Doreen Koronios

There was an interesting story in the Kansas City news that speaks to this very subject. A veteran needed a job to help pay some bills and get back on his feet, but he says the opportunity to work at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, was taken away from him after he was falsely accused of being a sex offender.

(May 14, 2010) Christopher Michael Reynolds says that he was supposed to start at the water park on May 4th, but when he showed up, officials told him to leave after he was informed that he was a registered sex offender. According to the background company that conducted the background check for Schlitterbahn, Christopher Reynolds was convicted of sexual battery in Bexar, Indiana, on March 11, 2007.

But there was a big problem with the company's background check. "When this happened, I was in Iraq, serving in the Army National Guard," said Reynolds. Reynolds had a solid alibi with his military records, and the more he investigated, the more Reynolds learned about the investigation.

"His eye color, his height, the weight, the fact that I've never been to Indiana," said Reynolds, who says that he even found a picture of the other Christopher Reynolds, the sex offender, who also has a different middle name. It was a silly mistake, but one that Reynolds says has some serious implications.

This has all the marks of a sloppy criminal history check that was conducted through a database search. Some of these databases are primarily name based and it is very easy for a false positive to appear. At CARCO Group, we use the supplemental database as a pointer to “cast a net”, as one of the responders said, to identify potential hits in other states. If there is a potential match CARCO will search the appropriate state or county utilizing the name, SSN and DOB of the candidate. Additionally, as part of the CARCO difference we re-verify each adverse record to make sure that we positively verify the identity of the subject as well as ensure that we legally report our findings according to the federal and state statutes. These are important steps that will help keep our clients out of costly lawsuits.