Investigative Intelligence
Former federal investigator • 15+ years of experience • Virginia-licensed private investigator • CFE • CAMS
Former federal investigator • 15+ years of experience • Virginia-licensed private investigator • CFE • CAMS
Investigative intelligence for legal and business decisions
We investigate the people, entities, assets, financial relationships, and representations behind high-stakes matters. Standard & Proof provides discreet, evidence-driven investigative support to law firms, businesses, investors, and private clients.
Know More Before You Act
Important decisions are often made with an incomplete picture.
Standard & Proof Investigations helps clients identify what is missing, verify what has been represented, and understand the people and entities behind a dispute, transaction, or allegation.
Founded by former federal investigator Michelle Tavares, the firm combines public-record research, financial analysis, corporate intelligence, and investigative judgment to develop findings that are clear, documented, and useful.
About Michelle Tavares
Michelle Tavares, CFE, CAMS
Founder
I founded Standard & Proof Investigations after more than 15 years working inside federal investigative, regulatory, financial-crime, and adjudicative environments.
My federal experience includes work involving fraud, consumer protection, money laundering, foreign corruption, asset recovery, securities matters, complex financial transactions, and immigration-related financial evidence. I have served with the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
At USCIS, I served as an EB-5 Compliance Officer, Adjudications Officer, and Acting Compliance Branch Chief. That experience strengthened an approach that has guided my work throughout my career: follow the money, test the explanation, identify what is missing, and document only what the evidence supports.
I hold master’s degrees in Forensic Accounting and Legal Studies and am a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Certified Financial Crime Specialist, and Virginia-licensed private investigator.
Our Services
Investigative Due Diligence
Understand who—and what—is behind the transaction.
We conduct investigative due diligence for law firms, investors, businesses, private-equity firms, and other decision-makers evaluating a transaction or professional relationship.
Our work focuses on integrity, ownership, history, undisclosed relationships, and potential exposure. We do not value businesses, project investment returns, or provide financial advice.
Executive, founder, and key-person background investigations
Corporate structure and beneficial-ownership research
Affili
ate and related-party identification
Litigation, regulatory, and enforcement-history research
Undisclosed business-interest and conflict inquiries
Reputational and adverse-information research
Fraud and integrity-risk assessments
Starting at $3,500
Litigation Investigations
Build the factual record behind the legal strategy.
We work with attorneys as a specialized investigative extension of the legal team. Our role is to locate information, test representations, trace relationships and assets, and organize investigative findings for use in discovery, negotiation, trial preparation, or regulatory response.
Party, witness, and entity background investigations
Asset and ownership research
Corporate and affiliate mapping
Litigation and regulatory-history research
Witness identification and development
Public-record and open-source intelligence
Financial-flow and relationship chronologies
Litigation-ready investigative reports and evidentiary summaries
Starting at $5,000
Corporate and Internal Investigations
Develop the facts behind suspected misconduct.
We assist businesses and counsel with focused investigations involving allegations of fraud, conflicts of interest, employee or executive misconduct, undisclosed relationships, and misuse of company resources. Each engagement is scoped around the allegation, available records, and decisions the client may need to make.
Fraud and misconduct investigations
Conflicts-of-interest inquiries
Vendor and third-party investigations
Employee and executive background inquiries
Corporate affiliation and ownership research
Financial-relationship analysis
Investigative interviews and witness development, where appropriate
Evidentiary chronologies and findings reports
Starting at $5,000
Asset and Financial Investigations
Follow the money. Identify the relationships. Document what the evidence supports.
We examine financial records, public filings, property interests, corporate ownership, and transactional relationships to help clients understand how assets or funds may have moved.
Asset and property research
Business-interest identification
Beneficial-ownership research
Financial-flow reconstruction
Related-party and affiliate analysis
Fraud-indicator analysis
Lifestyle and financial-profile research
Investigative support for judgments and recovery efforts
Starting at $5,000
For Law Firms
You develop the legal strategy. We investigate the record behind it.
Standard & Proof works confidentially with counsel on targeted investigative assignments and complex matters requiring financial, corporate, or public-record research. We can enter at the beginning of a matter, support active discovery and litigation, or investigate a discrete question without unnecessarily expanding the scope.
The Counsel Ready Connection
Need financial analysis or case preparation?
Get Counsel Ready is a client-facing service brand of Standard & Proof Investigations, LLC. It provides financial investigations, evidence organization, immigration support, forensic analysis, and case preparation for attorneys and private clients.
Standard & Proof remains the firm’s investigations practice, handling due diligence, corporate intelligence, background investigations, asset research, and investigative litigation support.
Bring us the question behind the matter.
Tell us what you need to understand, what information is already available, and what remains uncertain.
We will recommend a focused investigative scope and a clear starting point.
Confidential Inquiry Form
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!