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Houston Forensic Accountantand Financial Fraud Investigator
When money goes missing inside a Houston company, partnership, marriage, or estate, you need more than a spreadsheet. You need someone who has spent a career proving where money went, and then explaining it under oath. Sage Investigations is led by Edmond J. Martin, a retired IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent who spent 25+ years building financial cases for federal prosecutors before founding Sage. Today he and his team bring that same method to attorneys, businesses, insurers, and individuals in Houston and across Harris County.
The IRS-CI difference
Why Houston attorneys and businesses call a former IRS Special Agent
Most forensic accountants in Houston come from audit or tax practice. That is valuable work, but an audit is designed to test whether financial statements are fairly presented. It is not designed to catch someone who is deliberately hiding money. A criminal investigator starts from the other direction: assume the records may be incomplete or false, then rebuild what really happened from bank and third-party records.
That is the training Ed Martin brings to a Houston matter. During his IRS career he was the lead agent in the investigation into the 1995 disappearance of Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her two adult children, a case covered in two published books. His investigative background includes Ponzi schemes, advance fee schemes, embezzlement, oil-and-gas-related fraud, shareholder derivative suits, money laundering, and income tax schemes. He holds an accounting degree, is a Certified Fraud Examiner, and has testified as a financial expert.
What that means for you:
- Findings built to be challenged. We prepare every engagement on the assumption that opposing counsel will cross-examine it.
- Plain-English reports. Judges, juries, mediators, and business owners get a clear account of where the money came from and where it went, with each conclusion tied to a source document.
- A firm that knows the federal side. When a civil fraud matter starts to look like a criminal one, you want someone who understands how IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office approach financial crime.
Sage Investigations, LLC is licensed by the Texas Private Security Bureau (PSB #A10803). We are not a CPA firm; we are associated with licensed CPAs and do not perform audits or attest to financial statements.
Practice areas
Houston matters we investigate
Houston is the largest city in Texas and the seat of Harris County. Its economy runs on energy, the Port of Houston, the Texas Medical Center, construction, and a deep bench of law firms and professional services. That mix produces a steady stream of financial disputes. These are the kinds of matters we investigate:
Where Houston cases are heard
Harris County and federal courts
Houston matters are usually filed in one of two places:
- Harris County district courts for civil, family, and probate disputes under state law, with appeals to the First or Fourteenth Court of Appeals, both seated in Houston.
- The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, for federal claims and federal criminal cases. The Houston Division also covers Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller, and several neighboring counties. Brazoria and Galveston Counties are in the Galveston Division of the same district.
Our reports and testimony are prepared for either forum. We describe these courts as geographic context. This page does not claim specific appearances in them.
From first call to courtroom
How a Houston engagement works
Free initial call
Tell us what happened and what decision or deadline you are facing. We will tell you plainly whether forensic accounting can help.
Records plan
We list the bank, brokerage, credit-card, accounting-system, and tax records we need, and help counsel draft subpoenas or discovery requests to get them.
Analysis in Austin
Records are delivered securely and processed with DIO, Sage's own software, which organizes thousands of transactions so we can trace funds across accounts much faster than manual review. Learn more about DIO technology.
Findings and report
You receive schedules and a written report that ties every conclusion to a document.
Houston in person when it counts
When a matter calls for it, Ed travels to Houston for interviews, meetings with counsel, mediation, depositions, and trial. Our Austin office is about 165 miles from downtown Houston.
Who we help
Who we work with in Houston
- Business owners and corporate counsel facing suspected theft, vendor fraud, or a partner dispute.
- Litigation attorneys who need a financial investigator or a testifying expert.
- Family law and probate attorneys with tracing or misappropriation questions.
- Insurers and TPAs testing a claim.
- Individuals in a divorce, an estate dispute, or an IRS criminal matter.
FAQ
Houston forensic accounting FAQ
Do you have an office in Houston?
No. Sage Investigations has one office, at 4103 Westbank Dr, Austin, TX 78746. We serve Houston and Harris County from there and travel when the case requires it.
Can a forensic accountant in Austin really handle a Houston case?
Yes. Forensic accounting is built on records: bank statements, ledgers, invoices, tax returns, and discovery productions. Those can be reviewed securely from anywhere. The parts that need a person in the room, such as interviews, depositions, mediation, and trial, are when we come to Houston.
What is the difference between a forensic accountant and a regular CPA?
A CPA who prepares your taxes or audits your company is focused on compliance and fair presentation. A forensic accountant investigates. The goal is to answer a specific question, such as how much was taken, by whom, and how, in a form that holds up in court. Your own CPA may also be a fact witness in your case, which can make it hard for them to serve as an independent expert.
How do I know if an employee is embezzling?
Common warning signs include an employee who will not take vacation or share duties, unexplained vendor payments, missing or altered bank statements, frequent manual journal entries, and cash flow that does not match sales. If you suspect theft, preserve the records, limit the person's access, and call counsel before you confront anyone.
Will you testify in a Houston courtroom?
When an engagement calls for testimony, Ed Martin can serve as an expert witness and will travel to Houston for depositions, hearings, and trial.
Do you only handle energy cases?
No. Houston is an energy town, and Ed's background includes oil-and-gas-related fraud, but most of our work involves embezzlement, business disputes, divorce tracing, estates, insurance claims, and IRS matters.
How do we get started?
Call 512-659-3179 or request a consultation. Initial phone consultations are free.
Next step
Talk to a former IRS Special Agent about your Houston case
If the numbers in your Houston case do not add up, a short call can tell you what the records can prove. Call 512-659-3179 or contact Sage Investigations. You can also read what to know before hiring a forensic accountant, learn more about Ed Martin, or see how we work with attorneys as a forensic accounting expert witness.
Serving all of Texas
Also serving these Texas metros
Sage Investigations is based in Austin and takes on work throughout Texas. The pages below describe how we serve each metro from our Austin office.
Austin
Travis County. Our office. Forensic accounting and financial investigation for Central Texas, and the starting point for work across the state.
Learn more →
Photos: Carol M. Highsmith, Houston skyline, public domain, Library of Congress (Public domain).
