Due Diligence
By William Cate
Published December 1999 [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/]

Before you pay anyone a retainer, investigate. Swindlers are attracted to
money. The essence of equity finance is money. There's no shortage of
crooks involved in the Stock Market.

Relying upon business references is a mistake. Honest business people
refer you to associates that they know will give them a good reference. The
crooks use a business reference service, run by swindlers. The crook's
references appear to be key people in major industries. The referral's
recommendations are always glowing. It's a business scam that can cost you
money.

Start your "Due Diligence" research on the Net. Visit Netcheck at:
http://www.netcheck.com and the Better Business Bureau at:
http://www.bbbonline.org/consumers/safesurfing.html

Here are two websites that cover stock fraud.
http://www.endfraud.com/ http://www.financialweb.com/stockdetective/

You can use the Net to do a credit check on most people in the United
States and Canada. While most entrepreneurs have bad credit histories,
professionals should not be on the verge of bankruptcy.

If the professional is an attorney or accountant, check with the State or
Province to ensure that their license is current. Ask if there have been
consumer complaints against them.

Be careful with people who move often. Swindlers have to move every two or three years because of complaints to the local Better Business Bureau and
County District Attorney's Consumer Affairs Office. Call both of these
agencies. Query the complains department. This should be your policy for
anywhere the person may have lived for the past ten years.

If your company is a startup, be wary of anyone willing to help you raise
risk capital from investors. A useful test is to have a business associate
contact the professional you are considering using. Have your friend seek
the professional's help for an unsound project. If the professional is
willing to work with your business associate's unsound project, be careful.
In the equity finance industry, anyone who will do any deal at all,
regardless of its quality is either stupid or a crook.

There are private investigators that specialize in researching business
services and individuals. If you have any reason to question the
qualifications, ethics, or experience of anyone you may consider relying
upon, use one of these business investigative firms.

To contact the author: Visit the Beowulf Investments website: [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] Or, visit the Global Village Investment Club Website:
[http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/]