Industry: Energy and Manufacturing
Client Type: Employer (Confidential)
Service Highlighted: Federal District Court Search
Key Advantage: Nationwide federal court coverage and expert research through hands-on approach to data review.
Buried in the Fine Print: A dismissed charge with a hidden truth.
When it comes to background checks, sticking to surface-level information can lead to dangerous oversights, potentially putting your staff and company reputation in harm’s way. Fortunately, our clients have PSI, and we don’t stop at the surface.
The Challenge: A “dismissed” bank robbery case?
An employer submitted a candidate for a routine pre-employment background check. The initial county level report in South Carolina showed a concerning charge: Bank Robbery by Force or Violence, but it had been dismissed.
Most providers would stop there.
But at PSI, our standard pre-employment screening includes a nationwide Federal District Court search, designed to uncover exactly this kind of red flag.
The Discovery: A violent felony hidden at the federal level.
Through the Federal District Court search, PSI research revealed that the county case was dismissed because it had been escalated to the federal courts. And that is where PSI discovered that the candidate was convicted of Bank Robbery by Force or Violence.
The conviction was filed in a U.S. District Court, records that are housed separately from the county and state repositories and confirmed with multiple matching identifiers.
Had the client relied on local or state level searches, they would have missed a serious federal conviction.
The Facts: Why nationwide federal district court searches are essential.
Federal courts do not often deal with minor offenses. They handle the nation’s most serious crimes, and yet many background screening providers still do not provide them by default.
97% of federal convictions in 2024 were felonies.
Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission
That means nearly every conviction at the federal level involves high-severity crimes like fraud, trafficking, or violence. If your provider is not searching the federal courts, they’re potentially leaving out the worst offenses, exposing your company to an increased risk of negligent hire litigation.
In 2024, financial crimes like fraud, theft, or embezzlement averaged an economic loss of $2,606,782 per case.
Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission
These aren’t small-time thefts. We are talking complex embezzlement and fraud schemes that can devastate a business.
Federal cases are often not tied residency, highlighting the importance of nationwide searches.
Example: A Georgia resident working remotely for a New York firm commits financial fraud against a company located in New York. The individual is likely to be prosecuted in a New York federal court – not Georgia. If you are not conducting a check of ALL 94 federal courts, you run the risk of being the next corporation who is victim to a complex fraud scheme or worse.
The Outcome: More information to protect the company.
Your decisions deserve better data, and background checks are only as good as the data they surface. PSI’s diligence to research and full-spectrum approach helped protect our client from a potentially dangerous hire. Ensuring a thorough screening that includes federal records can help your organization protect your people, policies, and bottom line.
Because PSI dug deeper, the client:
- Avoided a hire that could go against their internal policies
- Gained a complete, accurate view of the candidate’s criminal history
- Maintained safety and trust within their organization
