• A New York boutique investigative agency with a French accent

    Call us +1 (866) 563-1443

     

     

     

     

    FRENCH CONNECTION RESEARCH

  • Our Experience

    French Connection Research is a professional investigative agency licensed in New York State. It was founded in 2004 to assist firms and individuals in need of serious fact-checking and bilingual assistance in the course of French-language investigations in the United States, France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and around the world.

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    Emmanuelle Welch

    Licensed Private Investigator; Certified Fraud Examiner

    We tailor our service to each case: For our first assignment, a renowned duo of Hollywood screenwriters asked us to travel to Switzerland to locate and interview the French-speaking protagonists of an infamous true crime story.

     

    Since then, we’ve worked with an array of professional investigative firms, attorneys, small businesses and corporations, as well as individuals in need of lawful and ethical information and evidence-gathering to support their case. We’ve assisted with investigations ranging from litigation support to landlord & tenant investigations, from international child abduction to mitigation in capital murder cases, from antique history tracing to locating a unique violin especially crafted for a left-handed player. Most of our cases have a French component, but many don't.

    We work relentlessly towards fulfilling our missions successfully, constantly updating our knowledge of OSINT, media, online and library sources, as well as public records and human intelligence.

     

    Don’t hesitate to contact us for a confidential consultation either in English or French.

  • Our Expertise

    We’ve served private parties, small businesses and large corporations with our unique experience in fact-finding missions built on multicultural awareness, internet proficiency, as well as old-fashioned field work and surveillance.

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    Factual Research Discovery

    Research is our strong suit and we work hard at solving each request in the most optimum way possible with the right tools for each situation. We subscribe to a dozen proprietary databases, train continuously to stay on top of online intelligence gathering techniques (OSINT.) We also like to take our assignment where online just can't go and pool our resources, contacts and expertise for online and offline fact finding.

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    People Locate

    We find missing persons, heirs, birth parents and long lost loves and, with their approval, put you in touch. But we also "skip trace" people who are intentionally hiding, perhaps from creditors or from the law, or have some other reason to keep their location a secret. Skips go to any length to remain under the radar. Only professionals can track them down and ferret them out.

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    Fraud and Litigation Support

    We coordinate all sorts of investigations in the United States and in France with experts on economic and white-collar crimes. Our main motivation for fraud investigations is to build the strongest case in order to help the victims recover funds and prevent repetitions. We have been members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners since 2013.
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    Landlord & Tenant

    Clients in need of pre-tenant screenings, primary residence, illegal sublets, and undeserved succession investigations know that we go way beyond the usual TLO/DMV/utility search. When unlawful behavior is detected, we help clients lead negotiations or act to recover the units by providing them with a strong, evidence-based case.

  • Our Clients

    We are located in New York City with an excellent network of trusted private investigators and forensic experts. Our international clients value the ease of communication in English and our easy access to resources and archives in Washington, DC. They trust that we care for them and are constantly brainstorming their case for maximum results and cost-efficiency.

     

    Perhaps the best way to introduce ourselves is to let our clients speak for us. Click on the arrows for testimonials.

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    Stephen Aslett

    Criminal Defense Attorney

    "Ms. Welch was, without a doubt, the finest investigator I have had the pleasure of working with. I represented an elderly French-speaking Canadian man who was the victim of an online scam. He believed he was transporting legal documents from South America to Canada for a fee but instead became an unwitting drug mule. He was arrested at an airport in the United States when a check of his luggage revealed drugs in a hidden compartment. The amount of drugs was large enough that the client was facing up to life in prison.

    Ms. Welch was able to interview witnesses in Quebec and translate French chat logs from the client's online account to prove that he was the victim of an online scam. With the information she was able uncover, the case was dismissed. The client is now back in Canada with his family.

    Hire her. Period. You won't be disappointed."

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    Mike Tonsing

    Tonsing Law firm

    San Francisco, CA

    "I am a former US Supreme Court Fellow, serving on the staff of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. I also served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence officer and was a member of the United States Attorney’s office in San Francisco, where the FBI and other Federal investigative agencies supplied our investigative assistance. I am now a sole practitioner in San Francisco.
    I have used many investigative services over the years. The overseas detective work recently completed for us by French Connection Research was impeccable. Very efficient. Highly competent. Very responsive. In a word, excellent. I recommend French Connection Research unequivocally."

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    Bill Golodner

    Golodner Group

    New York City, NY

    "I have not had the opportunity to work with any other colleague whose attention to detail and complexity of skills are only seen but rarely."

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    Kathleen Victor

    Victor Appraisal Services

    Seattle, WA

    "We want you to know how lucky we feel to have found you; a professional investigator, with expertise, integrity, and tenacity!"

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    Corey Friedman

    Nick Harris Detectives

    Van Nuys, CA

    "This woman is an incredible investigator and of the highest caliber."

    A. Bogart, Los Angeles, CA

    "French Connection Research far exceeded my expectations when they embarked on a project for me. I was only able to give Emmanuelle a few little concrete details about the person who had been missing from my family for almost 48 years and I was doubtful she would succeed where others had failed.

    Yet, having assessed my situation with skill, imagination, and total confidence, she proceeded to unravel the mysteries of my missing person with great success. Her work was swift, comprehensive, and meticulously documented."

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    Christophe Cousin

    Filmmaker, author, producer, Paris, France

    "I hired Emmanuelle to conduct research for a very specific project about nomadic people and charismatic characters living on the road in the US. She did an incredible job. Very well organized person, extremely reliable, and most important, she is able to immerse in the mind of the director to perfectly answer the needs. "

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    O. Nanouar

    Lyon, France

    "From France, I was looking for a lost violin in the United States, with a very particular story but impossible to find for more than 5 years. Through a friend’s recommendation, I contacted French Connection Research and in less than a week, with few elements, they had traced the instrument. I was impressed with their skills, their professionalism and their human touch."

    Robert Kenmeugne

    France

    "I had heard of Emmanuelle Welch of French Connection Research during the Strauss-Kahn affair in New York, a few years back. Then, in 2013, the mother of my children committed parental abduction and took them to the United States. Based on testimonials online, and knowing that Ms. Welch was experienced and could speak French, I hired her and was not disappointed. In ten days, she had located the children. Two weeks later, they returned to France with me. She was efficient, responsive, knowledgeable, professional and supportive during my ordeal."

  • In The Media

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    Psychology Today

    When an Online Romance Scam Gets Too Thrilling

    Our column on The Investigator's Forum on our experience working to help release an online romance scam victim from jail.

    Read the article

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    The Guardian

    Gadgets, drug mules and a French accent: my life as a private investigator

    Emmanuelle Welch was a journalist before becoming a PI. Now she tracks down embezzlers and the occasional lost teddy bear

    Read The Article

     

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    Pursuit Magazine

    Wizards of #OSINT

    Our takeaway from Osmosis 2018, the annual online social media and open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigation summit organized by Hetherington Group. The “Dark Web Knights” were out to acquire the best techniques to chart Dark Web investigations.

    Read The Article

     

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    Pursuit Magazine

    Emmanuelle Welch was mentioned in this piece by Washington, DC LPI Philip Becnel about professional ethics for private investigators, and keeping our political and professional selves separate. "'It goes back to knowing your customer and being able to quickly assess who a slick attorney represents,' Emmanuelle Welch of French Connection Research explained."

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    News from Osmosis 2017

    Our presentation on "Hacking the meet-up and hook-up apps" at the 2017 Osmosis Conference was mentioned in the Fall 2017 issue of the Intellenet newsletter.

    Download the PDF

     

    Our links of dating and hook-up apps and tools are updated here:

    Dating apps and hook-up sites for investigators

     

     

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    France-Amérique

    Emmanuelle Welch, Public Profile of a Private Investigator

    In this profile written in French, New York-based writer Vincent Dozol describes how this French-born print, radio and TV journalist transitioned from reporter to investigator in the United States.

    Excerpt in English from the SPIonline Newsletter

    Excerpt in French

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    Pursuit Magazine

    What You Need To Know When An Investigation Leads You To France

    "The legal environment is so radically different in France that the job of private investigators here is almost not the same as in the United States,” says Arnaud Pelletier, founder of Agence Leprivé, an investigations agency in the greater Paris region." Read The Article.

  • Contact Us

    Let us know what you need in English or French and we will respond as soon as possible.

    French Connection Research
    495 Henry St
    Brooklyn, NY 11231
    1-866-563-1443