An occasional series in which we ask P.I.s around the globe the same 5 questions and get a multitude of different answers.
Q1: Who are you?
My name is Jeff Filliter. I live in the Greater Toronto Area and have worked at Haywood Hunt & Associates as a senior investigator with the corporate investigations division since 2020.
Q2: How did you become a private investigator?
I’ve been in the investigative industry for 45+ years, starting with a 23-year law enforcement career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.). After the R.C.M.P., I led the international investigative desk for a Canadian chartered bank, conducting investigations and providing testimony in thirty-two countries. I then accepted a position as a partner in a forensic accounting firm, charged with building the firm’s forensic investigative practice.
My transition into private investigative work was seamless. I took on investigations similar to the ones I worked during my time in law enforcement and in private practice. I’ve held a private investigator’s license in the Province of Ontario for the past fifteen years.
Q3: What’s your specialty now?
I specialize in fraud investigations; international asset tracing and recovery; money laundering and proceeds of crime; fraud prevention and mitigation; expert opinion reporting and testimony in relation to standard / duty of care requirements for North American banks; and civil litigation investigations and assistance.
Q4: What’s the craziest case you ever worked?
During my banking tenure, a branch manager in a foreign country was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. It was my job to provide support to the family, wave the corporate flag, and assist government authorities with their investigation. I figured it would take three or four days to complete these tasks.
That three- or four-day investigation turned into six years. We uncovered overwhelming evidence of a $23,000,000 fraud, a multi-jurisdictional and international money laundering scheme, three murders, and corruption at the highest levels of government. I could never have imagined how intense and totally consuming this case would become. For six years, it took over my life. I probably should have walked away from it, but I’d made a promise, and I felt that I needed to keep it.
I still wonder if it was all for naught. Despite all the evidence we collected, only one person was ever criminally charged with fraud and money laundering. And to this day, no one has been charged with the corruption or the murders.
That case still haunts me. I wrote a book about it: The Shallowest of Men is a fictionalized account of the case. I wanted to ensure that this story be told and the lives of those murdered never be forgotten.
Q5: What advice do you have for your colleagues or aspiring investigators about how to do this job well, make a living, and stay sane?
To do this job well and make a living, be committed:
Be committed to finishing every task, no matter how menial, to the best of your ability.
Be committed to your profession and your colleagues.
Be committed to being your best and seeking opportunities to better yourself,
Be committed to providing your clients with the most efficient service you can offer.
Do all this, and your reputation in the industry will be secure. Your colleagues will recommend you to clients. And in a broader sense, your work may even inspire others to raise their own standards.
To stay sane, recognize and accept your limitations:
Don’t take on work that’s outside your expertise or requires more time and resources than you have available. Overestimating your time or skills will ultimately result in incomplete work and client dissatisfaction. This is a recipe for disaster, and your reputation may not recover. Understand what you’re good at and stick with it; refer the rest to other experts and specialists. Your success within the industry depends on it.
Most of all, focus on the task at hand. Don’t allow issues on the periphery to distract you from the case in front of you and the overall mission of your life’s work.
About the author:
Jeff Filliter, BA, CFE, is a senior investigator with Haywood Hunt & Associates Inc. located in Toronto, Ontario and is a licensed private investigator in Ontario, Canada.