Private Investigations in the Public Interest

Virginia, We Have a Problem

Although corruption and malfeasance in government run rampant across the nation, Virginia - due to its political culture, corrupt campaign finance system, and secrecy - has a reputation for being especially corrupt.

Newspapers are going out of business across Virginia left and right, and those that don't are too often gobbled up by corporate leviathans that cut the staff, reduce meaningful coverage, and no longer believe in investigative journalism.

Citizens who want to know what's going on in their government, who are fed up with insiders feathering their own nests, who want to root out corruption across the Commonwealth... well, they don't seem to stand a chance.

Private Investigations

This summer, I completed the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services mandated trainings and processes and am now a registered private investigator (99-721686) and compliance agent (CA-1003012) through DCJS . This means I can legally conduct private investigations in Virginia, and I can legally start a private investigation firm regulated by DCJS.

Aside from compiling publicly available open source intelligence, a private investigation firm can legally run active surveillance operations and has access to sources and databases the general public does not.

Typical private investigation firms deal with a variety of types of cases, for example cheating spouses, child custody disputes, and missing persons. Yet after examining the approximately 500 private investigation firms in Virginia, I found that none focus specifically on public corruption, corporate entanglement in government, malfeasance in government, and public records access.

This firm will adopt that exclusive focus with an added emphasis, with client permission, of making evidence of corruption and malfeasance as public as possible.

FOIA Requests

Virginia's Freedom of Information Act makes it easy for citizens to request information from public bodies. Problems arise when the government evades or confuses requestors - or outright refuses to follow the law. And sometimes, especially at the local level, citizens making FOIA inquiries have reasonable fear of retaliation once word gets around that they're looking for information.

This firm will send FOIA requests on behalf of clients, ensuring complete client anonymity and pushing for maximum compliance with the law by the government. In the case of non-compliance on behalf of the government, I will gladly sue, and I've confirmed in writing with the Virginia State Bar that I can pursue such pro se litigation within the context of a PI business even though I'm not an attorney. In the past two years, I've litigated successfully pro se in the following cases exclusively concerning Virginia FOIA:

Stanfield v. City of Norfolk et al. (Norfolk Circuit Court, 2022) regarding the Norfolk casino project; Stanfield v. Virginia Department of Elections et al. (Richmond Circuit Court, 2023) regarding the Charlotte County Registrar and elections; Stanfield v. State Sen. David Marsden (York-Poquoson Circuit Court, 2023) regarding animal rights and Envigo dog breeding; Stanfield v. City of Richmond et al. (Richmond Circuit Court, 2023, ongoing) regarding environmental reports and the (now rejected) Richmond casino.

And last week, the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council issued a 10-page opinion based on my inquiry regarding the status of Governor Youngkin's transition team communications as public records under FOIA.

The Ask

I need $4,700 to cover the startup costs for a private investigation firm focused exclusively on public interest concerns for two years - until my PI registration is up for renewal. This is about as lean of a startup as I can make it, most of the costs below mandated by law, but I truly believe the demand and need for such an outfit exists in Virginia.

Costs (two years):

VA SCC Filing Fee: $100

DCJS Business Application Fees (6VAC20-172-20A): $900

Liability Insurance (VA Code § 9.1-144): $1600

Email, Cloud, Encryption: $800

PI Databases: $600

Website: $700