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November 2007 Vol. 7, No. 11

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Newsletter and Legal Update

1. Hot Off The Press: Despite Their Resources, an FBI and CIA Background Check Fails to Uncover an Applicant with False Credentials

2. New I-9 form Released for Employers

3. Urban Myth: A Social Security Trace Report from a Background Firm is from the Government

4. ESR in the News! ESR is the Official Background Screening Firm for Real Santas

1. Hot Off The Press: Despite Their Resources, an FBI and CIA Background Check Fails to Uncover an Applicant with False Credentials

When it comes to exercising due diligence in hiring, the two organizations that are probably among the best in the world are the CIA and the FBI. Not only do they have access to confidential governmental databases that private employers cannot access, but they spend substantial time and resources on each hire, including in-depth field interviews of references and past employers by trained professionals.

Yet even with all of these advantages it turns out that the FBI and CIA are not above having their hiring systems thwarted by a determined liar. In a highly published case, the FBI hired an agent with false credentials into a highly sensitive position, critical to the national security of the United States. On November 18, 2007, an FBI agent named Nada Prouty, who also did sensitive work for the CIA, was convicted in federal court of criminal charges relating to falsification of her employment application. According to a story in the New York Post,