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Asset Tracing

Asset tracing that follows stolen money out of the company, through shell companies and a mixed personal account, to the assets a court can freeze, one cited hop at a time.

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Follow the money from statement page to freeze ↓
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The problem

Weeks of typing in bank records while the stolen money keeps moving

The banks produce their records and the forensic accountant starts typing. Scanned statements from bank after bank go into a spreadsheet page by page, each laid out its own way. Debits get matched to credits one line at a time, and a wire fee, a deposit split in two or a weekend settlement breaks the match.

Then the money reaches a personal account where salary also lands, and the answer turns on the tracing rule. Each rule lives in its own workbook that nobody keeps in step with the others. The motion to freeze waits for the trace, and the brokerage account can be emptied in the meantime.

Built forFraud recovery partnersForensic accountantsInvestigations associatesCorporate counsel

The Problem Today

Stolen money moves through shell companies and mixes with salary, and a freeze needs every hop shown.

57%
of fraud victims recover none of what was taken published
$100K
median loss in a billing scheme, which runs 18 months published

Keyed and matched by hand

  • Statements
  • Matching
  • Ownership
  • Rules
  • Weeks of keying firstPages typed in before a single hop can be argued
  • One spreadsheet per ruleMixed accounts argued without the alternatives beside them

The Solution

  1. Every page read and citedStatements from any bank, scanned or digital, into cited transactions
  2. Each debit matched to its creditFees, splits and weekends allowed for; unsure links go to a person
  3. The tracing rule, switchedLowest balance, first in first out or pro rata: each asset recomputed
  4. Partner signs the scheduleFive assets, each tied to its hops, signed before the motion is filed

Built-in controls

  • The rule is a partner's choice, made with a reason
  • Uncertain hops confirmed by a forensic accountant
  • No agent files, sends or calls a bank

What You Get

The partner signs a freeze schedule with a statement line behind each traced dollar, and the other rules' figures stay on file for the court.

25 hours
forensic hours a matter, down from about 180 our estimate
  • Every asset in one viewCondo, boat, brokerage, crypto and savings, each valued
  • A report the court can followDeclaration or client report from the same cited trace
  • Clear rolesThe accountant confirms, the partner signs, agents draft
Nine screens, one recovery

How asset tracing works, from the bank's pages to the signed schedule

Nine parts of one trace. For each: the mechanics in a few short points, and the role it serves.

  1. 01Accounts and statements read

    Every statement page turned into transactions, with a page citation per line

    How it works

    • 19 accounts and 2,140 statement pages, scanned or digital, whatever the bank's layout
    • 11,862 transactions read, each pointing back to the page it sits on
    • Months covered, holder and controller for each account in one table

    Forensic accountantStarts the trace on cited transactions, with no weeks lost keying statement pages into a spreadsheet.

  2. 02Companies and people

    Each shell company tied to the people behind it, filing by filing

    How it works

    • Registry filings, bank signature cards and wire details read for each company
    • A person is named as controlling a company only on a cited record
    • What each shell billed the client, and on how many invoices

    Forensic accountantShows who controls each shell without a separate round of registry searches and a memo arguing ownership.

  3. 03A hop that needs a person

    Each debit linked to its credit, with unsure links sent for review

    How it works

    • Each debit linked to the credit it became, allowing for fees, splits and settlement days
    • Links under 0.90 confidence wait for the forensic accountant, both lines side by side
    • $140,000 out, $90,000 and $50,000 in, at confidence 0.74

    Forensic accountantReviews only the three links a plain amount match would break, not all 63 hops.

  4. 04The hop map

    A hop map whose numbered arrows each open their two statement lines

    How it works

    • The client's account, three shells, the mixed checking account and five destinations on one map
    • Twelve numbered arrows, each drawn as wide as the money it carried
    • Arrow 7 carries $1,041,280 in 4 hops, each end cited to its page

    Forensic accountantCan walk a partner or a judge along the path one hop at a time, each step resting on a statement line.

  5. 05Rule switch on the map

    A tracing-rule switch that resizes each asset on the map

    How it works

    • Lowest intermediate balance, first in first out and pro rata, one click apart
    • Brokerage holds $1,182,660 under pro rata, $742,310 under lowest balance
    • The draft schedule beside the map follows, at $3,553,870 across five assets

    Fraud recovery partnerSees what each rule gives each asset before choosing, with no three workbooks drifting apart.

  6. 06Tracing rules compared

    The three rules compared, with the partner's choice kept beside its reason

    How it works

    • The mixed account's month-end balance over 27 months, its low of $61,240 marked
    • Paid in: 82.4% stolen money, the rest salaries and refunds
    • Each rule's figure for each asset, with the case it rests on
    • Only a partner can approve a rule, and must give a reason

    Fraud recovery partnerRecords the rule chosen, why, and what the other two would give, before the court asks.

  7. 07Where the money is now

    Every traced asset with its arrows, current value and evidence

    How it works

    • Condo, sportfisher, brokerage, crypto exchange and savings, one card per asset
    • Traced money under each rule beside a current value from a source document
    • $1.06M spent or not traceable under pro rata, shown apart

    Senior associateKnows what is left to freeze, where it sits and who holds it before drafting the motion.

  8. 08Freezing order schedule

    A freezing order schedule listing each asset with the arrows behind it

    How it works

    • Each asset with its identifier, holder, traced money, current value and arrows
    • An asset can be held back before signing, and the total follows
    • Whoever confirmed the hops is barred from signing it
    • Notices to the institutions are drafted beside it, and no agent sends them

    Fraud recovery partnerSigns the exhibit on day 3 with a statement line behind each traced dollar, while a manual trace takes about 3 weeks.

  9. 09Tracing report

    A hop-by-hop tracing report, each figure linked to its statement lines

    How it works

    • How the money left, where it went next, and the rule applied
    • Debit and credit citations under each bullet open the statement page
    • One trace, rendered as a declaration for the court or a report for the client
    • 63 of 63 hops cited, on 126 statement lines

    Fraud recovery partnerApproves a declaration the forensic accountant can swear to, with the other two rules' totals kept in an appendix.

The brokerage account holds $742,310 or $1,182,660, by the rule chosen

The condo and the boat were paid straight from shell accounts, so each rule gives them the same figure. The three assets funded through the mixed checking account move with the rule.

Destination ($)Lowest balanceFirst in, first outPro rata
Condo1,410,0001,410,0001,410,000
Sportfisher486,500486,500486,500
Brokerage account742,3101,036,9001,182,660
Crypto exchange account318,200211,450268,920
Spouse's savings249,700180,300205,790
Traced to five assets3,206,7103,325,1503,553,870
Spent or not traceable1,405,6701,287,2301,058,510

A wire fee, a split deposit, a weekend wire and a filing that names no owner

Four finds from one matter, each left on the record with its evidence.

An owner the filing does not name

One shell's registry filing names only an agent. The bank signature card on its account names the controller, so the tie rests on the card.

A $25 wire fee

$98,500 left the client and $98,475 reached the shell. The gap is the receiving bank's fee, inside the $50 tolerance, and the link went to a person at 0.81.

A Friday wire credited on Monday

$150,000 left the mixed account on a Friday. The exchange credited it the next Monday under its own reference, inside the settlement window.

One low day that caps a rule

The mixed account fell to $61,240 at its lowest. Under lowest intermediate balance tracing, that dip cuts the brokerage figure to $742,310.

Around the trace

More of the asset tracing matter, the hop ledger through the audit log

The ledger, a cited page, a notice, the client's copy, the log and the settings.

The hop ledgerAll 63 hops with date, amount, both citations and confidence. The three that needed a person now read confirmed, with why each was sent.
The line behind a hopAny citation opens its source page, with the hop's own line highlighted. Here, a $262,400.00 wire out of a shell account.
Notices, drafted and heldOnce the order is entered, each institution gets a notice. They are drafted beside the schedule and wait in the matter file until someone sends them.
The same trace for the clientThe client's general counsel reads it in plain words: $3.55M tied to five assets, and about $1.06M spent on card bills, travel and living costs.
Who linked, confirmed, chose and signedOne log for agents and people: each confirmed hop, the rule approved and why, and the signature, beside the separation of duties.
Thresholds the practice setsUntil a partner picks a rule on the matter, lowest balance applies. Links at 0.90 stand alone, within a $50 fee tolerance and 3 business days.

The accountant confirms each uncertain hop, and only a partner signs

Agents do the forensic asset tracing groundwork. People make the calls the court will test.

Forensic accountant
Sees
The hops below the confidence threshold, each with both statement lines
Signs
Confirms or rejects each link, and signs the declaration before filing
Fraud recovery partner
Sees
The rules side by side, the mixed account's balance and the draft schedule
Signs
Chooses the rule with a reason, and signs the schedule and the report
Senior associate
Sees
The destinations and the signed schedule
Signs
Drafts the motion and includes or holds back assets, with no signing
Practice operations manager
Sees
Settings, access and retention for the practice
Signs
Sets thresholds and roles, and takes no part in a matter's calls

Tracing questions before the freeze motion

What is asset tracing?

Asset tracing follows misappropriated money from the victim's account through each account it passed, to the assets that hold it now. The solution turns each statement page into cited transactions, links each debit to the credit it became, computes the tracing rules through mixed accounts, and drafts a freeze schedule and report for a partner to sign.

How does tracing commingled funds work when salary lands in the same account?

The tracing calculator runs all three rules through the mixed account at once and shows what each asset holds under each. A partner picks one and records why. The figures under the other two stay in the report's appendix, so the court sees the alternatives.

Why can lowest intermediate balance tracing give a lower figure?

Stolen money stays traceable in a mixed account only up to the lowest balance the account fell to in between. One low day caps what later transfers can carry, however much was paid in after it.

What happens when tracing stolen funds hits an uncertain link between two banks?

The hop linker allows for wire fees, split deposits and settlement days, and gives each link a confidence. Below the practice's threshold, the forensic accountant sees both statement lines and confirms or rejects the link, and the log records who decided.

Does it file the motion or contact the banks?

No. Agents draft the schedule, the report and the notices to the institutions. A partner signs the schedule and the report, the associate drafts the motion around it, and the notices wait until the order is entered.

Where do the produced bank records stay?

The matter's workspace at the firm holds them. Screens and outputs mask account numbers down to the final four digits, the records train no model, and the log keeps each read and edit.

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and see what was still there to freeze.

Load the produced statements from that matter, and set its hop map, rule switch and freeze schedule beside the trace you filed.

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