Why Perform a Federal Criminal Database Search?
30 years ago, Maggie* took her passion for baking to the next level and opened a bakery. Business quickly boomed and Maggie hired her long-time friend Candace to keep track of her books. It was a huge relief to have the dependable help.
Decades later, her bakery still thriving, Maggie decides to purchase a new car. She plans to write a check in the full amount and leave the lot fully owning her new vehicle, a long-deserved treat to herself.
Before going to the dealership, Maggie sits down with her boyfriend Robert, a CPA, to make the financial arrangements. She is moving some funds from the bakery’s account, so she wants to make sure everything is done correctly.
When Robert takes a look at the bakery’s books, he sees something is seriously wrong and tells Maggie to call the police. Maggie gets in contact with the Elko County Fraud Department, and they arrive to collect evidence.
The Elko County Fraud Department determines they actually had a federal offense on their hands, and Maggie’s friend Candace, still handling finances for her friend’s company, was the likely culprit. The federal government then receives a call and picks up the case.
Candace is arrested by federal agents upon her arrival home from vacation and is charged with a federal crime.
How It Works
Using the example above, in the event of a future preemployment background screening, Candace’s fraud charge and conviction would not show up in an Elko County search. Since her charges were brought within the federal court system, a Federal Criminal Database search would reveal the charges, while an Elko County search would not.
A Federal Criminal Database Search on an applicant shows charges and convictions at the federal level. Federal crimes, often referred to as “White Collar” offenses, include charges such as Kidnapping, Transportation of Drugs Across State Lines, Fraud, Embezzlement, Tax Evasion and more. These charges are not guaranteed to be on State or County level searches, so it’s important to consider Federal Criminal Database searches on applicants.
As you can see with the example of Candace, it can get a bit tricky when determining where exactly a charge will land, and thus where to run a background screening to find it. That is why it is recommended that all background screening packages include a Federal Criminal Database search.
In order to do your due diligence on a prospective employee, and keep your business safe, it is best practice and widely recommended to run the Federal Criminal Database search in conjunction with any county level searches.
*Identifying details have been removed for privacy
