Information Unlimited, Inc. has been providing thorough and reliable investigative services to clients in the Philidelphia metropolitan region and across the country since 1985.
Whether it's litigation, a collection matter or a divorce case, information about assets is often a critical element in a successful outcome. We specialize in working with lawyers and their clients to develop the asset information they need. Here are some examples of cases we've handled in all three areas:
Information Unlimited, Inc. was established in 1985 by Anthony Lame to provide sophisticated investigative and research services to law firms, corporations and individuals. Under his direction, the firm has completed hundreds of investigations requiring the analysis and unraveling of complex transactions.
Prior to establishing the firm, Mr. Lame enjoyed a distinguished career as both a print and broadcast investigative reporter. From 1978 to 1984 he was employed by Westinghouse Broadcasting & Cable, Inc. for whom he organized and managed a seven-member investigative unit at KYW-TV, the "Group W" television station in Philadelphia. The unit, called the I-Team, produced scores of investigative reports on such subjects as tax fraud, government waste and political corruption. Under Mr. Lame's direction, the unit won 36 national and local awards.
Before joining Westinghouse Broadcasting, Mr. Lame served for eight years as city hall bureau chief and investigative reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In those capacities he was responsible for reporting, writing and editing hundreds of news reports exposing government contract fraud, political corruption and abuses in the criminal justice system for which he received numerous awards for excellence in reporting.
Mr. Lame holds an M.S. degree with Honors from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. degree with High Honors from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT.
Their strong suit is corporate fraud cases, or the tracing of assets that have vanished in the face of a judgment, and in this they are aided by partner Robert Griggs, a 24-year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Fraud Division.
Attorney Edward Mullinex of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis contrasts them with the typical PI. "Their basic skills and intelligence are a good deal higher than what one usually finds in the field," he says, "and their ability to ferret out business and financial information is far greater than anyone else's."
Another Philadelphia attorney spoke of using Information Unlimited in a "rather substantial collection case" involving a company that had gone under. Initially, he notes, "we didn't think we'd recover a dime," but Information Unlimited not only tracked down the disappearing defendants, it also located concealed assets and amassed enough evidence to enable the attorney's client to go after the principals for fraud.
One defendant has already settled and will testify against his former cohorts. Litigation and investigation fees have been collected, and the client has even recovered some of his losses. The attorney says that as far as using Information Unlimited for a complicated and substantial asset investigation, "I'd hire them in a flash."
"What was essential in this case was that lawyer and investigator became a team," he says. "Some lawyers would probably take offense at taking advice or suggestions from an investigator as to discovery tactics, but if you use them to investigate, it's essential you work hand-in-hand, because they can tell you when you're missing something." He also found Information Unlimited skilled at getting witnesses "very disarmed very quickly."
Lawyers who have worked with the firm remark on its sensitivity to procedural niceties. Other investigators, one lawyer observes, do not always understand that lawyers are bound by a code of ethics and by court rules in obtaining evidence.
The general counsel of a major Philadelphia corporation had misgivings about a proposed multi-million dollar joint venture between his company and some developers with rather sparse credentials. The principals were about to close (and the corporation was about to turn over a "substantial amount" in consulting and development fees), when the urgent call came to Information Unlimited to come up with information on the prospective partners. What Information Unlimited uncovered in two days' time and starting with little more than the names and Social Security numbers, included Securities and Exchange Commission violations, an unbroken string of failures among other start-ups in which one would-be partner had been involved and a strong suspicion that another was a con man. "I was astonished by the extent and depth of their investigation," the counsel said. "They were able to come up with information that I could never have found in 1,000 years."
What they do is collect vital information for corporations, banks and law firms. Most of it is public information, but much of it is hard to find. They know where to look, have excellent sources and are diligent in their pursuit of facts. By tenacious scrutiny of thousands of documents and ingenious computer searches, they have assisted some of the region's best-known firms.
In one case they identified and located assets worth millions of dollars for a corporation seeking to force a defendant to settle a lawsuit.
In another, they conducted an investigations to determine whether a top executive had misappropriated corporate property.
In one ongoing case, the business detectives have been probing an alleged kick-back scheme involving an officer of a Fortune 500 Company.
Phone: (610) 649-8989 Fax: (610) 520-9019
email: aclame@info-unlimited.com