Francois McKinnon: Welcome to the Miami PI Chronicles Podcast, where the world of private investigation comes alive. Join your hosts, Francois McKinnon of McKinnon Investigative Group and Oscar Santamaria of Optimum Investigations, as they tap into their combined 60 plus years of experience in the industry. From real life cases to insider’s tip, they bring you the stories, insights, and expertise that only seasoned pros can provide. So sit back, listen, and enjoy the show.
Francois McKinnon: Welcome back to the show. Today we have Justin Berkenholz of Exposed Private Investigations. I met Justin a couple of years ago. He reached out to me through an email and I was very impressed because he reminded me a little bit of what I used to do when I started out in the business and wanted to get work. He was sending me really, really good emails and I reached out to him. I really didn’t have work at the time, but we spoke and shortly thereafter, I referred some people to him. We actually worked a couple of cases together and I was very impressed. So I wanted him to come and be on the show and just talk a little bit about him. So Justin, can you just talk a little bit about yourself, how you got into the business, the name of your company and the areas that you serve?
Justin Berkenholz: Well, first off, thank you guys for having me on. I look up to you guys being in the business as long as you have. You guys got a lot of good insight and I’m happy to be here and keep doing you guys, you guys do a great job here. As far as myself, I’ve always had a passion for investigations and law enforcement. I thought I wanted to get into police work, but I just felt it wasn’t for me and my temperament. I researched it, had a good sponsor who trained me a lot of the ways to do’s and don’ts. I went through a lot of ups and downs as you guys would call it, but it worked out and I just kept going with it. It was very natural for me. It was something that just fit me and I’ve been with it ever since.
Oscar Santamaria: And what kind of work do you do? I mean, I know you do surveillance. Do you do other?
Justin Berkenholz: So I do surveillance for insurance, domestics, all those things. I also do background checks, criminal history checks, comprehensive reports, witness statements, and scene canvassing. I’m pretty well versed in the business now and I’ve learned a lot of different things.
Oscar Santamaria: And how long have you been running Exposed Investigations?
Justin Berkenholz: I’ve been an investigator for seven years. I’ve been in my own business now, Exposed is about two and a half years old.
Oscar Santamaria: Wow. And how’s it going? I mean, is it what you expected?
Justin Berkenholz: It’s been great. I think you always have high expectations and I never settle. I’m always pushing myself. I’d say it’s met expectations and I’m always looking forward to new opportunities and new growth. Whatever the future holds for me, I’m looking forward to it.
Francois McKinnon: How much time do you dedicate, let’s say on a monthly basis or weekly towards your marketing? Because I know that you’re a natural salesman.
Justin Berkenholz: Yes, I was in sales before I actually did this. sales is kind of my forte, but as far as actually marketing for this, I would say it’s constant. I invest a lot in marketing and I take pride in it. I just recreated a new logo, which we talked about before the air. Marketing is very important because it has a lot to do with building credibility and building trust with your clients. It shows how much you value yourself and how serious you are. If you display pride in what you do, people buy into your business more.
Oscar Santamaria: Do you think there’s any stereotypes about the business that you have found?
Justin Berkenholz: Yeah. The first thing I tell the guys who I bring on board to work with me is: it’s not like what you see in the movies. So let’s get that out of your heads. It can be a dangerous job. You got to always be on a swivel. It’s not always fun sitting in your car for eight hours plus a day, but this is what the job entails. You don’t really see that in the movies; the guys in movies are jumping out of buildings or swimming underwater with a straw. That doesn’t necessarily happen. I consider myself a mix of a blue-collar guy and a business guy. I can be rough around the edges, but also be a professional at the same time. I like to go above and beyond for my people. If I can’t figure it out, there is no “I can’t figure it out.” I will figure it out. I really take pride in this industry. The good ones like us in this industry do it the right way. We really care about the client’s feelings and the process. It’s not just sitting in a car and collecting money.
Francois McKinnon: It’s also about trying to get results. I believe that the three of us agree that all we’ve worked for in our lives is to get results for our clients. You cannot dismiss people that will tell you, “Oh no, some other agencies don’t do that.” They don’t. They won’t even show up to the job; they’ll do a 10-second clip and then go on about their day and come back and say “no activity.” That’s what distances us from the rest of the pack because we work hard and we believe in what we do.
Justin Berkenholz: Absolutely. Investigations is investigations at the end of the day, but it comes down to professionalism and those fine details. I tell my guys who work for me that I don’t want to see “moving time shots” when there’s no activity. The clients are looking at the quality and every little detail. Any detail you can make to separate yourself and make you look better is going to bring credibility to the company.
Oscar Santamaria: Being proactive is everything in this business. If you’re sitting there and nothing’s happening, do a pretext call or drive/walk by the house. Do something to shake things up. You have to show that you’re proactive.
Justin Berkenholz: Absolutely. Let’s say one day there’s no activity and the guy films the driveway eight times and leaves. The next day, same thing. There might not be subject activity, but I doubt there wasn’t a mail truck or an Amazon delivery. You could have filmed that. Those little things matter. Then when you get to get that money shot, the client sees that you sat there like a hawk, disciplined and trustworthy.
Oscar Santamaria: You got to do everything you can because trust is everything. It’s not your fault that they’re not active, but you’re getting activity of whatever happens at the residence. That goes a long way with insurance companies because they see that you’re not just there to collect the money.
Francois McKinnon: This is not acceptable when you’re doing a one-man licensed surveillance—to go to the store or a restaurant and leave the site. That is when you lose your subject. You come back and if they snuck out, you look like there’s no activity, and then the lawyers say, “What do you mean? My client was on a flight to Dallas!”
Justin Berkenholz: Exactly. Who’s to say we could sit there and even know we are at the right house? Why don’t you go check the mailroom and see if there’s mail coming to that mailbox or check the resident directory? I got my guys on top of that all the time. Settleing is the worst thing you can do because this job is all about consistency. You’re only as good as your last investigation.
Oscar Santamaria: Absolutely. I had a friend of mine who was having big issues trying to find this claimant. She lived somewhere in Miami, but she was never there. She was on social media taking selfies in some sort of gym that looked like it was on the roof of a condominium. It just didn’t make any sense. I decided to look for parking tickets, and I found a whole bunch recently at the same location, just blocks off. I told him to go check that area. He went over there, and not only the car was there, but he recognized the subject. That’s what you got to do. You have to dig.
Justin Berkenholz: I will say this: I love getting cases where they say the other investigator couldn’t get results. I’ll bet on me because I know that there are people who don’t go the extra mile and I do. Something simple as pulling out your phone and looking up social media—their social media might be public and they may give you a live location of where they are. This happened to me over a hundred times.
Francois McKinnon: You have a good head on your shoulder and your agency is going about it the right way. You’re young in this industry and I think you’re going to do fantastic. Let me just ask you, how do you handle investigators who continue to make mistakes?
Justin Berkenholz: I don’t take things personal; I understand that this is business. I just tell my guys: dot all your I’s, cross all your T’s, and make sure you’re communicating. If you don’t communicate, you look wrong. If it’s a constant pattern of mistakes, you might want to look at yourself. With the clients, if they get emotional, I get emotional with them. I show them that it hurts me as much as it hurts them. I’ll even offer to eat some of the cost or work out a deal because I want to show my integrity and how much I take pride in this. I’m going to fix it. I want to make sure I can sleep at night and say we did everything we could.
Oscar Santamaria: I expect big things from you, Justin. You’re a good salesman, you care about your product, and you do the consistent things. I wanted to ask you the question everybody asks: what’s the craziest, wildest, or scariest story you’ve ever had?
Justin Berkenholz: I’ll give you a couple. I had an insurance case when I was still an intern. I had to follow this gentleman for a workers’ comp case. He ends up going to Port Everglades, which is almost like a military zone; you can’t just get in there. I watched him go in and I thought, “I got to get this guy.” I happened to have a bag of McDonald’s sitting in my front seat. I pull up to the toll booth and I say, “Uber Eats.” I said it with a straight face. The guy asks who I’m delivering to and I say, “I don’t know his name, I just have the address.” He actually let me into Port Everglades! I go and find the guy and he’s working forklifts and cranes. I’m getting a bunch of video. My sponsor calls me and asks how it’s going, and I tell him I’m inside. He screams, “Get the hell out of there! We can’t even use that in court, it’s federal private property!” As I’m leaving, six or seven cop cars with their lights flying come in. I don’t know if they were for me, but I got out of there.
Oscar Santamaria: That is wild! What about a scary one?
Justin Berkenholz: I had a really big scare in Wellington. I was about a year in. I had my car off to save gas and my windows were cracked. Some guy out of nowhere runs from behind my car and sticks a nine-millimeter handgun into my window. He says, “What are you doing here? I’ve been seeing you for days.” He was a grizzly-looking guy. I tell him I’m a private investigator and that the police know my location. The guy says, “That’s BS. I’m a cop.” He was waving the gun around and he smacks my hand with it, busting it wide open. I still have the scar. I decided to call 911 right in front of him. I tell the operator this guy is armed and has assaulted me. About 10 to 12 SWAT trucks pull in. They made us step out and walk backwards with our hands up. They cuffed us all, and I told the cops everything. He ended up getting arrested for assault. He wasn’t a cop; he was an intoxicated ex-bailiff.
Oscar Santamaria: That takes some intestinal fortitude. You’re doing everything right, Justin. Before we wrap up, tell the audience how they can reach you.
Justin Berkenholz: Sure. My company is Exposed Private Investigations. You can get me at ExposedPIA.com. My direct line is 754-258-873. My email is [email protected]. I cover all of Florida, but I’ll cover wherever as long as we come to an agreement.
Francois McKinnon: Well, that’s another wrap for the Miami PI Chronicles. Thank you for listening. Please don’t forget to like, share, and follow. For all of your investigative needs in Florida, please contact McKinnon Investigative Group at 954-513-7414. Or visit us online at www.miginvestigations.com.
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