Trade Secrets: Unlocking the Vault of Business Insights
- Elizabeth Clemons
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 14
Tip Sheet
with Lecia Kaslofsky (Private investigator and Fraud Examiner) and Laurie Cohen (Pulitzer Prize-winning Investigative Journalist)
This tip sheet from Trade Secrets: Unlocking the Vault of Business Insights provides valuable resources for basic business backgrounding; investigating businesses to look at misconduct, assets, and connections; and finding sources. Watch quick, narrated tutorials on how to use different resources, from the SEC to UCC Filings to Business Personal Property.
Watch the recording of this workshop session here.
Basic Business Backgrounding
BlackBookOnline: links to Secretary of State offices for each state to find incorporation filings, and…
OpenCorporates: search for businesses both in the U.S. and internationally. Can search by either company name or officer name.
Important Secretary of State business searches: Always search in the state where the individual does business and lives, and in the following:
Look at the company’s website and previous versions of its website, using resources such as Wayback Machine.
Who registered the website?
Gov.UK: Check for US companies in the UK
This can show you information on connected people and companies and finances.
Investment & Finance Companies
BrokerCheck by FINRA: Search for brokerage firms
Investment Adviser Public Disclosure: Search for investment advisor firms
Nonprofits
990s
Local charity oversight per state
For example, in California, it’s the Attorney General’s Office
Investigating Businesses
How-to: Search the SEC EDGAR for nonprofits, private companies and individuals.
How-to: Where to start? SEC Filings
Check out this demo to learn the six SEC forms to start with.
Court Basics
Legal Information Institute dictionary: legal glossary
Court Express: for having someone get the records for you
Federal Court Resources
Use the RECAP Chrome Extension while using PACER to contribute to the RECAP archive, and see if documents you are searching for are already available for free.
CourtListener database
US Tax Court Case Search: If a company petitions a tax court to reduce their taxes, the filings here can be revealing about their finances.
United States Merit Systems Protection Board: quasi-judicial; works to protect federal merit systems and to ensure protection for federal employees against abuses by agency management
State Court Resources
Nat’l Center for State Courts (NCSC): links to state court websites
Court Reference: links to online court records by state
Misconduct
OSHA: State agency investigations, search the state and then the agency, ie: California OSHA
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints: Search this to find see complaints of workplace discrimination.
Regulations.gov: Search for criminal actions, petitions written to federal agencies, federal-related claims, rulings, etc.
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): Search this database to find complaints by private sector employees of violations of employee rights.
Assets
UCC Filings
Business personal property records, Texas example
Search for “business personal property” to identify the declared value of property within company offices. Gives you ideas about the value of assets that a company has.
BBB property record search: Find property records in the state where the company operates.
Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) Patent Search
Connections
Look for previous versions of the “About Us” page using the Internet Archive to find former employees.
Finding Sources
🚨 These Tip Sheets are incredible resources, best used in conjunction with their live, hands-on workshop session component. Watch the recording here.
Interested in gaining access to our full database of workshop recordings?
Questions or comments about Sunlight's workshops and resources? Contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@sunlightsearch.net
