Investigative Services
A private investigations firm in North Carolina built for the defense.
Aubor Group is a licensed private investigations firm in North Carolina. We work primarily with criminal defense attorneys and the clients they represent, with additional practice areas in family law, service of process, and investigative consulting. Whatever investigative need you have, Aubor Group can help.
Aubor Group is licensed by the Private Protective Services Board of the State of North Carolina. In North Carolina, a person must be licensed by the Private Protective Services Board in order to provide private investigative services. N.C.G.S. 74-C and 14B N.C.A.C. 16 are the laws which govern and regulate private investigators.
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Criminal defense investigations
Criminal defense investigations make up the bulk of our practice. We work for the defense — alongside criminal defense attorneys and the clients they represent, from arraignment through verdict (and sometimes for post-conviction relief). The State has patrol officers, detectives, lab analysts, and prosecutors building its case. The defense deserves the same caliber of investigation working the other side.
Services include:
- Reviewing discovery materials for inconsistencies, gaps, and leads the State overlooked
- Interviewing reported victims, witnesses, and law enforcement officers
- Re-interviewing State’s witnesses to test the statements they gave to police
- Locating witnesses the State didn’t bother to find
- Investigating leads law enforcement missed, ignored, or chose not to pursue
- Scene visits, photographs, measurements, and reconstruction
- Background investigation on State’s witnesses, including criminal history and bias
- Records retrieval (employment, medical, telecom, social media, prior court files)
- Alibi development and corroboration
- Trial preparation and litigation support through verdict
Funding through IDS. For court-appointed cases, investigator costs can be funded through North Carolina’s Office of Indigent Defense Services:
- Capital and potentially-capital offenses are funded through the Office of the Capital Defender, which has established procedures for retaining investigators on capital cases.
- Non-capital cases require an ex parte motion to the presiding superior court judge, who has discretion to approve investigator funding when the defense demonstrates necessity.
We are familiar with the IDS process and can provide attorneys with the documentation needed to support a funding request. Private-pay clients are also welcome.
Family law investigations
Family law cases often need an investigator who understands both the evidentiary standards and the discretion these matters require. Services include:
- Child custody investigations
- Infidelity investigations
- Alimony and cohabitation surveillance
- Asset location
- Background checks on partners, caregivers, and household members
- Service of process for family law matters
We document what we find, we don’t editorialize, and our reports are written with the understanding that they may end up in front of a district court judge.
Service of process
We serve civil process throughout North Carolina, including subpoenas, summonses, complaints, restraining orders, and other documents. We handle difficult and evasive serves where standard service has failed, document each attempt thoroughly, and provide affidavits of service or non-service for filing.
Other services
We also provide skip tracing, due diligence, asset searches, missing persons investigations, fraud investigations, and consulting on investigative strategy for cases handled by other firms.
How our investigators work
A licensed private investigator uses different methods to gather information. Our work includes:
Surveillance
Surveillance involves closely observing a person or location, documented through photography, video, and written observation logs.
Interviews
Interviews entail structured questioning of witnesses, subjects, and other relevant parties, with detailed contemporaneous documentation of each exchange.
Research
Research requires gathering data from public records, proprietary databases, court filings, and other sources, then cross-referencing findings for accuracy.
Documentation
Documentation involves recording and organizing information into reports that are clear, factual, and ready for use by counsel.
Observation
Observation requires carefully noting details in a given situation, often over extended periods, without alerting the subject.
Court testimony
Court testimony includes speaking to the court under oath about findings, methods, and conclusions reached during the investigation.
What private investigators can do in North Carolina
Under N.C.G.S. 74-C, a licensed private investigator may:
- Investigate crimes
- Research the actions and conduct of people, including through surveillance
- Find lost property and locate missing persons
- Determine the cause of fires, accidents, and other incidents
- Secure evidence for use in legal proceedings
- Protect people from serious bodily harm or death