Debtor Search After Fraud Involving a Vehicle Leasing Contract

Forgery to the Detriment of a Domestic Partner

Shamelessly exploited and deceived by her own partner – this is what happened to the client of Aaden Corporate Investigations, Ms. Winsen from Lüneburg. At the urging of her partner, Mr. Neumann, she was appointed managing director of his company, which was later to be dissolved by official order. Mr. Neumann – the target of our detectives in Lüneburg* – abused Ms. Winsen’s trust by, among other things, concluding a leasing contract for a high-value vehicle in her name and forging her signature. Ms. Winsen only became aware of this document forgery after their separation, when Mr. Neumann caused a total loss in an accident involving the vehicle, leaving Ms. Winsen responsible for the insurance deductible and the leasing payments.

 

At least she succeeded in obtaining a court judgment against the fraudster. However, since neither Mr. Neumann’s residential address nor the location of the vehicle were known, the judgment could not be enforced. To determine both, Ms. Winsen engaged our detective agency in Lüneburg (+49 40 4223 6960).

Rapid Research Success in Debtor Investigation

At the outset: our investigators solved this case using a multi-track approach, namely through research, site inspections, and interviews. Initial inquiries revealed that the target person no longer resided at the registered address, was already receiving a pension, and was managing director of another company in Lüneburg. Whether this company was actually conducting business and whether the target of our corporate detectives in Lüneburg might be found there was to be determined through an on-site inspection:

 

Although Mr. Neumann was not personally present at the company’s actual premises, a pretext-based interview enabled us to determine his residential address, which was shortly thereafter confirmed, as it was located near the company headquarters. The target person’s single-family home appeared to be of an upscale standard.

Client Not Even in the Same Country on the Day of Contract Signing

To obtain further information about the condition of the vehicle and copies of the leasing contracts, our investigator contacted the financing credit institution. The contracts showed that they had allegedly been signed four times by Ms. Winsen in 2007. The place of signing was listed as Stade; however, our client could prove that she was not even in Germany on that date. It was also determined that the leased vehicle was still registered to the company scheduled for deletion but had not been in operation since 2009.

 

As the contracts also revealed which dealership handled the transaction, one of our private detectives in Lüneburg visited the location to conduct further inquiries. The investigator was able to meet the owner personally and discuss the course of the transaction. Mr. Neumann had been very eloquent, but the managing director could not recall further details. The file was archived, and a review would take several weeks. However, the owner did remember which salesperson had handled the deal; this individual had not worked at the dealership for years. Our detective obtained the salesperson’s contact details, but a subsequent phone inquiry yielded no additional insights, as he also could not recall the case.

Additional Victims of the Target Person

In connection with the legal dispute against the target person, an involved attorney was identified, whom one of our detectives visited after prior telephone consultation. The lawyer stated that he had met the target person several times and described him as a very smooth individual. According to Mr. Neumann, the leased vehicle was located in an unspecified workshop near his son and was not being released due to several unpaid repair invoices. The next investigative step was therefore to identify the son. Research revealed his name and residential address in Lüneburg, but this lead did not produce further results.

 

In the meantime, however, the dealership that had handled the leasing deal contacted our corporate investigations agency in Lüneburg again and reported that the file was now available. It revealed another significant accident damage that had been repaired by the dealership but had likewise not been paid for by Mr. Neumann. Only two years after the lawsuit was filed did he settle the outstanding deductible.

Locating the Missing Vehicle

Further investigations in cooperation with the financing credit institution ultimately produced a promising lead regarding the possible location of the missing vehicle. Until 2009, the car had reportedly been located on the premises of a tuning workshop near Lüneburg. If it had been sold from there, recovery—and thus financial compensation for the credit institution, to which Ms. Winsen had been paying substantial installments—might have been possible. Accordingly, one of our detectives for Lüneburg personally visited the workshop, as making a phone call might have risked the removal of existing evidence.

 

On site, the investigator immediately entered into conversation with the workshop owner, who confirmed that the sought-after vehicle had been on his premises for more than seven years and was being stored there because he also had outstanding claims against Mr. Neumann. As it was a leased vehicle, the owner was not legally permitted to sell it, but he was equally unwilling to release it without settlement of the outstanding debts. The owner only learned that the vehicle was leased when officials appeared at his workshop and decommissioned the car on behalf of the city of Lüneburg—most likely due to unpaid vehicle taxes. Subsequently, the owner also learned that the vehicle had previously been intended for repair at another nearby workshop, but the assignment had been declined after several weeks due to negative experiences with the target person. Mr. Neumann apparently had little concern for the situation, and thus the car, now with a brand-new engine, remained on site, deteriorating.

Investigation Success Against a Notorious Fraudster

Our detective and the cooperative workshop owner agreed that the mechanic would, as a precaution, provide Ms. Winsen with a quote for refurbishing the vehicle. It could then potentially be sold at a significantly higher price, thereby recovering a substantial portion of the outstanding debt owed to the credit institution. However, this step would only have been necessary if enforcement of the judgment had failed – but in the course of our private investigations in Lüneburg, both objectives were ultimately achieved: identifying a serviceable residential address of the target person and locating the vehicle obtained through fraud. In addition, information regarding pension payments, company shareholdings, and real estate ownership of Mr. Neumann was obtained, making successful enforcement highly likely.

 

With every interview conducted with individuals involved in business dealings with Mr. Neumann, the impression of a habitual defaulter and professional fraudster was reinforced – a type of individual that, according to the experience of our detectives, is unfortunately far from rare and appears to be increasingly widespread.

*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 Hamburg are processed by our operations management in Hamburg. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.

Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Hamburg

Contor Center Hamburg

Katharinenstraße 30a

D-20457 Hamburg 

Tel.: +49 40 4223 6960

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

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

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824