Theft and Embezzlement of Goods

Many companies are confronted with an alarmingly high loss of stock and associated revenue during their annual inventory. Unfortunately, this is often not merely the result of employee negligence or errors in stocktaking, but also of criminal activities committed by individual staff members. Such was the case with a well-known Stuttgart food retailer who discovered during its latest inventory that non-perishable goods worth more than €100,000 had disappeared over the previous year and were not listed in any current inventory or sales records. While smaller losses might have gone unnoticed, the warehouse manager and company management were shocked by the scale of the deficit and commissioned our private investigators in Stuttgart to monitor both internal and external transport routes. On various randomly selected days, our detectives followed individual delivery vans along their routes to determine which employees were embezzling goods and offering them for illegal resale.

As two employees had already attracted attention and received prior warnings, our Stuttgart detectives focused their efforts on these individuals. The company was particularly interested not only in identifying and securing court-admissible evidence against the culprits as quickly as possible, but also in avoiding lengthy dismissal and compensation proceedings by persuading the offenders to sign a notarial acknowledgement of debt, thus bringing the matter to a swift conclusion.

Notarial Acknowledgement of Debt: Definition and Advantages

A notarial acknowledgement of debt is a document certified by a notary which legally confirms that a person (the debtor/offender) recognises and admits a debt of any kind towards another party (the creditor/victim). Once signed, the debtor generally has no further legal means to dispute the claim. Such acknowledgements are often proposed to debtors in order to resolve cases quickly, secure prompt compensation payments, and spare all parties a protracted court process. In contrast to payment orders, a signed notarial acknowledgement largely – and in some legal definitions, completely – excludes further litigation or objection. According to the experience of our detective agency in Stuttgart, there are always some so-called clever lawyers who attempt to have a duly signed and notarised document overturned, alleging that their client signed under duress (e.g. threats of violence). However, we are not aware of a single case in which such manoeuvres have succeeded in deceiving either the creditor or a court – unsurprisingly so, as our agency always ensures that a majority of witnesses are present during discussions surrounding the acknowledgement, including neutral witnesses such as the certifying notary, whose word carries far more weight than that of a convicted offender.

Our corporate detectives from Stuttgart have repeatedly found that, especially in delicate cases involving reputable companies that cannot afford to lose either their reputation or further money to legal costs, a notarial acknowledgement of debt is preferred to lengthy litigation. This approach often benefits not only the creditors, who receive the owed money more quickly (typically via an instalment plan linked to the document), but also the debtors, who may thus avoid criminal prosecution or imprisonment, depending on the circumstances. Naturally, the offenders also save on legal fees and court costs.

It is also important to note that acknowledgements of debt can be made privately between creditor and debtor without notarial certification. These so-called private acknowledgements of debt are also legally valid but, unlike notarised ones, cannot be enforced immediately and must first pass through the slow machinery of the courts. For this reason – and due to the evidentiary value of having witnesses present – Kurtz Private Detective Agency Stuttgart advises all clients to have acknowledgements of debt notarised. We guide you through the entire process – from case analysis, through evidence gathering and negotiations with the offender (including discussion of the acknowledgement and the payment schedule), right up to the appointment with a notary of your or our choosing.

Think pragmatically: better to have the compensation in your account than the thieving magpie behind bars.

In the aforementioned case of the Swabian food retailer, our investigators were able to report initial success after only a few days of surveillance: the two suspected delivery drivers were observed visiting not only customer addresses but also three private residences, where boxes of groceries were unloaded quickly and discreetly. These deliveries – usually carried out towards the end of the working day and thus in twilight – were photographically documented from a safe distance by our surveillance team, who then conducted follow-up investigations into the recipients of the stolen goods.

After these incidents had repeated several times during the observation period, our detectives in Stuttgart, acting at the client’s request, invited both dishonest drivers to individual interviews and confronted them with the photographic and video evidence of their crimes. Faced with the irrefutable proof, both men confessed immediately, even admitting that they had been diverting increasing quantities of food over several years for private buyers and events, thereby continuously enriching themselves at their employer’s expense. Each driver agreed to terminate his employment and to sign a notarial acknowledgement of debt. The client was thus able to assert legally enforceable claims for damages (including detective costs) immediately and without court proceedings. Reasonably, both parties agreed on payment by instalments, ensuring that the damages would be repaid over a period of 36 months. In return, our client did not press criminal charges against the employees themselves, though charges were filed against the recipients of the embezzled goods.

Notarial Acknowledgement of Debt – The Fastest Way to Resolve Any Claim

Is your company also suffering from major financial losses that can no longer be explained by stocktaking errors or normal fluctuations, but instead suggest embezzlement and illegal resale of goods? Do you suspect that one of your debtors secretly owns assets – perhaps hidden from you and the tax authorities alike – to evade repayment? If so, contact our IHK-certified detectives in Stuttgart. Through surveillance, undercover placements, discreet interviews and many other investigative techniques, we help you identify the offenders and collect court-admissible evidence.

If a quick and efficient resolution is in your interest, we will use our expertise, experience and persuasive ability to show the offender that a notarial acknowledgement of debt is also in their own best interest. For further information, please contact our detective agency in Stuttgart at: +49 711 7153 0028.

Note

To protect the confidentiality and personal rights of clients and subjects, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.