We ran across an interesting case in Florida where a man claimed to be an undercover police officer to avoid a background check. The man was arrested last week by state police.
The gentleman was attempting to lease a residential property and in order to avoid a background check, he submitted a falsified letter claiming he was an undercover Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agent working “off-grid.”
While the letterhead appeared to be legitimate, the body of the fake letter was not particularly convincing as it had numerous grammatical and spelling errors. It was supposedly written by an assistant captain of the FDLE’s “Off Grid Command Unit” explaining why he should be an exception to the real estate agency’s background check requirement.
“We ask that you make an exception to limit the background/credit check due to the security needed to protect our agent safety and rely solely on this letter of recommendation from the FDLE and State of Florida,” the letter read.
The letter also claimed the man’s employment began with the FDLE in 2006 and said he was “three years shy of reaching his retirement.”
The real estate company was not convinced, and good for them!
The man was charged with falsely impersonating a police officer, making a false statement to obtain property and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony, according to the FDLE. After his arrest, it was discovered he had 13 prior felony arrests and had been charged with impersonating a police officer two different times.
A few takeaways here. When someone attempts to avoid a background check, no matter the reason, always be wary. Verify all documents provided, to include official letters, certificates and degrees.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of fake degrees bought each year from diploma mills exceeds 50,000. Fake medical degrees are also an urgent problem. And, as seen in this case, fake letters as well.
As we like to say at GroupOne Background Screening, “Verify, verify, verify.” Most importantly, if a person claims they do not need to have a background check, it usually means they have something to hide.