Flagship Specialty
Verifying American companies, executives, and partners — for the principals doing it from abroad.
For international firms, sovereign funds, foreign counsel, and offshore counterparties evaluating American targets, Fortaris Capital Advisors delivers the independent, US-licensed verification, due diligence, and investigative support that protects cross-border decisions before contracts are signed, before capital is deployed, and before reputational exposure is taken. This is one of the few US investigations practices positioned specifically for inbound work — foreign principals verifying American companies — rather than for domestic US clients doing outbound diligence.
How clients use us
Cross-border engagements move through a structured sequence, built around the foreign principal's jurisdictional needs and the standards their counsel expects.
Usually with the foreign principal and their counsel. We listen first, ask the questions a US-licensed investigator needs to ask, and identify whether the matter is one we can take and whether a US-side engagement is the right vehicle.
Structured around the foreign principal's jurisdictional needs. We can engage directly with the foreign principal, with foreign counsel, or with US counsel acting on their behalf — considering privilege, confidentiality, and any jurisdictional reporting requirements.
Led by a Fortaris Managing Director with federal investigative pedigree. Public records, investigative interviews, evidentiary documentation, beneficial-ownership analysis, and sanctions screening — calibrated to the scope.
A written deliverable in English, structured for foreign-counsel review and for the foreign principal's investment committee, board, or contract counterparty. Additional language support is coordinated where the matter requires it.
Testimony, deposition support, contract-negotiation support, or ongoing monitoring as the matter requires.
Most engagements are scoped between two and eight weeks, with expedited timelines available where the matter requires it.
Capabilities
Comprehensive corporate verification of American entities — corporate history, ownership and beneficial-ownership structure, registered-agent and good-standing verification across state secretaries of state, federal litigation history, regulatory history (SEC, FINRA, state regulators as applicable), tax-lien and judgment exposure, UCC filings, and reputational signals. Built to the standard foreign counsel and audit-committee reviewers require.
Independent vetting of American executives — for acquisition targets, joint-venture leadership, US distributor principals, and senior hires at US-operating foreign entities. Goes beyond a standard background check: litigation history, regulatory exposure, prior-firm separation circumstances, professional-licensing and credential verification, and reputational research. Particularly relevant before foreign capital is deployed under American executive leadership.
Verification of American distributors, suppliers, manufacturers, and B2B counterparties before international firms sign supply, distribution, or licensing agreements. Includes corporate verification, operational verification, financial-health signals, key-person background investigation, contract-performance history, and any reputational signals that bear on the relationship.
Investigation of fraud matters with a cross-border dimension — fraud committed against a foreign principal by a US-side counterparty, fraud committed against US operations by foreign-side actors, or schemes with assets, actors, or evidence on both sides of the border. Coordinated with foreign counsel and US counsel where applicable.
Pre-transactional intelligence for foreign-principal acquisitions of US targets, foreign investment in US PE and VC vehicles, and major capital deployments into US operations. Coverage includes the standard US-side investigative DD work — litigation, regulatory, financial-distress, reputational, beneficial ownership — calibrated to what foreign investment committees and counsel need to see.
Structured screening of American counterparties against US litigation databases, federal and state regulatory enforcement records, US sanctions lists (OFAC and related), denied-parties lists, and politically-exposed-person screening. Built for foreign principals who need US-side compliance comfort before deploying capital or signing contracts.
Identifying the actual individuals behind US corporate entities — particularly relevant for foreign principals dealing with US LLCs, holding structures, or counterparties whose listed ownership does not reflect economic reality. Combines investigative work with public-records analysis, state-level beneficial-ownership filings, and federal Corporate Transparency Act considerations.
Reputational profiles on American counterparties — what the US trade press says, what regulators have said, what prior litigation has surfaced, and what the corporate intelligence community knows but has not published. Calibrated to the discretion foreign principals require.
For foreign principals about to sign a US contract or appoint a US executive — independent verification of what the US-side counterparty has asserted: revenue claims, headcount, regulatory licensure, professional credentials, prior-engagement history, and asserted certifications.
Where a foreign principal needs to locate assets in the United States — for judgment enforcement, fraud recovery, or due diligence — Fortaris combines investigative tracing work with US public-records analysis and judgment-enforcement support. Coordinated with US counsel for the recovery itself.
Why Fortaris
Built for
Sovereign funds, family offices, international PE firms, and individual high-net-worth principals deploying capital into American companies.
Distributors, suppliers, joint-venture partners, and US-side business partners entering supply, distribution, or licensing agreements.
Engagement under privilege, structured around the foreign counsel's protocols.
Pre-deployment diligence on US operations, executives, and counterparties.
Verification of US entities in the context of regulatory, enforcement, or oversight matters.
Independent intelligence inputs to oversight decisions.
Most US corporate intelligence and investigations firms position for American clients investigating outbound matters — US companies vetting their foreign counterparties, US private equity diligencing international targets, US counsel managing FCPA exposure abroad. The reverse flow — foreign investors verifying American companies — has historically been underserved. Foreign principals operating in or with the United States face a fragmented landscape: US public records that look familiar but follow different rules, a state-by-state licensure regime for investigative work, federal-level disclosure regimes that vary by industry, and legal-process standards unfamiliar to counsel trained outside US jurisdiction. The work requires a US-licensed firm with the federal investigative pedigree to do it correctly, an understanding of what foreign counsel needs from a US engagement, and the discretion that cross-border matters require. Fortaris Capital Advisors is positioned specifically for that work.
Frequently asked
The work typically combines four streams: (1) corporate verification through US state secretaries of state and federal filings; (2) litigation and regulatory history through US court systems and regulator databases; (3) executive background investigation on the US-side principals; (4) reputational research and trade-press analysis. Each stream tells a piece of the story; a senior-led investigation integrates them into a defensible read. A Fortaris US Company Background Investigation engagement covers the standard scope.
For inbound capital, the typical scope includes corporate verification, beneficial-ownership investigation, US litigation and regulatory screening, US sanctions screening, executive background investigations on the US-side leadership, financial-distress signals, and reputational research. The deliverable is calibrated to what the foreign principal's investment committee, board, or counsel needs to see — not to a one-size US-domestic template.
Yes. The majority of our cross-border engagements are managed through foreign counsel or jointly with US counsel acting on the foreign principal's behalf. Engagement letters and deliverables are structured around the foreign counsel's protocols.
Fortaris is licensed in Michigan (Florida pending) and conducts engagements throughout the United States via federal investigative pedigree and a 200+ specialist subcontractor network. For investigative components requiring state-specific licensure, Fortaris coordinates with in-state licensed specialists or with the appropriate Managing Director coverage. For international components outside the US, Fortaris coordinates with vetted in-country partners.
Standard US Company Background Investigations are typically completed in 10–15 business days. Comprehensive M&A investigative due diligence engagements run 3–6 weeks depending on scope. Expedited timelines are available where the matter requires it.
Deliverables are structured to be evidentiary — chain-of-custody preserved, sources documented, methodology stated. Whether the deliverable is admissible in a specific foreign jurisdiction depends on that jurisdiction's evidentiary rules. We routinely work with foreign counsel to structure the engagement so that the work product supports the foreign principal's intended use.
Yes — US sanctions screening (OFAC and related lists), denied-parties screening, and politically-exposed-person screening are standard components of our cross-border due diligence engagements. Available as a standalone engagement or as part of a broader scope.
Yes. Fortaris engagement letters are structured around confidentiality. We do not publish client names, do not publicize matter wins, and restrict deliverables to the engaging principal and counsel. The vast majority of our work is never disclosed.
Engagements are scoped on a project basis with pricing tied to scope, urgency, and the geographic complexity of the work. Initial scoping conversations are confidential and carry no obligation.
Yes — selectively, and subject to standard conflict and engagement checks. Inbound engagements from sovereign funds and foreign government agencies are reviewed at the principal level and structured to comply with all applicable US and foreign regulatory requirements.
Related practice areas
Strategic intelligence built for executive and investor decisions.
Explore practiceCorporate and white-collar investigations, led by former federal investigators and credentialed fraud examiners.
Explore practiceEconomic-damages and financial-loss analysis, forensic accounting, and expert testimony for trial-bound matters.
Explore practiceFurther reading
Cross-Border Due Diligence
A practical, step-by-step framework for foreign investors, international counsel, and offshore counterparties to independently verify an American company, its ownership, and its risk exposure before signing or wiring funds.
ReadCross-Border
A practical guide to how international fraud is investigated across jurisdictions — from asset tracing and shell-company analysis to evidence standards and recovery.
ReadThe most useful cross-border due diligence engagements begin before the contract is signed, not after. Fortaris engagements begin with a confidential conversation about your matter, your counterparty, your jurisdictional posture, and the specific questions you need answered.
For sensitive matters, reach Kevin Cronin directly: (833) 343-2164
