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States and the federal government has failed to deal with the staggering nature and size of financial fraud and other white collar crimes. In Florida alone, it has risen 270% in the last five years. Nationally, it now stands at $1,172,800,000,000. That is $1,172.8 trillion dollars, an incomprehensible number. The InvestCheck Project is founded to provide a deterrence and early-warning mechanisms to prevent individuals and businesses from becoming an victim.

Naples, FL (PRWEB) August 23, 2005 -- States and the federal government woefully lack the ability to deter financial fraud and white collar crime. Florida is a prime example as its level of criminal activity has escalated 270% in the last five years.

Nationally, the underestimation is even greater. Adjusted in terms of the 2005 Consumer Price Index, the U.S. figure now stands at $1,172,800,000,000. That is $1,172.8 trillion, an incomprehensible number.

Even though states and the federal government are obligated to protect citizens, their initiatives are after-the-fact driven. By not being capable to provide a proactive deterrent, the problem has escalated beyond anyone's comprehension.

With the founding of The InvestCheck Project, individuals and businesses now have a timely prevention mechanism they can interact with. At its foundation, The InvestCheck Project is a "before-the-fact" resource, not an after-the-fact reference. Unlike government sites that provide information, once you are a victim, this private sector initiative serves as a preemptive resource that provides up-front knowledge to avoid such a misfortune.

Operationally, InvestCheck is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization, which raises an individual's awareness related to a financial offering, business opportunity or matters of a similar nature. Its purpose is to supply individuals with comprehensive knowledge, in the form of a due-diligence process, that provides an early-warning alert to any person seeking to protect their financial assets. As defined, due-diligence is "the care that a reasonable person exercises under the circumstances to avoid harm to other persons or their property".

Conceived as a means to deter unscrupulous activity, the project's collective intelligence red-flag alerts allow a user to achieve an unprecedented, between- the-lines perspective into what is being presented and/or represented to them.

"There are two primary catalysts involved in the project's dynamics", relates Michael Billy, President/CEO. "They are Open Source Intelligence(OS-INT) and mobilized collective objectivity. Through the implementation of collaborative technologies, community intelligence becomes market intelligence. Information collected is cross-matched allowing its compilation to evolve into a connective learning process that creates a first-line-of-defense against being subject to fraudulent intent", he concludes.

Constructed to accommodate both macro and micro-need searches, due-diligence pursuits are enriched by having the advantage of multi-tiered access to the project's information. The result is a precise self-directed profile. By offering a wide range of self-initiated probes, the thoroughness of the search result is determined by the "need-to-know" basis of the user. For more intensive or sophisticated needs, project staff can be directly engaged to perform a more personalized analysis.

Regarding the myriad of benefits associated with project, Billy adds, "the motivational factor behind InvestCheck is its focus to be the source for collective actions that deliver beneficial interests, and outcomes, to its entire community. By building on the knowledge gained, the collaborative nature of this project automatically generates outcomes that enhance the quality of life for all who participate within its community and engage in our economic system".

Why is support of this project so important? Law enforcement, whether on a state or federal level, is restricted in their ability to perform oversight, surveillance and enforcement. Their limitations are:

*Number of personnel assigned to this type of fraud;
*Size of the geographic area makes it impossible to cover;
*Non-existent collaboration between in-state and out-of-state authorities;
*No access to real-time intelligence or capability to profile perpetrators;
*No capability to perform trend analysis to protect others from future fraud activities.

How widespread and problematic is financial fraud within the U.S? The state of Florida is prime example of its magnitude.

In 2003, the State Comptroller's Office cited a lack of coordination and tracking as catalyst to the state's $1 billion problem. "We know criminals take advantage of our citizens by using one scam, then switching to another once investigators start to close", said Bob Milligan, Florida's State Comptroller. "It is vital to bring government agencies together to share information and avoid duplication. Government is obligated to provide citizens information to avoid being a victim of fraud".

As taken from a national study, done By Dr. Tim Lynch, at the Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis at Florida State University, the conclusion reached was that statewide crime costs Florida $27.4 billion compared to $11.7 billion for residents in 2004. The seriousness nature of Florida's problem has been underestimated by 27 times or 270%.

On a U.S. basis, the figure for financial fraud and white collar crime is even more grossly miscalculated and incomprehensibly greater than perceived.    

Positioning itself to be a technologically advanced deterrent, the project's capital campaign is to raise $2,350,000. Those contributions will help build the infrastructure necessary to expand the project's educational and informational due-diligence content, so each person accessing the project can have greater clarity applied to the financial risk decision confronting them. As a founding member, your support will give the project the added strength and depth needed to become a preemptive force to deter financial fraud. For more information on how to assist in InvestCheck's development, please send you inquiries to info @ myinvestcheck.org.

Contact:

M. Damian. Billy
President/CEO
The InvestCheck Project
Office: (239) 849-0538
Website: www.myinvestcheck.org

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Source :  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb272986.htm