You are a private investigator in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. You’ve spent the last three years working divorce and missing persons cases for 200 dollars a day, plus expenses. You live in a condo that also serves as your office. You used to have a partner, Sam Ash, but he left a couple of years ago to work for a big security firm. You’d rather stay independent - but bills have to be paid, and lately you’ve really been considering joining him.
That is until... an envelope drops through your mail slot. You suspect it contains an eviction notice, but it isn’t from your landlord. It’s from Golden Exchange, Inc. Who are they? Perhaps it’s a collection agency. You almost toss it onto your growing pile of unopened mail when you remember seeing the company’s name on a nearby office building. You noticed it because the sign is directly across from the window behind your desk.
You spin around, and there it is: Golden Exchange, Inc. You rush to tear open the envelope and a business card falls out. It reads: Andrea Rose, Chief Recovery Officer, Golden Exchange, Inc. Handwritten on the back is: $1,500 a day, plus expenses and a $4,000 bonus - if you earn it! We’ve only got four days. Call me soon, Andrea.
You sit down at your desk and stare out the window. Picking up your cell phone, you punch in Andrea’s number. A pleasant but firm female voice answers - one that tells a very interesting story...
In 2006, we were helping a number of wealthy clients with their investments. Sometimes there were tax advantages, but mostly we were just finding buyers for assets worth much more as a group than they were broken up. In fact, our business was going so well that we hired Horace J. Green, a reputable investment attorney, to handle a few of our overflow exchanges. Everything seemed to be going fine. Our customers were happy to work with Mr. Green. Deals were closed, and his trust fund account soon reached $10 million in commissions that were to be transferred to Golden. That’s when he disappeared. It seems Mr. Green was financing his lifestyle on our money. His luxury cars, condo, yacht and vacation home were all paid for from the money he owes us. And he must have had other accounts on the side, because some people claim that he’s worth at least $300 million dollars. We’ve also discovered that a number of other creditors are looking for him.
Andrea wants to hire you to find assets belonging to Horace J. Green in Florida. If you can find them, the Golden Exchange Recovery Division will make sure those assets are tied up in court before they disappear like Mr. Green. You only have four days to find as many assets as you can. And, if you find at least one million dollars worth, you will be paid a $4,000 bonus. That means you can make as much as $10,000 in the next four days.
Inside the envelope that Andrea has provided you with some clues that will help your investigation...
• Although Mr. Green lived in Miami, his office is across the street - in the same building as Golden Exchange, Inc. Andrea has a key to his office.
• Mr. Green’s Miami condo has been put up for sale "as is," with all contents included. The address in the file is: 2121 S. Palm Avenue. There is also a flyer talking about the sale, including a note saying that Max Gray, a Miami realtor, has a key to the condo.
• Candy, Mr. Green’s twenty-something wife, has lunch every day at the Palms Café in Miami. She claims to have no idea what’s happened to her husband and has put up a $1 million reward for information leading to his safe return.
• Wallace Brown, Mr. Green’s business manager in Miami, lines up for coffee at Java Grotto each morning before work. He has been strangely silent about Mr. Green’s disappearance.
After you read the clues, you sit down at your desk and write the following plan of action:
Option 1: Follow Candy Green, Horace’s twenty-something wife as she leaves Palms Café in Miami at 2:00 pm.
Option 2: Follow Wallace Brown, Horace’s business manager as he leaves the Java Grotto at 7:30 am.
Option 3: Use Andréa Rose’s key to get into Mr. Green’s abandoned office.
Option 4: Ask Max Gray to show you Mr. Green’s Miami condo.
Option 5: See what you can find at the Miami-Dade County Court House.
[Following Candy Green]
You follow Candy, Mr. Green’s twenty-something wife as she leaves Palms Café. Follow Candy Green, Horace’s twenty-something wife as she leaves Palms Café in Miami at 2:00 pm. She drives to the Bahia Oleander yacht harbor. She walks out to a 70 ft. Super Glide, moderate quality cruising yacht. Across the stern is the name "Candy Landing".
You note the license plate number of the car that Candy is driving. You find out that it is registered to Candy Green at 2760 Old Willow Road, Key Biscayne, FL, and that Second Florida Savings Bank holds the title.
You also find out that the boat Candy was on is registered to Horace J. Greene at 2760 Old Willow Road, Key Biscayne, FL. You note that address and enter it into your case file. Congratulations, you have recovered the yacht and its $200,000.00 value.
Candy leaves the Marina and drives to 2760 Old Willow Road in Key Biscayne. She unlocks the front door and goes in.
[Following Wallace Brown]
You follow Wallace Brown, Horace’s business manager as he leaves the Java Grotto at 7:30 am. Wallace walks to his office in the Second Florida Savings Bank Building. You go into the building and look up his name on the directory. You go up to the fifth floor and find his office. The receptionist says that Mr. Brown is leaving for Homestead, FL and cannot make time to see you. But, he has time on his calendar in two weeks. You go back to your car to decide what to do next. While you are waiting you spot Wallace Brown driving out of the parking structure. You follow him and he drives all the way to Homestead to an empty tract of land with a construction trailer. He goes inside.
You note the license plate on the trailer and find out that it is registered to Horace J. Greene at 2760 Old Willow Road, Key Biscayne, FL, and that Second Florida Savings Bank holds the title.
The mailbox next to the trailer lists the address 2100 S. Palm Avenue. You make a note of it and enter it into your case file.
Wallace comes out of the trailer, gets back in his car and drives to 2760 Old Willow Road in Key Biscayne. He unlocks the front door and goes in.
[Visit Mr. Greene’s Office]
You use Andrea Rose’s key to get into Mr. Greene’s abandoned office. The place is a mess. Unopened mail has piled up behind the door. The filing cabinets are open and the contents are scattered on the floor.
There is a map book turned upside down on the desk, you find that it is opened to the Homestead, FL page. There is a red circle drawn around a dead-end road named Orange Garden Circle. The number 4700 is also written in red ink. You note the address and add it to your case file.
There are papers sticking out of the filing cabinet. You find a two-month old bank statement from the Second Florida Savings Bank. It shows a $500,000 balance in a joint bank account in the names of Horace J. Green and Candy Green. Congratulations, you have recovered the bank account and its current balance of $100,000.
[Visit Mr. Greene’s Miami Condo]
You ask Max Gray to show you Mr. Green’s Miami condo. It takes you an hour in traffic to get there, and Max Green is waiting in the lobby at 2100 S. Palm Avenue. Max insists on giving you a tour of the condo, and will not leave you alone for a minute. There is a picture of a yacht called "Candy’s Landing" on a bookcase in the living room.
Suddenly, Max’s cell phone rings. He gives you a stern look and walks into the next room. You are finally alone in the master bedroom, but you only have a few minutes to look around.
There is a piece of paper on a writing desk by the window. You see that is a property tax bill for a house at 2760 Old Willow Road in Key Biscayne, FL. The assessed value of the property is $600,000, and the property owner is Horace J. Greene. The listed trust deed holder is Second Florida Savings Bank. Congratulations, you have recovered the Key Biscayne house and its current net value of $400,000.
[Visit the Miami Dade County Courthouse]
You decide to see what you can find at the Miami-Dade County Court House. There are five available offices for you to visit...
The available offices are:
• Assessor’s Office
• Department of Motor Vehicles
• Marriage License Bureau
• Permits & Inspections Office
• Recorder’s Office
You go to the Assessor’s office first. The Assessor’s office has two public use computer terminals that you can use. Linda Lavender is an Internal Revenue Officer sitting at one of the terminals. She tells you how to use the terminal, how to interpret the data, and how to use the data to locate more information in the County Recorder’s Office.
The terminal allows you to search tax assessment records based on street address. You have to input a valid street address in order to find out its assessed value and its parcel number. You enter in the three addresses from your case file. The terminal list out the following results...
Input Address: 2760 Old Willow Road, Key Biscayne, FL
Return: Parcel No. VCA00939123
Return: Assessed Value = $600,000
Input Address: 2121 S. Palm Avenue, Miami, FL
Return: Parcel No. LUX575222
Return: Assessed Value = $1,200,000
Input Address: 4700 Orange Garden Circle, Homestead, FL
Return: Parcel No. AGR00757321
Return: Assessed Value = $4,000,000
You add that information to your case file and go to the County Recorder’s office. At the Recorder’s office you find two public use computer terminals that you can use. Larry Plum is an Internal Revenue Officer sitting at one of the terminals. He tells you how to use the terminal and how to interpret the data.
The terminal allows you to search real property records based on parcel number. You have to input a valid parcel number in order to find out who owns the property, and who holds any trust deeds.
Input Parcel Number: VCA00939123
Return: 2760 Old Willow Road, Key Biscayne, FL
Return: Owned by Horace J. Green
Return: Trust Deed held by Second Florida Savings Bank
The vacation home has an assessed value of $600,000 and the Second Florida Savings Bank has a prior claim secured by a $200,000 trust deed. Congratulations, you just recovered $400,000.00.
Input Parcel Number: LUX575222
Return: 2121 S. Palm Avenue, Miami, FL
Return: Owned by Horace J. Green
Return: Trust Deed held by Second Florida Savings Bank
The luxury condo has an assessed value of $1,200,000 and the Second Florida Savings Bank has a prior claim secured by an $800,000 trust deed. Congratulations, you just recovered $400,000.00.
Input Parcel Number: AGR00757321
Return: 4700 Orange Garden Circle, Homestead, FL
Return: Owned by Horace J. Green
Return: Trust Deed held by Second Florida Savings Bank
Horace J. Green and Wallace Brown each own a 50% interest in the tract of land that has an assessed value of $4,000,000. The Second Florida Savings Bank has a prior claim secured by a $2,000,000 trust deed. Congratulations, you just recovered $1,000,000.00.
Well done! You have earned your $4000.00. That plus your $1500.00 per day salary has earned you $10,000.00 in just four days!
You’ve just had a chance to see what it’s like to be a private investigator. You showed that you could use both financial records and public documents to find assets hidden from creditors. Of course, you also added your ability to follow clues and put together pieces of information in order to solve a puzzle.
There are a lot of opportunities in the real world for you to put these types of skills to use, both in the private and public sectors. For example, insurance companies, banks and credit companies use a variety of investigators, as do local and state governments. Many federal agencies also have an investigative unit working for them.
If you’re interested in taking on a job in the area of investigation, you will find a group of these types of positions on USAJOBS.gov. They’re listed in the 1800-1899 job series. You can also find investigative jobs in the business and industry groups that appear in the 1100-1199 job series.
At the IRS, our Internal Revenue Officers are in the 1169 job series. Find out more about the exciting and important career of an Internal Revenue Officer.