliance on AI, clients may be paying for reports that are incomplete or compromised by fake reviews, commissioned articles posing as independent news, and other online content optimized to fool AI. While AI can be helpful in building efficiencies into a research process, the results it produces should be fully vetted by an experienced human researcher – like those at Gryphon. Gryphon’s experienced team of knowledgeable investigators helps eliminate this risk by giving our clients the certainty that the information they are receiving is comprehensive and high quality. Gryphon is the trusted partner that provides the deep, actionable intelligence necessary to assess and appropriately size risk. To learn more, contact Gryphon at [email protected].
In the realm of business and investments, the allure of a promising opportunity can often overshadow the critical necessity of thorough due diligence. While many are vigilant in seeking out “smoking guns,” such as major scandals or legal disputes, the more insidious risks often lie in the patterns of behavior exhibited by the individuals or entities involved. These patterns — whether they manifest as repeated legal troubles, financial irresponsibility, or ethical lapses — can be indicative of deeper systemic issues that pose significant risks to prospective partnerships, investments, or business dealings. The Deceptive Allure of the Smoking Gun In background investigation processes, there is often a tendency to focus on singular, attention-grabbing red flags — the proverbial smoking guns. These could be large-scale frauds, regulatory violations, significant criminal activity, or high-profile lawsuits. The reality is that “stuff happens” in someone’s life and professional career, and a single issue, even if material in nature, may not be a deal killer if it was a one-off occurrence dating back in time, with proper remediation and a clean track record since. While such issues certainly warrant attention and scrutiny, relying solely on identifying these singular events can lead to overlooking broader, more pervasive problems. A more troubling scenario could be when a potential business partner has a history, including recent occurrences of career/education misrepresentations, excessive traffic violations, license suspensions, minor criminal infractions or a trail of breached contracts. These instances, when viewed in isolation, might seem manageable or unrelated to the core business at hand. However, when viewed as part of a larger pattern, they may point to a lack of reliability, responsibility, and ethical integrity. Understanding Patterns of Behavior Patterns of behavior encapsulate the consistent actions, decisions, and outcomes that define how an individual or entity operates over time and are likely predictive of how they will behave in an ongoing relationship in the future. These patterns often extend beyond legal and regulatory compliance to encompass financial management, ethical standards, integrity, and interpersonal relations. For instance: Someone with a history of recurrent financial troubles — frequent late payments, bad credit, or bankruptcy filings despite adequate resources — demonstrates a pattern of financial irresponsibility that can adversely affect business partnerships or investments. Individuals or entities embroiled in multiple legal disputes for breaching contracts, repeated citations or fines, and unethical business practices reveal a pattern of disregard for legal obligations and ethical boundaries. While each lawsuit or dispute may seem small in isolation, collectively they indicate a recurring pattern that poses legal, financial, and reputational risks and may be an indicator of future litigious or unethical behavior with an investor. The true essence of effective risk management lies in recognizing and understanding patterns of behavior. The Cumulative Impact The significance of patterns of behavior lies in their cumulative impact on business outcomes and relationships as well as being a reliable predictor of future behaviors. Unlike singular events that may be isolated or remediable, patterns are ingrained behaviors that influence decision-making, risk management, and overall business conduct. They can erode trust, disrupt operations, and undermine long-term viability. For example: A business executive with a history of ethical lapses — such as misrepresenting financial data or engaging in conflicts of interest — may jeopardize not only the company’s reputation but also its legal standing and investor confidence. An investment opportunity backed by individuals with repeated instances of regulatory non-compliance or governance failures presents systemic risks that go beyond immediate financial returns. Effective due diligence entails identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks associated with patterns of behavior. This process requires a comprehensive assessment that goes beyond surface-level checks…
At Gryphon, diversity, excellence, and uncompromising effort define our culture. We are dedicated to serving our clients and treating our employees in an open, accessible, and responsive manner, ensuring their success remains our top priority.
Gryphon welcomes Daniel Todorovich, Director of Business Development. He brings more than a decade of experience in compliance, risk management, and corporate intelligence through roles at Dow Jones, Equifax, and Thomson Reuters. Daniel’s expertise spans AML, KYC, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, anti-corruption, and enhanced due diligence. He will partner closely with clients to understand their unique needs and deliver practical, tailored strategies that help organizations anticipate risk and make confident decisions.
Gryphon