The more business we did, the more we needed to know about the people we were considering working with. This was before the internet – so you couldn’t just go online and look someone up. The investigation companies only worked with big corporations and couldn’t help us. So I found the right resource and started LCF, to investigate legal, corporate and financial affairs.
RJ Valentine, Chairman The MBA GroupLCF Associates
Professional Investigations
The Concept
Fill a critical information gap with a company providing professional investigations specializing in finding facts that are essential to successful legal, corporate and financial decisions.
The Plan
In the 1980s, when The MBA Group was expanding into new industries and markets, we needed a resource to investigate the companies and people with whom we were considering doing business. The internet has made it easy to go online to find in-depth information about a company or individual. But this was before Google…before PCs…before everything was on the web.
With professional investigation firms concentrating on large corporations and law firms, The MBA Group took a route that has come to define it. In 1987, we started the firm we needed: LCF Associates.
In this era that preceded wide use of the internet, LCF utilized early electronic research tools, together with traditional investigative techniques. The company was led by a former Massachusetts State Police investigator with broad knowledge and a deep understanding of what we were seeking.
The Results
LCF Associates not only provided us with the facts we required to make informed decisions for our businesses. It also expanded dramatically. working with Fortune 500 companies worldwide, as well as legal firms and financial institutions. LCF uncovered hidden background information on potential partners and employees, saving businesses from many costly mistakes. They exposed embezzlers and corporate spies. We researched people and their histories to determine if a client should – or should not – move forward with a plan. With its success in these legal, corporate and financial investigations, the company grew to serve virtually all the Fortune 100 companies, providing services internationally.
In 2001, when we sold the company to Decision Strategies, LCF had become a market leader in the industry it had helped to form.