No information is available from this agency (see 20 USC §262.16, Code of Federal Regulations.)

The Export-Import Bank of the United States supports the financing of Unites States goods and services, turning export opportunities into real transactions, and maintaining and creating more United States jobs. The Export-Import Bank of the United States assumes credit and country risks the private sector is unable or unwilling to accept. It loans funds to foreign countries and businesses to buy goods from United States companies. The borrower can obtain up to 50 percent of the purchase price of the goods being acquired. The selling company must fill out and submit to the bank a supplier certificate. Included in this certificate is a required statement as to any commissions paid, especially in the foreign country to foreign sales "representatives" or "agents" .

The Department of Education assists students with educational funding through Federal Title IV loans and grants. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the initial application that a student completes to establish eligibility for the numerous student financial assistance programs. The main funding programs include the Direct Loan, Federal Family Education Loan, Perkins Loan and the Pell Grant.

The FAFSA captures information such as: student name, address, social security number, date of birth, telephone number, drivers' license number, citizenship status, alien registration number, date of marital status, drug conviction information, state of legal residency, gender, Selective Service registration, type of degree, grade level in college, IRS tax information (earned income, spouse's income, foreign tax form, adjusted gross income, US income tax paid), dependants, veterans' status, father's and mother's name, and respective SSNs, IRS tax information (net worth, cash and savings, earned income) and signatures.

Requests for this information will be directed to: Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General (OIG) 330 C Street, SW, Room 4022, Washington DC 20202, Attn.: Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.

Requests should include:

Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (OIG), Investigative Services, has special agents in offices nationwide. Special agents investigate various criminal offenses including identity theft, bank fraud, money laundering and program fraud. Contact information is listed on their Web site.

The Small Business Administration (SBA), a Department of Commerce agency, maintains records pursuant to applications for the various loans offered. These records include information as to the basis of the individual's credit and capacity to perform under contract, as well as his/her qualifications with respect to volume of business and financial resources. Small Business Administration records on individuals who have received loan assistance may be obtained from any of more than 100 local SBA offices. The legal department in the local SBA office will make such files available to special agents for review in SBA offices upon presentation of his/her credentials.

The following are state gaming commissions and enforcement agencies.

There are special procedures which allows access to financial information from financial institutions as defined in 12 USC §3401(1) without using compulsory legal processes such as a summons, subpoena, court order, or search warrant.

A financial institution is defined as any office of a bank, savings bank, credit card issuer as defined in 15 USC §1602(n), industrial loan company, trust company, savings association, building and loan, or homestead association (including cooperative banks), credit union, or consumer finance institution, located in any state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the US Virgin Islands.

The Right to Financial Privacy Act (TRTFP), Title 12 Chapter 35, restricts government agencies from obtaining information from a financial institution without compulsory legal process or account holder consent, except for three exceptions:

The following business organizations typically maintain the indicated records.

When a corporation is formed, capital stock representing the ownership of the corporation is authorized in the corporate charter. There are two principal classes of stock-common and preferred. If only one class of stock is authorized, it will be common stock. The number of shares authorized can only be changed by formal approval of the stockholders.

Shares issued and subsequently reacquired by the corporation through purchase or donation are referred to as treasury stock. The number of shares outstanding will always equal the number of shares issued less the number of shares of treasury stock.

Each stockholder is a part owner of the corporation since each share of stock represents a fractional interest in the corporation. The stockholder is entitled to a stock certificate evidencing ownership of a specified number of shares of stock of the corporation.

If a stockholder desires to buy more stock, it is not necessary to obtain the permission of the company. He/she simply acquires it by purchase in the open market or privately. Conversely, if a stockholder desires to sell shares, he/she cannot demand that the company buy the stock. A stockholder is free, instead, to seek a buyer for the stock either in the market or by private sale.

After the sale terms are agreed upon, the mechanics of transfer are simple. The seller signs his/her name on the back of the stock certificate and delivers it to the buyer or the buyer’s broker. A record of all outstanding certificates is kept by the corporation or by its duly appointed transfer agent, often a bank. The transfer agent has a record of the names and addresses of the stockholders and the number of shares owned by each. After determining that the old certificate is in proper form for transfer, the transfer agent issues a new certificate to the new owner. Also, most companies have a registrar. The duty of the registrar is to double check the actions of the transfer agent to prevent improper issue of stock or fraudulent transfer.

A common stockholder may usually subscribe at a stated discount price to new issues of common stock in proportion to his/her holdings. This privilege, known as a stock right, is usually offered to stockholders for a limited time. During this period, the stockholder may exercise the right to purchase additional shares under the terms of the offer or may choose to sell the rights. If the stockholder allows the time limit to run out without acting, the rights become worthless.

A stock warrant is a certificate which gives the holder the privilege to purchase common stock at a stated price within a specified time limit or perpetually. Warrants are often issued with bonds or preferred stocks as an added inducement to investors. The stockholder may exercise the right to purchase additional shares or choose to sell the warrants.

When the price of the common stock of a corporation reaches a high market value, the corporation may choose to force the price into a more favorable trading range. To do this, the corporation splits its shares, that is, increases the number of shares outstanding without issuing additional stock. If, for example, a stockholder owned 100 shares which had a market value of $150 per share, a 3:1 stock split would increase the stockholder’s shares to 300 and decrease the market price to $50 per share. Although the stockholder now owns a greater number of shares than before the split, the value of his/her stock and his/her proportionate interest remains unchanged. Until the new stock is sold, the split has no tax effect.

A corporation may pay a dividend in cash, in stock, or in property. When cash dividends are paid, the company or its dividend disbursing agent (usually a bank) sends checks to all the stockholders whose names appear on the books of the company on the so-called record date. A dividend is a prorated distribution among stockholders and when cash dividends are paid, they are in terms of so much per share. Cash dividends are usually taxable.

Some companies, in order to conserve cash, pay a dividend in their own stock. A stock dividend has an effect similar to that of a stock split in that the stockholder’s proportionate share of the ownership of the company remains unchanged. A stock dividend is usually stated as a percentage of the outstanding shares (up to a maximum of 25 percent, above which it is called a stock split). A stock dividend is not taxable even though cash is paid in lieu of fractional shares-although the cash itself is taxable as a dividend.

When a corporation pays a property dividend, it is usually in the form of stock of another corporation which has been acquired for investment or some other purpose. Property distributions are treated as taxable dividends.

It is common practice for separate financial institutions to serve as transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent. However, a single financial institution can serve both functions.

Names and addresses of institutions providing these services can be found in Securities publications such as the Financial Stock Guide Service, Moody’s, and Standard and Poor’s.

When a corporation or governmental unit wishes to borrow money for some period, usually for more than five years, it will sell a bond issue. Each bond, normally of $1,000 denomination, is a certificate of debt of the issuer and serves as evidence of a loan to the corporation or governmental unit. The bondholder is a creditor of the issuer. A bond pays a stated rate of interest and matures on a stated date when a fixed sum of money must be repaid to the bondholder.

Railroad, public utility, and industrial bonds are called corporate bonds. The obligations of states, counties, cities, towns, school districts, and authorities are known as municipal bonds. The US Treasury certificates, notes, and bonds are classified as government securities.

Bonds are issued in two principal forms, coupon bonds, and registered bonds. Coupon bonds have interest coupons attached to each bond by the corporation which issues it. Because the corporation keeps no record of the owner of the bonds, the bonds are called bearer bonds. On the due dates for the interest, the owner clips the coupons and presents them to the authorized bank for payment. Also, the principal when due, is payable to the holder or bearer of the bonds.

Registered bonds have the name of the owner written on the face of the bond. The company, or its authorized agent (usually a bank), has a record of the name and address of the owner. When interest is due, it is paid to the bondholder by check.

Securities exchanges or stock exchanges neither buy nor sell securities themselves. An exchange functions as a central marketplace and provides facilities for executing orders. Member brokers representing buyers and sellers carry out these transactions. An exchange provides a continuous market for securities listed on that exchange. The exchanges are auction markets in that prices are determined by the existing supply and demand of the securities.

If a security is to be traded on an exchange, the issue must be approved for listing by that exchange. The requirements for listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are the most stringent. Although there are only about 1,700 issues traded on the NYSE, these issues are represented by the largest corporations in the country and have an aggregate value of nearly $500 billion (or 95 percent of the value of all listed securities). While the American Express (AMEX) listing standards are not as restrictive as the NYSE, they are nonetheless designed to insure an adequate market for the securities. Securities traded on the NYSE or AMEX may also be listed and traded on a regional exchange but no security is listed on both the NYSE and the AMEX.

The over-the-counter securities market handles most of the securities transactions that take place in the United States. In fact, its operations are so extensive that the easiest way to describe it is to indicate what it does not do in securities transactions. The over-the-counter market does not handle the purchase or sale of securities that actually occur on securities exchanges, but it handles everything else in the way of securities transactions. The over-the-counter market is not located in any one central place. Rather, it consists of thousands of securities houses located in hundreds of different cities and towns all over the United States. These securities houses are called broker/dealers and are engaged in buying and selling securities usually for their own account and risk.

The over-the-counter market is a negotiated market rather than an auction market. Prices are arrived at by broker/dealers negotiating with other broker/dealers in order to arrive at the best price. They also buy and sell securities for the account and risk of others and may charge a commission for their services. To transact their business, they communicate their buy and sell orders back and forth through a nationwide network of telephones and teletypes. The exact size of the over-the-counter market cannot be determined since the securities transactions that take place over-the-counter occur in many different places and are not reported to one central agency. However, it is known that in dollar volume, substantially more securities are traded in the over-the-counter market than on all national securities exchanges combined.

The principal documents available from the transfer agent are:

The transfer agent keeps a record of the name and address of each stockholder and the number of shares owned, and checks that certificates presented for transfer are properly cancelled and that new certificates are issued in the name of the transferee.

In many small firms, the transfer agent is usually an attorney, a bank, or the corporation itself. In most large firms the transfer agent is a bank. The transfer agent can furnish stockholder identification, stockholder position, stock certificate numbers, number of shares, dates, evidence of returned certificates, names of transferees and transferrers.

The principal documents available from the dividend disbursing agent are cancelled checks and Forms 1099.

The dividend disbursing agent is generally a bank and can provide stockholder identification, stockholder position, amount of dividends, form of dividends, dates paid, and evidence of payments.

The broker is an agent who handles the public’s orders to buy and sell securities, usually for a commission. A broker may be a corporation, partnership, or individual; and is often a member of a stock exchange or a stock exchange/over-the-counter securities firm.

A registered representative (also known as a securities salesperson or account executive) personally places customers’ orders and maintains their accounts. While commonly referred to as a broker, a registered representative is usually an employee of a brokerage firm rather than an actual member.

The broker can furnish virtually all source documents reflecting the activity of any given securities account. The two most often used accounts are:

Margin is the percentage of the purchase price of a security that the customer must pay. The margin requirement is established by the Federal Reserve Board. To open a margin account, a minimum amount is usually required. Stocks purchased on margin must be registered in the street name while in the account.

There are two principal ways in which securities are held-in the name of the account holder and in street name. In the first instance, the securities owned simply reflect the name of the customer who maintains the account. When securities are held in street name, however, the securities are registered in the name of the broker. This occurs when securities have been bought on margin or when a cash customer wishes the security to be held by the broker, rather than in his/her own name.

The principal documents available from a broker are:

Commodity exchanges are similar to stock exchanges except that they deal in futures contracts. A futures contract is a legally binding commitment to deliver or take delivery of a given quantity and quality of commodity, at a price agreed upon in the trading pit or ring of a commodity exchange at the time the contract is executed.

Accounting services usually provided by commission houses include issuance of written confirmation of all futures orders. Most firms also provide weekly purchase and sale statements that show the number of contracts purchased and sold in specific commodity markets and the current margin deposit balances. The customer normally receives a regular monthly statement that shows all trading activity, net position, and margin balance less commissions.

The following is a list of commodities that are usually traded on future markets:

Records include:

Potential records that may be of value to an investigation involving agriculture include: veterinarians; commission merchants; insurance; transportation and storage companies; county and state fair bonds; country farm agents; and state cattle control boards (some states maintain records of all cattle brought in and taken out of state).

Potential automobile manufacturer and agency records that may be of value include: franchise agreements; new car sales and deliveries; used car purchases, trade-ins, and sales; service department records.

Investigative and other records on persons and firms bonded, the collateral file, financial statements and data, and the address of the person on the bond.

Special agents are only authorized to obtain credit reports pursuant to the following means: an order of a court with jurisdiction to issue the order; a Federal grand jury subpoena; the written authorization of the person whose credit report is sought; or an administrative summons.

Information generally available from a credit agency includes:

Department stores typically maintain charge account records and credit files.

Detective agencies typically maintain a variety of investigative files. These may include background and character checks, fraud investigations (both internal & external), blackmail investigations, divorce investigations, missing persons searches, and counter-surveillance.

Distributor’s records are excellent source for tracking such items as gambling equipment, factory, farm, home & office equipment, equipment for the production of illegal drugs, or any specific industry which may be involved in the investigation.

Prescription records may be available through drug stores.

These organizations typically maintain membership and attendance records; payments of dues and contributions; and the addresses and biography of members.

Typical hospital records include entry and release dates, and payments made.

Hotel records include the identity of guest; telephone calls made to and from the room; payment and credit records; forwarding address; reservations for travel-transportation companies and other hotels; freight shipments; and luggage-in and out.

Typical laundry and dry cleaning records include laundry marks and tags, and payment records.

Potential insurance company records of value include: income; assets; applications; and appraisals of luxury items such as furs and jewelry.