Here is the story we hear from almost every client: they were defrauded, then the loss became a second scam. Within days of the first loss, "recovery agents" appear in their inbox and DMs. They promise 100%. They charge an upfront "license fee." They ask for the seed phrase. When the money moves again, the victim has lost twice.
Proof & Recovery was built to be the opposite of that. We are a small, named investigation firm in New York. We trace where stolen funds actually went, we document it to a standard a court or a bank compliance desk will respect, and we pursue recovery through the institutions that can be compelled: exchanges, banks, and law enforcement. That is all we do.
1. Proof before payment. You can watch the on-chain trace live, and you can read the written fund-flow map before you pay a cent. A forensics firm that cannot show its work is not doing the work.
2. No custody, no keys. We never ask for your seed phrase, wallet password, or account access. Public blockchains do not require private keys to trace. Anyone who asks for them is not tracing, they are preparing to drain.
3. Honest odds. Our free assessment gives you a real verdict, including "no" when the answer is no. Funds can be mixed, bridged, or cashed out beyond reach. We price the work of finding out, not the hope of a result.
4. Skin in the game. Our recovery fee is 10-20% of what actually comes back, paid from the recovery. Nothing recovered, nothing owed. We earn only when you do.
Proof & Recovery is headquartered at 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10007, and takes cases from all 50 states. The team is three named investigators with public, verifiable profiles: Daniel Mercer, CFE, founder and lead investigator; Ken Martinez, CCBA/GCFA, blockchain forensics analyst; and Sarah Whitfield, J.D., former financial-crime prosecutor handling bank recalls and law-enforcement coordination. Look them up. That is the point of publishing them.
We are an independent firm, not a law firm and not a collection agency. We work alongside your attorneys, your bank, and the case agent, and our reports are formatted for exactly those readers.
The firm is overseen by a small board of two retired practitioners who set the standard for how work is done and what gets released. Both have public profiles and a track record you can check.
Board Chair
Former Big 4 forensic accounting partner. 24 years in financial forensics, AML, and litigation support. Oversees methodology, quality control, and the written evidence trail.
View full profile →
Vice Chair
Former federal financial-crime prosecutor (U.S. Attorney's Office) and 15-year FBI financial-crime special agent. Oversees law-enforcement and prosecution strategy.
View full profile →Legal representation: Sarah Whitfield, J.D. (former financial-crime prosecutor) handles the legal coordination in-house. For litigation-stage matters, we retain outside recovery counsel from a vetted national network on the client's behalf, so you have one point of contact instead of a billing statement from a third party. We are not a law firm and we do not provide legal advice; we build the evidence package your attorney, your bank, and the case agent can act on.
| Typical recovery agent | Proof & Recovery |
|---|---|
| Guarantees 100% recovery | States the real odds, in writing, before you pay |
| Charges upfront fees in crypto | Fixed-fee report, quoted first; success fee only on returns |
| Asks for your seed phrase | Never touches keys, custody, or account access |
| Faceless team, brand-new site | Named investigators with public, verifiable profiles |
| Cold-DMs victims within hours | You come to us; we answer a live call before any payment |
The test we publish for ourselves: if any row in that table ever becomes true of us, walk away and tell us where we failed. The full version, with the checks to run yourself, is on the Verify us section.
Tell us what happened. Within 24 hours you get an honest verdict and the location of your funds, recoverable or not.
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