Blog of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig

Damage to Consumers and Competitors

While monopolies are usually easy to identify as they emerge, allowing the Federal Cartel Office to intervene and prevent market distortion and price manipulation, illegal price agreements can generally only be uncovered through intensive research and surveillance. As a result of this type of fraud, consumers suffer from prices that are too high and do not reflect the actual market, while uninvolved competitors are exposed to an unlawful competitive disadvantage.

 

Our Leipzig detectives are also happy to help affected consumers who suspect illegal price agreements, possibly in the form of bid rigging (synonymous with tender fraud), but in practice it is primarily companies that commission us to take a closer look at the activities of competitors. Through court-admissible documentation of conspicuous price developments, research into possible business and private connections between the suspicious companies, and, in cases of strong justified interest, also undercover deployment of investigators within the companies or surveillance of managing directors and employees, it can be examined whether the actual competitors are in active exchange with one another and are therefore able to negotiate prices and offers on the market: +49 341 3549 012-0.

Tender Fraud Distinguished from Anti-Competitive Agreements

Tender fraud is a special economic-crime form of fraud in which, following a public tender, various providers of a service or goods coordinate with one another in order to create a particularly high (false) market price. In addition, such an agreement often favors a few providers while disadvantaging others or even excluding them entirely from the award process, so that no regulated competitive situation can arise in the market. Under § 263 StGB, “ordinary” fraud is punished by a fine or a prison sentence of up to 5 years. In particularly serious cases, for example involving very high amounts of damage, a large number of victims, or commercial-scale conduct, the penalty can be imprisonment from 6 months to 10 years. However, in order to secure a conviction for tender fraud, court-admissible evidence of financial loss or so-called equivalent threat to assets must be available—the Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig handles the evidence gathering.

 

In contrast to tender fraud under § 263 StGB, in the case of anti-competitive agreements in public tenders (§ 298 StGB), merely submitting a bid based on illegal agreements is already punishable. This means that damage does not necessarily have to have occurred in order for the perpetrators to be convicted. The penalty matches that of ordinary fraud, which is investigated much more frequently by our Leipzig private detectives: imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine. The law was enacted in 1997 by the legislature due to a rise in irregularities in public tenders, in order to simplify the complicated process of proving tender fraud cases through a stricter and more narrowly defined statute.

Illustrative Examples of Tender Fraud

A typical sector for the commission of tender fraud is the construction industry. Whenever a property owner wants to commission a new build, renovation, or refurbishment, they look for service providers who should, if possible, do high-quality work, but of course at the lowest possible cost. If they request estimates from several masonry companies, for example, different price offers would normally be produced from which the property owner can choose. However, if an illegal agreement had been reached beforehand, the resulting inflated offers would be difficult to distinguish from one another, and the property owner would have to accept the unpleasant fact of paying an exaggerated sum for the service. And even if some masons do not participate in this fraud, the property owner may have many similar offers and perhaps one or two much cheaper ones, which would likely seem suspicious due to the large difference. They may suspect price dumping or even that the few honest providers are up to no good. To avoid making a bad choice, they would rather commission one of the overpriced tender fraudsters. Our corporate detective agency from Leipzig recommends, in such cases, first checking the web and then asking local experts and architects about their experience with the companies involved. If you have already commissioned and perhaps even paid the suspicious company, an operation by our investigators will provide clarity.

 

However, many other sectors are also affected by tender fraud, for example the computer and IT sector in a case brought before the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. There, the masterminds had founded two shell companies: an IT company that announced a tender for database software, and a consulting provider that referred system houses to the IT company and collected a 10 percent commission for doing so. Once the contract was signed and the commission paid, the IT company cut off all contact with the system houses. The repertoire of tender fraudsters therefore includes various different methods. A sharp eye and a healthy degree of skepticism toward suspicious offers are therefore advisable; our Leipzig corporate detectives take care of everything else.

Help from Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig in Cases of Illegal Price Agreements or Tender Fraud

Have you (presumably) become a victim of illegal price agreements or tender fraud? Do you suspect that various providers are artificially driving up market prices in order to pocket more profit and thus take your money out of your pocket? In these or other cases, contact our detective agency in Leipzig to receive a free consultation on the possible course of action by our investigators and, if necessary, to arrange an assignment. No matter which methods seem most promising—undercover operations, surveillance, or research—our Leipzig detectives are flexible and experienced in using a wide variety of investigative methods.

 

You can reach us during business hours (Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 19:00) at the following number: +49 341 3549 012-0.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Illegal Competition with Drastic Consequences for the Economy and Social System

Illegal employment and unregistered business activities are unlawful forms of work. They harm not only the state and the social system by avoiding taxes, social contributions, and other ancillary costs, but also legally operating companies, which suffer losses due to unlawfully acting competitors and, in the worst cases, may even see their very existence threatened. Particularly during periods of high unemployment, many job seekers see no other option than to offer their labor illegally on the black market; in doing so, they often overlook—or accept—that they are taking away assignments from companies that are necessary to create new positions and stabilize jobs. As a result, even the perpetrators themselves reduce their chances of being considered for a regular position that provides proper social security.

 

Since illegal employment and unregistered business operations destroy jobs and undermine fair competition, Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig primarily works for affected law-abiding competitors to provide legally admissible proof of these violations: +49 341 3549 012-0.

Employers and Clients of Illegal Workers Commit an Offense

Both business and private individuals should be aware of their responsibilities and the potential consequences if they employ illegal workers, because not only the act of working illegally, but also employing someone to do so, is punishable and subject to administrative fines. Even if the temptation is strong to have your home quickly and cheaply renovated by craftsmen without a trade license, or to have warehouse logistics handled by illegal workers, you should consider the economic impact and legal consequences such illegal employment entails.

 

Our private detectives in Leipzig are regularly deployed when, for example, construction companies notice that they are losing an excessive number of orders, likely being taken by illegal workers, often from abroad. To legalize business and competition, our detectives can be engaged by affected companies at any time. We gladly accept inquiries by phone or email (info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de).

Lack of Legal Protection and Severe Penalties

The problem with illegal employment is not only the responsibility toward the economy, market, and state, but also the quality of the work performed. For example, hiring workers without a trade license—i.e., not registered with the respective trade chambers—often means employing amateurs who have no proper training or journeyman/master certification. Is it worth risking a poorly constructed building or incorrectly installed pipes, wiring, or tiles just to save on taxes and social contributions? The damage is not compensated, and no person or company can be held liable. Attempting to claim damages through legal channels may backfire, as authorities would become aware of the use of illegal labor. Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig therefore warns against hasty, financially motivated decisions involving illegal workers, as the consequences are often greater than the intended benefit.

 

If an illegal employment relationship or unregistered business operation is uncovered, the penalties are substantial: violations of trade and craft regulations can result in fines up to €50,000, administrative offenses under the Black Labor Prevention Act can be punished with fines of up to €300,000, and illegal profits are also confiscated. Projects funded with public money set a model standard, which should be adhered to. Nevertheless, even large public projects occasionally employ cheap illegal workers, and if uncovered by our Leipzig detectives, this can cause significant damage to the public reputation of the company and the contractor.

Industries Frequently Targeted by Fraudsters

Illegal business activities are particularly common in construction and cleaning services, where labor is urgently needed, and rules are sometimes overlooked. Unemployed women may supplement their social benefits by cleaning illegally, while men often seek work in construction as glaziers, locksmiths, carpenters, masons, etc., often without a trade license or contract. Payment is made in cash, leaving no trace for tax authorities. However, even initial suspicion from a competitor or a construction colleague can be enough for our Leipzig detectives to be deployed: we investigate the suspects and provide legally admissible evidence through surveillance or undercover operations.

 

Other sectors are also attractive for business fraudsters: transport logistics, car repairs, assembly, and even service companies sometimes operate without registration (occasionally even in the detective industry). Training as a logistics specialist, technician, or courier is often not required when temporary labor is “hired.” The same applies to the hospitality sector, especially catering for large events such as trade fairs or corporate parties. Agriculture and forestry also offer loopholes for unqualified and unregistered workers and companies. Our private detectives in Leipzig use their professional investigative skills to examine any suspicious cases.

Leipzig Detective Agency Exposes Business Fraudsters

Have you been deceived by a company without a trade license and ended up with a botched construction project? Have you lost orders due to illegal workers or competitors without a business license and want to expose the perpetrators? Then contact Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig for consultation or engagement during business hours (Monday to Friday, 08:00–19:00). You can reach us at +49 341 3549 012-0.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Exclusively sourced items from warehouse stock offered for illegal sale

The automotive industry is by far Germany’s most important industrial sector—in terms of revenue, export rate, employment figures, research, and development. It is therefore no surprise that German car manufacturers have a strong political lobby (which they reinforce, among other things, through substantial party donations) and are regularly supported by government authorities (keywords: VW emissions scandal, VDA-controlled passenger car efficiency labels, repeated weakening of environmentally oriented EU decisions such as the CO₂ directive in 2013, systematic suppression and targeted disinformation regarding superior foreign technologies (for example Tesla), etc.). The automotive industry is also of great importance for Zwickau, with the local Volkswagen plant employing more than 6,000 people. Suppliers such as parts manufacturers and distributors traditionally settle in the vicinity of vehicle producers—and not all of them operate by legal means.

 

One such distributor of vehicle parts came into the focus of our detective agency in Zwickau*, as it was selling items for which our client was the sole manufacturer across Europe. On platforms such as eBay Classifieds, the target company offered auto parts with visible QR codes—parts which, according to our client’s internal database, had never left the production facility. It was now up to our investigators to clarify the background of this matter.

Test Purchases for Evidence Collection

In a preliminary investigation, our detectives for Zwickau gathered information about the target company. This included data such as employee and revenue figures, credit ratings, involvement in criminal activities, the date of establishment, relocation of business premises, and photographs of the owner for identification purposes during a planned test purchase on site. Subsequently, one of our investigators contacted the target company under a pretext of purchase interest in the relevant vehicle part and arranged a collection appointment.

 

Upon arrival at the company premises, the private detective from Zwickau found what appeared more like a hobbyist workshop than a professionally run business. The owner was nowhere to be seen, but two unidentified men were each working on a vehicle. The owner had been delayed, but the requested part was ready for collection. To maintain the authenticity of the chosen cover story while securing a second piece of evidence, our investigator called the company owner and negotiated the price, indicating that he might purchase additional identical parts if given a discount. Ultimately, they agreed on a significantly reduced price and the purchase of a second illegally offered vehicle part. However, the second item still had to be procured.

A Delicate Dance Around the Receipt

For evidentiary purposes, our corporate detective in Zwickau was, of course, keen to obtain a purchase receipt for the acquired parts. However, the owner argued that they were display items for which he himself had no invoice and therefore could not issue one. Although the client agreed to proceed without a receipt after consultation, our investigator persisted and requested a written receipt from the two workers present. They initially refused, claiming they had no receipt book—until the detective produced one himself. With no further arguments available, one of the men signed the properly completed receipt.

 

After leaving, the case officer from our corporate detective agency in Zwickau loaded the purchased part into his vehicle and took photographs of the product number and QR code, both of which differed from those shown in the online listing. Minutes later, the client informed the investigator that, according to the company database, the item was officially still in stock, yet a physical inventory check revealed it was missing from its storage location. Based on these findings, it was assumed that an internal employee thief was responsible, as external individuals would hardly have the opportunity to remove such a large item unnoticed.

Search for Accomplices: Dual-Track Surveillance

In order not only to convict the seller of the stolen goods in a manner admissible in court but also to identify the accomplice within the affected company and initiate appropriate labor, criminal, and civil proceedings, our detective agency in Zwickau developed several investigative approaches inside and outside the victim company. Ultimately, a dual-track strategy was chosen: On the one hand, the owner of the resale business was to be surveilled to determine whether he would meet with an employee of our client. For this purpose, a representative of the client company maintained constant contact with the surveillance team to immediately identify any of their own employees among the target’s contacts. On the other hand, the workshop premises of the target company were to be monitored in order to document any deliveries of the suspicious parts.

 

However, surveillance of the workshop owner initially proved difficult, as he could not be located at the residential address registered with the trade office. Therefore, an expedited address investigation had to be carried out before observation of the target person could begin.

Field Service Employee During “Goods Delivery”

After more than a week of surveillance—during which various suspicious contacts of the business owner were observed, but none directly relevant to the case—the breakthrough came during monitoring of the workshop premises. During regular working hours, a van bearing the logo of our client’s company arrived. The driver was clearly identified as a field service employee of our client. With the help of the two men previously encountered during the test purchase, he unloaded several boxes identical to the one containing the part purchased by our detective.

 

Shortly afterward, the owner of the resale business contacted our test buyer by phone and informed him that the second requested part had arrived and was ready for pickup. The detective immediately set off. On site, he was handed another item bearing a QR code from the client. When asked whether identical parts were stored in the other boxes, the apparent mechanics shrugged, claiming they did not know but could check. As expected, additional identical items were found, and under a suitable pretext, our investigator photographed their product numbers and QR codes. After completion of this operation, the lawyers of the affected company considered the collected evidence sufficient to conclude the investigation and initiate the appropriate legal proceedings.

*Notice*

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

 

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig are processed by our operations management in Leipzig. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Ruthless Conduct Causes Personal Harm – Case Example from Our Detective Agency in Magdeburg*

More than 100,000 people are employed in Magdeburg, many of them have children of preschool age who are cared for during working hours in one of the city’s approximately 130 daycare centers. In most cases, the children are well looked after there and receive comprehensive care, but there are also regrettable exceptions, as our detectives in Magdeburg know from one of their cases:

Mysterious Wave of Illness – Investigating the Cause

In a daycare center in Magdeburg, there was a sudden increase in illnesses among the children, who were increasingly suffering from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. At first, no one directly connected the symptoms with the facility; the parents of the sick children simply excused them from attendance for the relevant days with the director, Ms. Zerbst. During a parents’ meeting, conversations revealed that all the children showed the same symptoms, which led Ms. Zerbst to suspect internal causes and identify possible sources of infection.

 

The facility director’s inquiries included, among other things, a conversation with the in-house cook as well as a thorough inspection of the kitchen and supplies. The cook, Thomas M., had been working at the daycare center for half a year. He apparently performed his job satisfactorily and was also popular with the children. The refrigerator and freezer temperatures were correct, the food was apparently fresh, the kitchen was clean, and Ms. Zerbst could find no signs of unhygienic conditions. But how reckless the cook’s conduct really was was something our detective agency in Magdeburg was still to discover.

Daycare Cook Under Investigation

A few days after the facility director’s fruitless inquiries, the already familiar symptoms appeared in more children, which increased the pressure on Ms. Zerbst to find the cause. From her husband, who from personal experience thought little of Thomas M. and had already advised against hiring him at the outset (both had grown up in the same small community), she received the tip to carefully check the cook and, if necessary, take over the food purchases herself, which she was unable to do due to a lack of time. To obtain professional advice, Ms. Zerbst called our corporate detective agency for Magdeburg (+49 341 3549 012-0) and explained the situation. She expressed the suspicion that Thomas M. might have had something to do with the incidents, but she could not identify any sufficient indication that pointed to any kind of misconduct.

 

Our experienced detectives proposed observing Thomas M. during his shopping trips to determine whether anything unusual would occur. On the shopping trip the next day – after the daycare center had already closed – our investigators followed the cook as he completed his shopping list, but nothing unusual came to light. After shopping, he did not return to the daycare center but drove directly home, took part of the groceries out of the trunk there, and carried them into his apartment. After that, he was no longer seen. Our private detectives in Magdeburg contacted Ms. Zerbst for a phone report, whereupon she stated that Thomas M. often pre-cooked dinner for the next day at home in the evenings. Accordingly, surveillance for that evening was called off.

No Signs of Wrongdoing

The next morning, the cook came to his car with two large pots and drove them to the daycare center. He made no stops and otherwise showed no unusual behavior, which is why our detectives ended the surveillance upon arrival at the daycare center. In a conversation with the client, the operations manager explained that, apart from the unusual practice of preparing the food at home, nothing conspicuous had been documented. If the cook was indeed responsible for the children’s illnesses, then the cause had to lie in the time he spent preparing meals at home. After all, neither the checks in the daycare kitchen nor the observation of his public activities had revealed anything unusual.

 

In light of this, Ms. Zerbst and our detective team in Magdeburg jointly considered checking other suspects or looking for the cause of the illnesses elsewhere. However, since no conclusive indications of wrongdoing by third parties emerged and Ms. Zerbst, according to her own statement, increasingly no longer trusted the cook despite the previously unremarkable findings (“just a feeling”), we continued to focus on Thomas M. Her intuition would prove correct.

Deploying a Private Detective in the Daycare Center

One of our experienced corporate detectives for Magdeburg, a mid-30s man who could appear significantly younger if needed, was placed undercover in the daycare center as an alleged intern, where he was to assist the cook with his work. Thanks to his previous career with the criminal police, our undercover investigator has a wealth of experience when it comes to gaining a person’s trust and uncovering secrets through skillful questioning. Undercover assignments in companies are the ideal way for a detective to build personal relationships with suspects and collect internal information that is withheld from supervisors. However, this investigative tactic must be learned and can only be used successfully with a great deal of tact.

 

And indeed: our corporate investigator very quickly managed to analyze the cook’s character so accurately that he could play a role with this knowledge that immediately won Thomas M. over. The role our detective portrayed and the suspect became friends, and after just four days Thomas M. confided in the supposed intern over several bottles of beer and several shots of liquor about his scheme:

“Drunk People and Children Always Tell the Truth” – Undercover Detective Loosens the Perpetrator’s Tongue

Clearly intoxicated, the cook revealed that he had a deal with a wholesaler from whom he always bought for the daycare center. He took from the wholesaler’s store everything that was currently in stock and could be processed, including items that were (in some cases significantly) past their prime, in order to receive substantial discounts. The wholesaler then sent him an electronic invoice by email, without noting on the individual line items that the goods were expired and therefore reduced. Thomas M. received the invoice as a PDF document, and since he had “cracked” Adobe Acrobat Pro, he could easily change the figures so that he could submit falsified receipts with inflated amounts to accounting and pocket the difference himself. “Zerbst does not understand anything anyway!” he continued in his charming manner.

 

Our legend-bearer detective expressed his feigned respect for this “brilliant” idea, but objected that the tax office might one day notice the different invoices. “Oh, by the time they catch on, I’ll have already made myself scarce!” was the answer. And the children, apart from “their food going down the wrong way and a bit of diarrhea,” had not been harmed either. If parents expect high-quality food for their children, then they can serve them caviar and lobster. He had to see for himself where he stood.

Undeserved, but Sensible from a Self-Protection Standpoint: The Perpetrator Gets Off with a Warning

Based on the documented incidents, our private detective agency in Magdeburg prepared a court-admissible investigative report and handed it over to the client. That Thomas M. was summarily dismissed goes without saying. He will likely still escape criminal consequences, since public prosecution of the case would with great certainty have considerable negative effects on Ms. Zerbst and her facility. Accordingly, the daycare director paid the greater part of the detective fees out of her own pocket.

 

If you also suspect that one of your employees is disloyal and enriching themselves at your expense or – as in this case – at the expense of third parties, then do not hesitate to involve our detectives for Magdeburg. Call us at +49 341 3549 012-0 or use our encrypted contact form to send an email describing the circumstances. In addition to the financial damage caused by embezzlement by employees, there is always also the threat of reputational damage, which can sometimes be even more serious. Our private investigators are familiar with this sensitive issue and know how to carry out their investigations discreetly.

*Notice*

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

 

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig are processed by our operations management in Leipzig. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

An Affair During a Spa Stay in Bad Kösen

The spa town of Bad Kösen, part of Naumburg (Saale) since 2010, is home to several rehabilitation clinics. In one of them, Mr. Starkenberg from Chemnitz was currently undergoing a spa treatment. His partner, Ms. Colditz, had learned through a friend whose father was staying at the same clinic at the same time that her husband was conspicuously often seeking the company of a particular woman. In fact, during her friend’s account, Ms. Colditz noticed how often Mr. Starkenberg had already been talking about this woman. Little by little, Ms. Colditz began to fear that her partner had taken on a spa fling and developed a serious affair during his treatment.

 

To have this suspicion of infidelity checked, she commissioned our private detectives in Naumburg* (+49 341 3549 012-0).

Two Men and a Smartphone

In order to cover all entrances and exits of the clinic and thus determine where Mr. Starkenberg went outside his rehabilitation appointments, three observers were required. In front of the main entrance, from the morning of the first day of surveillance onward, various patients could be seen standing around in groups or individually, often smoking, drinking coffee, and talking. Social interaction among the spa guests was therefore already taking place. Was Mr. Starkenberg participating as well?

 

At least his presumed spa fling appeared in our detectives’ line of sight in the afternoon; identification was made using a Facebook photo available to us. One of the investigators followed the woman to a nearby park, where she sat down on a bench and typed on her smartphone. After a few minutes, a man with a conspicuous facial tattoo joined her, and within seconds Mr. Starkenberg also appeared, accompanied by the two observers who had remained at the clinic and followed him after he left. The tattooed man then sat between our client’s partner and his presumed affair; there had been no real greeting between the people. In general, the woman showed little interest in her rehab companions and instead preferred obvious smartphone conversations, while the two men sat quietly next to each other and alternated fetching coffee. Our corporate detectives in Naumburg* did, however, notice one thing: time and again, Mr. Starkenberg glanced covertly over at the woman, as if seeking her closeness without daring to start a conversation.

The Great Silence in the Kösener Spa Park

Mr. Starkenberg had waited silently on the bench for just under half an hour before shuffling back to the clinic without much of a goodbye, where he went to the dining hall for dinner. One observer from our detective agency in Naumburg* watched the target person’s eating habits for a few minutes, while the second remained in the park with the presumed spa fling and the third waited by the vehicle on call with a view of the main entrance. During the meal, Mr. Starkenberg made conspicuously frequent but very restrained attempts to make contact with various women, none of whom seemed the least bit interested in him. Eventually he trailed back to the park, where the tattooed man and the smartphone woman were still sitting silently next to each other – with no sign of affection or even mutual interest on the woman’s part. Later, another woman joined them and even managed to initiate some kind of conversation with the presumed affair.

 

In the end, the two women and the tattooed man walked off toward the old town without saying goodbye to Mr. Starkenberg. The target person of our private detective agency in Naumburg* only looked after them despondently, then looked around indecisively for a while before finally joining another group of people, who likewise seemed to pay little attention to the mid-forties man. When the two women and the tattooed man returned, Mr. Starkenberg sat down with them again, only to go back into the clinic building after an hour without speaking a visible word. Around 9:30 p.m., the detectives ended their surveillance.

Desperate Search for Attention

The following afternoon, our corporate detective agency for Naumburg (Saale) carried out another surveillance in order to further examine the client’s suspicion. The picture was similar to the day before: until 3:30 p.m., neither target person could be seen, then the presumed affair emerged from the main entrance with the tattooed man and the other woman, and all three sat down on the familiar bench, without having much to say to one another. Half an hour later, Mr. Starkenberg also went to the bench and sat down next to the tattooed man. There would have been space next to the supposed lover as well, but she preferred not to move the bag sitting on the seat just for Mr. Starkenberg. After that, the presumed cheater repeatedly positioned himself conspicuously directly in front of his sweetheart in an attempt to start a conversation with her, but she hardly engaged, instead continuing to type on her smartphone as usual.

 

Later, the group strolled off toward the old town as on the previous day and left Mr. Starkenberg behind alone. He scanned the surroundings with his eyes and found a middle-aged woman sitting alone at a table. He sat down beside her and started a conversation, which, however, soon came to nothing, so that the two people merely stared silently ahead. The target person of our detective team in Naumburg* was finally relieved by the return of the “lover.” Without any recognizable farewell, he left the woman at her table and sat down next to the main suspect. This time he actually managed to initiate a conversation briefly and even made the woman laugh once, but after a few minutes she was again only focused on her phone and Mr. Starkenberg was once more staring into space. After that, the tattooed man and the second woman also returned, only to leave Mr. Starkenberg alone again shortly afterward as a group, which is why he soon trudged off visibly undecided toward yet another group of people, who also paid him no attention. Our private detectives in Naumburg* finally ended the surveillance when the target person returned to the clinic for dinner.

Unsuitable Social Environment for Recovery

In the majority of infidelity cases handled by Aaden Corporate Detective Agency, our clients’ suspicions are confirmed, but that was not the case here. Whether the absence of cheating, the lack of a spa fling, was due to Mr. Starkenberg’s faithfulness or simply to the fact that he was unable to make contact remains speculation. In this context, it did at least become apparent that he sought conversations exclusively with women.

 

Ms. Colditz was nonetheless able to gain a valuable insight from the surveillance by our detective agency in Bad Kösen*: her partner was lonely and wandering around desperately in search of contact – perhaps the main reason why he reported so much and so effusively about his supposed spa fling. His body language appeared negative; the health-promoting effect that a spa treatment is supposed to have, and in his case also needed to have (he was suffering from burnout syndrome), would very likely not materialize in this social environment. Based on this information, Ms. Colditz was able to discuss the situation with her convalescent partner and persuade him to continue the treatment at another clinic, where he in fact found contacts within a short time and, by his own account, became significantly happier.

Notice

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

 

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig are processed by our operations management in Leipzig. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Noise Pollution | Disturbance of the Peace in Residential Areas

Three years ago, the single teacher Ms. Rackwitz fulfilled a lifelong dream by purchasing and moving into a stylish period apartment in Weißenfels. The future client of our detective agency in Weißenfels* spent her free time mainly listening to classical music and reading fiction; her apartment served as an oasis of peace. However, a few months ago new tenants moved in above her—and the peace was over. Ms. Rackwitz complained about extreme noise from the apartment as early as 6:00 a.m., including everyday but persistently disturbing sounds such as prolonged showering and constant toilet flushing, as well as unusual noise like sudden banging from cabinet doors, toilet lids, and even explosion-like sounds.

 

Constant noise increases stress levels, prevents relaxation, and can even cause illness. Noise disturbance constitutes an administrative offense pursuant to § 117 “Unacceptable Noise” of the German Administrative Offenses Act (OWiG). In cases of significant noise disturbance, the affected party is entitled under § 1004 of the German Civil Code (BGB) to demand removal and injunctive relief from the responsible party.

More occupants than permitted?

According to the lease agreement, only two people (a married couple) were supposed to live in the neighboring apartment. This was also the intention of the property management, which owned around 80% of the residential units in the building, as it was a very quiet residence primarily for middle-aged to older individuals. Singles and couples without children or with grown children were clearly preferred over students and families with children. All the more surprising for our client was that she regularly perceived more than two people (usually four to seven) in the apartment above her, including children almost daily (presumably the tenants’ grandchildren).

 

Aaden Detective Agency was tasked with investigating the matter by creating a noise log and conducting sound measurements. Ms. Rackwitz’s attempts to resolve the issue first with the neighbors and then with the property management had been unsuccessful; she was dismissed as hypersensitive and bitter, and told she was imagining things.

Unusual intensity of showering and bathing

Since the noise level, according to Ms. Rackwitz, regularly began to rise as early as 6:00 a.m., our detective for Weißenfels* went to the client’s apartment at 5:30 a.m. to begin the noise log. In fact, shower noises from the neighboring apartment started shortly after 6:00 a.m., but they remained within normal limits. The house was not well insulated against noise, so audible but unavoidable sounds from the bathroom and the pipes running through the walls reached the apartment below the noise source. Ms. Rackwitz commented: “Just wait. It is the woman who showers quietly, but when the rest of the crowd starts coming in one by one, it gets loud.”

 

In fact, the bathtub was then filled at high speed, which created a disturbing level of noise in Ms. Rackwitz’s apartment. However, this could not be attributed to misconduct by the neighbors, but simply to poor insulation. At the same time as the steadily splashing bathwater, shower noises started up again, and together they built into a thoroughly irritating soundscape. The bathwater was left running for more than an hour—as if someone were trying to fill a bathtub without closing the drain. Our corporate detective in Weißenfels* understood that such behavior is annoying in the long run if you have to listen to it every morning, but it was probably not enough to constitute direct harassment. Overall, these Weißenfels shower-and-bath activities continued until about 11:00 a.m., with only short interruptions of up to ten minutes.

Sound Levels Resemble a Construction Site in the Apartment

During the washing period described above, the noise level temporarily increased further due to running around and the dropping of various objects. According to the voices, these noises clearly came from children, who also had to be wearing sturdy shoes, since their steps on the parquet floor caused distinct clicking sounds. From around 4:15 p.m., the investigator from our corporate detective agency in Weißenfels* perceived the firecracker-like banging noises mentioned by Ms. Rackwitz. Exactly what caused them could not be determined, but during noise measurements they reached peak values of 86 decibels in Ms. Rackwitz’s apartment. For comparison: a lawn mower produces around 80 dB of noise. This was therefore no longer at room level, and consequently a disturbance of the peace was present that could no longer be justified by the ordinary protection afforded to normal children’s noise. Later, squeaking noises and dull thuds on the floor with an unknown object were also added.

 

From 7:00 p.m. onward, the atmosphere in the apartment was almost unbearable, because banging and crashing sounds came from below every minute. The morning bathing sessions now experienced a revival and culminated after 11:00 p.m. in repeated underwater explosions, possibly caused by fireworks. Clearly audible television noise and overlapping music continued until about 2:30 a.m., after which it finally became quiet. Since no further noise occurred until 3:15 a.m., our detective in Weißenfels* ended the assignment after more than 21 hours.

Disturbance of Sunday Rest

Through the first logging and measurement, our private detective agency in Weißenfels* was already able to establish that Ms. Rackwitz’s neighbors were observing neither night rest nor midday rest and were also generally and repeatedly exceeding the legal guideline and limit values for sound emissions in residential areas by a considerable margin. During a second operation on a Sunday, it was then to be proven that the first documented incidents were not isolated cases and that there was also a disturbance of Sunday rest. The events and measurements from the first operation largely matched those of the Sunday assignment. In particular, the extensive showering and bathing both very early in the morning and very late in the evening or at night were highly unusual.

 

Ms. Rackwitz received a court-admissible investigative report with a compilation of the measurement data from our detective team in Weißenfels*. Based on this, she was able to prove to the property management that she was not the crazy person they had made her out to be. She demanded appropriate action from the property management (warning notice, termination of the lease, and, if necessary, eviction by force should the tenants continue to show no insight).

Second Assignment for Our Weißenfels Detectives* in the Same Matter

The property management agreed that the tenants could no longer be tolerated because of the known incidents—even if they were to stop the nuisance in the future. Their general behavior did not fit the intended clientele of the house. The management was particularly displeased that apparently more people than the two permitted tenants were regularly living in the apartment. However, a warning notice with a demand to cease the nuisance and a threat of termination was initially sent only because of the disturbances of the peace.

 

Since the company already had the contact details of our corporate investigators in Weißenfels* from the investigative report prepared for Ms. Rackwitz, the property management also commissioned us to investigate the noisy tenants. In addition to further noise measurements, their main concern was proof that additional residents were regularly being housed there. As part of our second investigation in this matter, these turned out to be the main tenants’ son, his wife, and two children. Instead of the two occupants permitted under the lease, there were thus six living there in total—so with such an overload of what was actually too small a living space, it is of course no wonder that even the sounds of everyday life become disturbing when combined. After completion of the follow-up assignment by our detective agency in Weißenfels*, the married couple was given short notice of termination of the lease due to various serious violations of the lease terms.

Notice

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

 

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig are processed by our operations management in Leipzig. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Positive Effects of Detective Surveillance

Employee monitoring by Aaden Corporate Detective Agency does not necessarily have to result in the dismissal of a work-shy, disloyal, or fraudulent employee, but can also produce a very positive side effect for the business owner. What that is, you will see at the end of this case study by our detectives in Gera.

Weak Figures = Weak Performance?

The client of our detective agency for Gera employed numerous field representatives who were primarily responsible for customer acquisition and support. One of these employees, whom we will call Mr. Zeitz, attracted his manager’s attention due to extremely weak closing rates and revenues, which had not declined rapidly over recent years but had steadily decreased and ultimately reached a dramatic low. The employer did not believe that the employee’s professional or personal capabilities had deteriorated so drastically. Rather, he strongly suspected that the field representative was not adhering to his working hours and appointments or was “putting in minimal effort,” as the client of our corporate detectives in Gera described it. Consequently, an investigation of Mr. Zeitz by our expert investigators was arranged.

Relaxation in a Brothel Following Supposed Work Strain

Since it was revealed during the assignment discussion in the morning that Mr. Zeitz had two known customer appointments scheduled for the afternoon, our detective agency for Gera agreed with the company owner to conduct short-notice surveillance immediately after the contract signing in order to carry out a direct spot check of the field representative. Naturally, neither the target person nor the company vehicle was found at the two target addresses. A subsequent check of Mr. Zeitz’s home address showed that the vehicle was openly parked in front of the house, only to be used several hours later by the field representative leaving the house – for private shopping. On that afternoon, therefore, the employee remained at home the entire time, contrary to his contractual working hours (apart from the shopping trip), and missed at least two customer appointments.

 

On the following day, our detective team in Gera was again to begin surveillance in the afternoon, as Mr. Zeitz had to attend a meeting at the company premises of our client in the morning and would only afterward have the opportunity to spend his time as he pleased, presumably unnoticed. What did the target person do after leaving the company premises? Following the strain of the meeting, he first sought relaxation in a brothel on Feuerbachstraße near Gera Central Station. Less than half an hour later, Mr. Zeitz returned to the company vehicle and, followed by our corporate investigators, drove to a private address in Gera-Lusan. Our private detectives in Gera did not initially rule out the possibility that this could finally be a customer visit, but were proven wrong when they saw the nameplate “Zeitz Family” on the doorbell. Apparently, the target person was visiting relatives; as later confirmed in discussion with the client, these were the field representative’s parents. Shortly before 5:00 p.m., the workday definitively ended, as Mr. Zeitz returned home and did not leave his residence again until the official end of working hours at 6:00 p.m.

Alternative Workday Arrangement That Would Also Interest the Spouse

On the following day, Mr. Zeitz undertook trips that most closely resembled his definition of work up to that point: before lunchtime, he visited five customer addresses but did not remain at any of them for more than ten minutes, casting serious doubt on the quality of customer care. Between appointments, the target person of our detectives in Gera attended to various private errands, including visits to a hardware store, a passport office, a bicycle shop, and a supermarket. Given this, our corporate investigators began to wonder how the field representative managed to generate any revenue at all. By shortly after 1:00 p.m., the workday was effectively over again, as the married Mr. Zeitz picked up an attractive young woman, who was not his wife, and went with her to lunch at the Greek restaurant Knossos on Dornaer Straße. After the restaurant visit, our corporate detectives in Gera observed the target person entering an apartment building with the young woman. After about an hour, the suspect employee returned to the company vehicle. Apparently, Mr. Zeitz was not only unfaithful to his employer – but this was not the focus of the assignment for Aaden Corporate Detective Agency. To conclude the day, the field representative visited a sports club before the end of working hours and took part in a training session.

 

On the next day of surveillance, which followed after a two-day interruption due to the weekend, Mr. Zeitz again met with the attractive young woman and spent two working hours with her – walking, restaurant, walking. He had only started his day at around 1:30 p.m.; prior to that, apart from his wife leaving the house (presumably for work), no activity had been observed at the residence. The target person of our private detectives in Gera apparently belonged to the group of people who dislike Mondays. He spent the remainder of the afternoon with his parents and later with his wife, with whom he ran private errands during regular working hours and subsequently relaxed in a plot within a garden allotment. In coordination with the client’s managing director, our corporate detectives in Gera concluded the investigation at this point – the company owner had seen enough and intended to take action. His decision regarding the future of Mr. Zeitz was quite unusual, as you will read in the next section.

Massive Increase in Revenue Instead of Immediate Dismissal

Finally, the explanation of the positive effects of the detective investigation mentioned at the beginning: normally, such an accumulation of breaches of the employment contract and such blatant idleness in daily work would result in immediate dismissal by the deceived employer. In this case, however, the company owner saw partial fault on his own side. He admitted that he had been too lenient and had granted his employees too much freedom. Since he did not consider Mr. Zeitz solely responsible, he decided not to dismiss him but instead to inform him of everything he knew about his workday. Thus, the target person of our Gera detectives knew that the situation had changed.

 

In the very next week alone, the field representative generated twice the revenue of his previous monthly average for the current year. It therefore appears that Mr. Zeitz made use of his unexpected second chance. The company owner’s measure quickly became known among the staff, and it soon became clear to everyone that detectives had been involved. As a result, the entire workforce significantly improved its performance, leading the company to record an increase in revenue of over 60 % compared to the previous month and nearly 50 % compared to the same month of the previous year. In this case, our corporate detective agency in Gera acted as a dramatic revenue catalyst for the client, who was easily able to offset the detective costs through this increase alone. Even our most experienced investigators were very positively surprised by the extent of this revenue growth.

Notice

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

 

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Commercial Detective Agency Leipzig are processed by our operations management in Leipzig. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Two Deaths on a Ski Slope in Quick Succession

One of the most fundamental tasks of a detective is searching for persons – unknown relocated debtors, missing family members, witnesses for court proceedings, or friends lost from sight. In the following case of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig, the starting point for our address investigation was a tragic event: While skiing in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, Mr. Stollberg’s son had a fatal accident. Due to suspected safety deficiencies on the slope that may have caused the accident, Mr. Stollberg was involved in a legal dispute against the slope operating company.

 

During the ongoing proceedings, he learned through a press release that there had been another death on this slope: a 29-year-old Saxon had been the victim. Mr. Stollberg wished to contact the parents of the second victim to obtain support for the lawsuit against the operating company. He commissioned Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Leipzig to locate the parents.

Research via Press Agencies, Police Departments, Newspapers, and Funeral Homes

Our investigator for Saxony began by searching all published press releases regarding the death of the person sought. This approach aimed first to gather all accessible information, second to check for inconsistencies, and third to identify the original source. It quickly became clear that the wording of the individual releases differed only marginally; essentially, all reprints copied the original wording – unsurprisingly from the APA, Austria’s largest news agency. The release was then distributed to German media by the dpa (German Press Agency). Since our Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig investigator is also a journalist, he has special research options in the journalistic field. He contacted APA and dpa to ask whether information regarding the identity of the deceased was available. Unfortunately, neither agency’s databases contained additional personal information about the deceased.

 

Subsequently, our private detective from Saxony sent further inquiries to the responsible police department in Vorarlberg, the Vorarlberger Tageszeitung, two hotels in direct proximity to the accident site, and a total of 15 funeral homes in the Vorarlberg area up to Bregenz, since one of them must have been involved in transporting the body from Austria to Saxony. From one of these sources, the investigator received information that the deceased was from Chemnitz. Additionally, the first name was now known. Success was also achieved with the ski resort’s mountain rescue service, as the head officer provided the following information: “I can only say that the deceased apparently skied off-piste, fell headfirst into a snow drift in deep snow, and suffocated. I did not carry out the rescue, as the slope operators employ their own piste rescue teams.”

Inquiry to the German Embassy | Funeral Home Provides Address in Chemnitz

Based on the information gathered so far, our detective went to Chemnitz to conduct official records research and determine the family name of the person sought. A clerk referred him to the German Embassy in Vienna: “When a German citizen dies abroad, the German Embassy in that country is informed first.” A very friendly employee of the embassy confirmed knowledge of the case in a phone call with our private detective in Chemnitz but stated that no information could be disclosed due to data protection regulations. However, he offered to act as a relay if the client of Aaden Corporate Detective Agency personally contacted him.

 

Our detective remaining in Chemnitz updated Mr. Stollberg on the investigations to date and requested one more piece of information: the name of the funeral director who handled his son’s case in Vorarlberg. This funeral home was one of the 15 previously researched. The investigator sent a new inquiry to the company – this time including the first name and residence of the deceased – and received from an employee both the surname and the address of the person sought in Chemnitz.

At the Grave of the Target of Our Chemnitz Detective Agency

Immediately after receiving the residential address, our detective went to Chemnitz to gather further information regarding the parents’ contact details. The family name of the deceased was still visible on the doorbell, but no one answered the private investigator’s ringing. The detective then questioned several neighbors, but none were aware of such an accident occurring to a local resident. While on his way to the Citizen’s Office at Düsseldorfer Platz in Chemnitz, he happened to pass a cemetery directly near the deceased’s residence. He tried his luck and asked the cemetery office for directions to the grave. It turned out to be the correct cemetery, and a few seconds later, the investigator of our Chemnitz detective agency stood at the grave of the target. The burial had taken place less than a month earlier.

Moving Conversation with the Grieving Father

Just as the corporate investigator was about to leave the deceased’s final resting place to continue to the Citizen’s Office and research the parents’ address, an unknown man approached him and asked if he knew Marcel. The detective explained he was looking for Marcel’s parents. “Then you have found them, I am Marcel’s father,” replied the man.

 

Our private detective in Chemnitz then carefully presented his request. When he informed the grieving father that another fatal accident had occurred at the same location a year earlier, the man began to cry. He was clearly deeply affected and emotionally suffering from the loss of his son. The investigator explained that Mr. Stollberg had filed a lawsuit against the operating company, and it would be helpful if the friend of the deceased Marcel, who had been present at the accident, could be interviewed as a witness. The father stated that this was too overwhelming at the moment and that he needed to discuss it with his wife first. He also did not want to disclose the name of his son’s friend at this time. Naturally, our detective in Chemnitz showed understanding and left the grieving father the obituary notices for Mr. Stollberg’s son, the client’s address and phone number, and his own contact information.

Notice

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

 

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig are processed by our operations management in Leipzig. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

From Client to Love Interest?

At Christmas 2015, Mr. Laußig introduced his parents to his new girlfriend: Ms. Wójcik from Poland – later the target person of our Leipzig detectives. When asked how they met, the newly formed couple quickly became inconsistent. Mr. Laußig’s father then pulled his son aside and asked him in private what was going on, but he dodged an honest answer. In the end, it became clear, without being stated explicitly, that Ms. Wójcik had worked as a prostitute and that Mr. Laußig had met her as a client. How it then came about that a relationship between service provider and customer turned into a living arrangement was not explained further.

 

Since Mr. Laußig shared custody of two children from his marriage with his current wife, Ms. Wittenberg, a client of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig, and since, despite the separation, she continued to maintain a very good relationship with her former in-laws, Mr. Laußig Sr. took the opportunity after the conversation with his son to pick up the phone and inform Ms. Wittenberg that he was worried about the new girlfriend and did not want to believe that she had stopped “working” because of the relationship with his son. Our client had never exactly been a great fan of prostitution anyway, since Mr. Laußig’s tendency to cheat with prostitutes had been a main reason for the failure of the marriage. She was seriously concerned about leaving her children (6 and 9 years old) in a household where a prostitute lived and might exert a morally or even medically harmful influence. In addition, she had doubts about the motives and authenticity of the supposed love between the prostitute and her ex-husband – factors that could also affect the alimony payments Mr. Laußig was obliged to make. Consequently, she commissioned our private detectives in Leipzig to investigate the suspicion raised by her former in-laws.

Collection of Facts: Places of Residence, Employment Relationships

At the beginning of the investigation, the research team of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig had only Ms. Wójcik’s full name available. Since it is a very common Polish name, the date of birth had to be determined before a more precise search for any links between the target person and the prostitution milieu could begin, and our researchers were able to verify at the same time that a person with the target person’s name and additional matching details really did exist, meaning that at least in this respect Mr. Laußig Jr. had told the truth.

 

Based on these findings, it was possible to compile a list of places of residence over the last sixteen years as well as to review employment relationships and self-employment. Our detectives in Leipzig found that the target person was, first, not registered in Leipzig but in Bavaria, and second, had a business registered for a hairdressing and cosmetic salon. However, a check at the registered business address showed that the shop had no longer existed for several years. According to the doorbell and the property management of the residential building, Ms. Wójcik was in fact living at her registered address in Bavaria. Whether she was actually there could only have been determined through surveillance; however, based on the limited suspicion available up to that point, there would not have been sufficient legitimate interest to justify such an intrusion into the target person’s personal rights. Ms. Wójcik had never attracted police attention.

Online Research: Connections to an Escort Service

Internet research conducted by Aaden Detectives Leipzig revealed a possible connection between the target person and an escort service from nearby Dresden. When reviewing the provider’s website, a subpage listing the “models” was noticed, where images could be viewed for each one. However, the faces were mostly pixelated, making identification of the target person impossible. Ms. Wójcik’s Facebook profile was publicly viewable, but at first glance it showed nothing suspicious: ordinary photos, ordinary posts. Only a look at the friends list caused some surprise, because it consisted overwhelmingly of men, some of whom showed themselves half-naked in their profile pictures – it was not impossible that these were clients with whom the target person was in contact via Facebook.

 

Our Leipzig private detectives then also came across an Instagram profile of the target person that had been inactive for some time, showing her in lascivious poses and providing images from the field of erotic photography. One of these photos apparently came from the same set as the previously mentioned pixelated images on the escort service’s website. A renewed comparison of these photos with the target person’s Instagram image revealed a strong resemblance to two of the advertised women.

Private Detective Meets Escort Women

To find out whether one of the two possible escort women was Ms. Wójcik, Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig arranged an accompanying appointment for a meal with the model who seemed to resemble her more closely. However, when the assigned investigator met the woman, it turned out that she was also Polish, but not the target person. Thus our detective had to endure an hour of conversation in a restaurant that progressed extremely slowly due to the woman’s lack of German and English and yielded no useful information. To be certain, Aaden Detectives Leipzig also arranged an appointment with the second model, and indeed – Ms. Wójcik appeared. She made a very friendly and open impression, chatted freely in perfect German about herself and her private life, and revealed, among other things, that she was single and had been doing the job for six years – initially as a side job, but by then it was enough to cover her monthly expenses.

 

Thus, our private detectives from Leipzig succeeded in proving prostitution. However, prostitution is not a criminal offense in Germany, although a negative influence on children should nevertheless be obvious. Accordingly, at the advice of Ms. Wittenberg’s lawyer, Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig was to determine through surveillance whether and how the target person came into contact with the client’s children.

Surveillance During Childcare

The review of custody arrangements and childcare in the father’s household was to take several weeks, partly through spot checks and partly through full-day surveillance. In doing so, Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig established the following facts:

 

• Ms. Wójcik lived permanently in Mr. Laußig Jr.’s house and was there even when he was not present.
• She regularly went out, preferably in the evening, and visited private apartments and hotels or met unknown men in public.
• From time to time, she received male visitors in Mr. Laußig’s apartment – but only when he was not at home.
• She used a mid-range vehicle financed by Mr. Laußig but registered in her name.
• When the two children of Ms. Wittenberg and Mr. Laußig were with their father, he was often not at home, presumably because he had to work. During that time, Ms. Wójcik took care of them, but repeatedly left the children alone for several hours or entire nights when she visited clients.
• No clients were received in the apartment when the children were present.

In the end, Aaden Detectives Leipzig handed their client, Ms. Wittenberg, and her lawyer the court-admissible investigative report and concluded the assignment by mutual agreement.

Notice

For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

According to a study on white-collar crime in medium-sized companies with 50–100 employees conducted in January 2014, more than half of these businesses had been victims of white-collar crime at least once in the past 5 years. The industrial sector was hit particularly hard, with every second company suffering economic damage, followed by service providers such as Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig with 44% of all companies.

 

However, the amount of damage varies considerably and is certainly surprising for many: individual losses of up to €500,000 in industry are contrasted by damage totaling €500,000 to €5 million in one fifth of the surveyed service companies. And these sums do not even include additional consequential costs, such as lost revenue due to damage to the company’s reputation. Hardly any company can simply absorb such losses, which is why professional investigators such as the Aaden detectives in Leipzig, specialized in white-collar crime, are increasingly being called upon.

Diverse Investigations by Our Leipzig Detectives

Many medium-sized companies have long been based in Leipzig as well, and their innovations are threatened, for example, by cybercrime or the illegal disclosure of data by employees, making them potential clients of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig. Our corporate detectives specialize in discreet and thorough surveillance of suspicious employees, checking office and private premises for installed eavesdropping devices, forensic examination of IT systems, and much more.

Danger from Within – Also in Leipzig

Although 91% of those surveyed in the study had already been affected at least once by embezzlement or theft, company leaders do not see the resulting losses as the main problem, but rather the threat to their unique selling points and innovations through the disclosure of information – by their employees (78% of respondents fear this) or by management (74%). In the experience of our corporate detectives from Leipzig, crimes committed to the detriment of companies are far more often committed by their own employees than by third parties. 60% of business owners who have already been affected by white-collar crime see the greatest danger coming from within, whether through espionage, careless disclosure of data, or negligent handling of internal company information.

 

Companies that have so far remained unscathed are especially at risk because, due to a lack of bad experiences, they do not take the risks from within their own ranks seriously enough and even systematically underestimate them, as explained by the author of this study, Dr. Guido Birkner of the F.A.Z. Institute. Among these previously unharmed companies, only 36% fear a threat from employees and staff. Yet this is precisely where better protection is urgently needed; our detectives from Leipzig can point to many years of experience in numerous cases where companies were helped in crisis situations. These experiences can also be of great help to companies based in Leipzig, after all they too are among the vulnerable and poorly protected medium-sized businesses.

Threat from Other Countries?

Fraud and disloyal conduct are also noticeable in 80% of companies, while compliance violations occurred in half of the companies surveyed. In industry, concern about electronic data is particularly high: more than three quarters of respondents fear industrial espionage or the unlawful disclosure of digitally stored information. More than half of manufacturing companies also expect a rising number of industrial espionage cases; product piracy is likewise strongly feared at 40%.

 

In addition to external professional white-collar criminals (41%), business owners, presumably sensitized by the NSA affair in particular, see spies from other countries (21%) and even their own business partners (18%) as potential attackers – rightly so, as Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig must say from experience! In the German-speaking world, therefore, it is no longer only product piracy from Asia, especially China, that is feared; increasingly, Germany’s direct contact and alliance partners as well as companies from those countries are also under observation. Those familiar with the detective business, who through their contacts also gain a certain insight into intelligence activities, have known about this threat from the “German friends” for years – long before the NSA affair, which finally alerted the public as well. The protection of internal data, innovations, and information cannot be set too high in order to secure one’s own corporate strategy. Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig will be happy to advise you on the implementation of these protective measures: +49 341 3549 012-0.

Companies Are Not Helpless, They Just Have to Act in Time

Of the 100 companies surveyed, 18 service providers, as noted above, reported losses between half a million and five million euros. Overall, experts estimate that the damage caused by all white-collar crimes amounts to more than 20 billion euros annually. These alarming figures can, however, be countered early on: an impressive 82% of companies already include confidentiality clauses in their employment contracts, and 77% train and sensitize their employees regarding early warning signs and initial response options when suspicious or conspicuous employees appear. What is astonishing, however, is the alarmingly low willingness of companies to scrutinize the criminal history of applicants; not even one in five companies specifically sets out to investigate a prospective employee’s criminal background and any possible connections to offenders or competitor companies. For in-depth applicant screening, especially with regard to criminal activity, Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig serves as the specialist.

Neglected Crime Prevention

29% of respondents set aside no separate budget for prevention; only 23% of companies invest between €10,000 and €50,000 in protecting their data. Large corporations are often considerably better protected than medium-sized companies, even though medium-sized businesses also have protectable assets, whether tangible or intangible. Our Leipzig corporate detectives can assist local companies at any time in creating a unified and coherent security concept and tailor it to the needs and requirements of each individual business, whether that involves developing an IT security concept, reviewing employee backgrounds, or installing security technology on site at the company.

The Devil Is in the Details – Dissatisfaction Can Lower the Threshold for Criminal Behavior

Before employees commit to criminal behavior, clear changes in how the employees in question interact often become apparent. In particular, frustration and dissatisfaction are warning signs for 33% of the company leaders surveyed, but conspicuous behavior at the workplace (25%) or even subtle disparagement of the company (24%) were also often noticed early. Other early warning signs may include a heightened interest in documents and permissions that are actually inaccessible (22%) or possible private life changes. If a manager or even a colleague notices such a change in the behavior of one or more employees, they can, if there is corresponding justified suspicion, engage the private and corporate detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig at that point in order to protect themselves regarding their concern.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Men’s Night Raises Suspicion

Ms. Rücker (name changed), the client of Aaden Detectives Leipzig, was an attractive woman in her thirties. Her life partner, with whom she had two children, wanted to meet up with a group of male friends on a Saturday evening and “have a drink and a good time.” As had happened so often in recent months, her partner did not come home at two o’clock in the morning as agreed, but only in the early hours of the morning. Unlike usual, however, he seemed strange, guilty, and avoided Ms. Rücker when she asked him about his evening. A few days later, the incident had already been forgotten, until Ms. Rücker wanted to wash her partner’s coat and a matchbox from a well-known brothel in the city fell out.

 

Having her worst fears about the previous Saturday evening confirmed, she decided to hire the private detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig for the next men’s night in order to have her friend monitored. Said and done: when Ms. Rücker heard about her friend’s plans the following weekend, she did not hesitate for long, called Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Leipzig, and our private detectives discreetly followed the group of men throughout the evening.

Surveillance from the Bar to the Brothel

While the evening initially proceeded rather calmly and the men around Ms. Rücker’s partner only consumed various alcoholic drinks in several bars while being observed by our private detectives from Leipzig, the group atmosphere changed noticeably around midnight. Urged on by one of the men, the others left the last bar they had visited and took a taxi to the very same brothel whose matchbox had ended up in Ms. Rücker’s hands. The detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig followed the group of men at an appropriate distance in a company vehicle and entered the brothel a few minutes later.

Lap Dance for the Target Person of Our Leipzig Detective Agency

Shortly after arrival, the detectives saw how the man in the group who had suggested the visit to the brothel—“same as last week, guys”—took care of drinks as well as pretty young women for all his companions, including Ms. Rücker’s boyfriend. While the men were entertained by the women with lap dances and striptease shows, Ms. Rücker’s partner separated himself from the others with his drink and sat down at the bar to watch his friends. However, he had sat there for barely ten minutes when the apparent leader of the group sent one of the girls over to him as well and jokingly threatened to beat him if he did not accept the lap dance that had just been paid for. Clearly uneasy and unhappy, Ms. Rücker’s partner endured the few-minute dance routine before hurriedly leaving the brothel with his head down and being followed by the Aaden Detectives Leipzig, while some of his companions had already disappeared with their companions into the private booths at the back.

A Somewhat More Productive Evening for Aaden’s Detectives – Despite Surveillance at the Brothel

Although Ms. Rücker’s partner had, as she feared, apparently been to a brothel with his friends for the second time, the detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig could not or had to not prove to their client that she had been cheated on – at least not that night. Armed with this information, she confronted her partner (without telling him that she had hired our Leipzig private detectives), and he remorsefully admitted that he had accompanied his buddies to the brothel, but denied ever having had any closer contact with a prostitute than during a lap dance.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824

Unlawful Father–Son Contact Restriction

Mr. F. from Stuttgart contacted our private detectives in Leipzig because he was involved in a custody dispute over his 12-year-old son with his estranged wife, who claimed to be living with her family in Leipzig. Despite numerous mediations and court proceedings, a final decision had not yet been made. Consequently, joint custody remained in effect for the time being, and there was no court-ordered contact restriction. Nevertheless, Mrs. F. blocked all attempts by her estranged husband—and client of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig—to communicate personally, by phone, or in writing with their son, and she did not undertake childcare herself. Calls from Mr. F. to the landline of Mrs. F.’s parents, where she allegedly lived, as well as to her mobile and the son’s mobile, went unanswered. Emails and WhatsApp messages to the child were always replied to by the mother, who sternly instructed Mr. F. to leave the son alone.

School Boycott in Protest | Contacting the Detectives

Through his parents, who had been secretly contacted by their grandson, Mr. F. learned that the boy was terribly unhappy, had cried during a phone call with his grandparents, desperately wanted to be with Mr. F., and would boycott school in the future as long as he was not allowed to see his father. The client of Aaden Detectives Leipzig was, of course, deeply moved by this. Instead of welcoming his clear advantage in the emotional situation of his son with respect to the next court date, he was very displeased that the boy was skipping school. Mr. F. feared disciplinary consequences at school, and the disruption of his son’s education because of the parents’ dispute was the last thing on Mr. F.’s mind. He therefore consulted the Aaden private detectives from Leipzig and asked for help delivering a message to the son.

 

Since little was known about the daily routine of mother and child, the operations team of Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig warned him that the costs could easily exceed the €1,000 mark, but Mr. F. stated very firmly that one could not put a price tag on the welfare of one’s child, and so our detectives from Leipzig began surveillance of mother and child in order to deliver the prepared message.

Person Search by Leipzig Private Detectives

The message was simple: “You help me most when you go to school and are nice to Mommy. I love you. Dad.” On the back was a picture of Mr. F. and his son arm in arm on a mountain summit. It was unclear where our Leipzig detectives should start in order to find the child. Perhaps mother and son lived in the house of Ms. F.’s parents. Mr. F. had tried calling there many times without a single answer. Once he even drove personally from Stuttgart to Leipzig, only to be chased off the property by his estranged father-in-law. He did not see either his son or Ms. F. Was Ms. F. employed anywhere was not known, and researching that would take several days. Our observers could also have been stationed at the child’s school, but this raised two problems: 1. Men staring at schools are understandably not well received. 2. If the son was skipping school, there would hardly be a way to tell him to go there.

Online Research Leads Aaden Detectives Leipzig to the Right Trail

Instead of acting blindly and simply carrying out surveillance on a hunch, our private detectives from Leipzig first conducted internet research on the target persons (mother and child). On a classified ads portal, they found several listings for used furniture under the mother’s phone number. Using the cover story that they were interested in purchasing the items offered, one of the Aaden detectives successfully made telephone contact with Ms. F. and arranged a viewing appointment at her apartment in Leipzig-Lößnig. The address was a large GDR-era apartment block with an estimated more than 100 rental units, numerous front and rear entrances, and connecting hallways between the individual house numbers within the block. Ms. F.’s name was not found on either the mailbox or the doorbell; the meeting took place in front of the building. Ms. F. went with our Leipzig detective into a basement storage unit and showed him the items in which he had expressed interest. He said he would like to take one of the items with him, but would need a receipt. Ms. F. was initially not very enthusiastic about issuing a written document for the sale, but eventually agreed and led the Aaden private detective into her apartment on the third floor. The name on the doorbell was unfamiliar.

 

Since several action figures were scattered around the apartment, our investigator asked about Ms. F.’s children. She said she had a son, who always left everything lying around. Where was he, our detective asked. “Oh, he’s just out and about. I never really know where he is. He’ll probably be back soon.” After exchanging receipt for money, the private investigator from Aaden Detective Agency Leipzig thanked her and left the apartment.

Successful Handing Over by Aaden Female Detective

Via radio, the newly minted used-goods buyer informed the waiting colleagues which housing unit the target location was in and that the son was away from home but could appear at any moment. The three remaining observers positioned themselves so that they had a direct view of the front and rear entrances of the property, and since the front could be seen completely from one position, the third detective moved to the other end of the rear side. It was already quite late for a twelve-year-old when the client’s son from Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Leipzig finally appeared at the target location wearing sports clothes and with a lightly bleeding knee. The female detective from Leipzig who was also on the assignment approached the boy with a friendly smile, told him that she had come from his father, that he must not tell his mother about the meeting, and placed in the boy’s hand the note with the picture and words from Mr. F. The boy briefly smiled when he saw the picture of himself and his father. Then he read the message seriously and went on his way.

 

The final decision regarding custody has unfortunately not yet been made at the time this article was written.

Notice

For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

Aaden Detectives Leipzig

Brünner Straße 10

D-04209 Leipzig

Tel.: +49 341 3549 012-0

Fax: +49 341 3549 012-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-leipzig.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-leipzig.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824