Any good recommendations for background checks?

Do your parents live in a nursing home of some type of assisted living? And are these friends residents, or people from the "outside"? If your parents ARE in a facility and these are outside visitors, depending on what your role is (power of attorney?) and/or your parents' state(s) of mind/functioning level, you may be in a position to block some people from visiting them, and then of course you could block those individuals' calls if need be. As far as what can be done about these "friends" if your parents are living independently at their own home, probably seeing what the elder attorney has to say would be your best bet. And of course making your presence known as often as possible when these visitors are likely to be around is a good idea as well. It looks as though you probably have power of attorney since you mentioned you've secured the services of an elder attorney, so it seems that you're on the right track. Let him/her know that you're concerned your parents may give these individuals permission to be let in on medical and other information and how you might prevent that from happening. If your parents are enough of sound mind to have the attorney explain the risks of letting sensitive information get into the wrong hands, that would be helpful. If they are NOT functioning at a level to understand this and are thus vulnerable, the attorney will explain the best way to protect them--worst case scenario, and on thorough medical examination--being declared incompetent--a sad thing to have happen, I know. A friend and former coworker of mine had to have this happen with his dad, who had been scammed for nearly $10,000 by a former caretaker whom he (the elderly dad) considered his friend. He was so angry that this "friend" was no longer allowed around him, even knowing that she had stolen from him! But my friend did what he had to do, and had to make several calls and visits to keep this vulture away!

You could check your state's records.

I use Instant Checkmate, have because of my rental property.

Can you elaborate on what this friend has done? You can always say that you cant discuss moms medical issues with her. Then change subject. It's not up for discussion.
Can you get the bills sent to you? Lock down the money accounts. Do your parents have access to money, credit cards, bank accounts? Can you get POA and keep on top of the spending so your mom isnt giving gifts/cash etc. Store items of value somewhere. Not where mom can give them away. Keep popping in at random times.
You have to keep on top of this. There are a lot of people who would take advantage of a vulnerable person. This happened to my great grandmother. A guy showed up and tried to be her bf. He wanted her to sell her home and move to florida so he could buy a boat. He didnt care anything about her. My mom was so worried he would dump her in florida and take off in the boat. Luckily my great grandmother didnt do it. And she was of sound mind. Very scary.
Definitely talk to the lawyer. Good luck. Stay on top of it.

Cali,

I appreciate your husband being ethical. I have seen it go both ways. I am sure that you have too. I know officers that do periodically run names. Dumb in my opinion. It is risking your job. Not to mention, it’s a shady thing to do.

I even know a person who works in the credit department of a large company and runs credit checks on people because she is nosey! Now that is really a crappy thing to do.

It will catch up to her. How did I find out? She offered to run a check for me on a guy that my daughter was dating. I politely declined.

Another thought - have the potential predators done anything yet that would justify getting a PPO against them?    You'd have to have good reasons, and the issuing court might require that you be proxies under a DPOA in order to file a complaint on their behalf.

Dafodil, how have your parents met these people?    In reading the responses thus far, "neighbors" were mentioned, so I'm wondering if these people are close, as in w/I walking distance, or are your parents meeting them through organizations or other entities or activities?

If through senior centers, you could raise your concerns with the management, as perhaps other families have shared similar issues. 

In the last few years there were a number of threads here on this potential elder abuse, one of which arose from a woman who cultivated men at senior centers.    That's kind of like "shooting fish in a barrel" - it's a "target rich" environment for predators.

I agree with those who advise against Internet background checks.  Unless you do a very thorough research on the company, its corporate structure, people involved, and more, you really can't rely on the data they produce.    And I'm assuming they gather it from public records, which anyone can do on their own.

Law enforcement entities have access to much more, so I would go that route, also providing them with examples of how your concerns developed so they realize you're concerned about elder abuse.

Law enforcement could also determine if these people are using aliases, and/or if similar behavior has occurred in other jurisdictions. 

If they can't be of assistance, you might ask if they could recommend a private investigator.  

In the meantime, check local court records for any lawsuits against them.  Check with your state's prison record to determine if any have had served time.   Michigan has a good and helpful site to check prison records, with a list of past and current charges as well as aliases.

Great suggestions, info here but be prepared that your Mom may not be accepting of anything negative you may find out even if you have the "boys and girls in blue" tell her. And as has been pointed out..... if they are up to something nefarious and this is their first foray................... there is no history for you to search.

You can check you local and state records for criminal records for free in most states. However, this will only detail convictions. I would talk to the lawyer about how to handle the more intrusive behavior. I hope you have POAs for medical and financial already so that you can limit mom "gifting" individuals more than her finances can bear.

Oy. This would be different if the person was/is hired; there would be a legitimate reason then to ask and have them sign a consent so you could get a true criminal background report. There are two kinds, BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) which is state, and FBI which is federal/across the country...and as someone said, nothing can predict the future behaviors. If you want to do something online, it still may not show up. Or you could have someone with the same name...you might do better if you have a birth date to narrow things down. Google the person's name. You can also google for "best internet or online background check" if you want to spend some $$. Are your parents in an assisted living? You might want to talk to administrators/staff if anyone is trustworthy to share your concerns and keep an eye out. I have a friend who had a wealthy aunt out of state and it was a dreadful situation, something similar to what you're describing. Lastly, and perhaps the best advice: you might want to touch base with the local police dept, for guidance and to just document your concerns. You can also give a heads up to the MD's your folks see, in case this friend becomes an "escort." Glad you are in touch with an attorney.

If you decide to do checks on these people, I would explore using a licensed private investigator. Your attorney may be able to provide a referral. To me, it's worth their fee.

I used BeenVerified to check on every inhome health aide.

Some states have something called Judiciary case search if a person has been arrested it will show up on that site give info on what the charges were for. Its all public information.

I don’t mean to scare you, but it’s the people that you Don’t Know about who can be the most dangerous to your Mom and her assets. If she’s still talking on the phone and answering her door, she is very vulnerable to to scammers of all sorts. All they need is her birthday and a social security number to wipe her out. You might want to consider recording all calls and watching visitors with a security system. One of my houses has a doorbell camera and will record video of all visitors.

As for the nosy neighbors, you can come up with a few responses that are vague yet polite, and then change the subject of conversation (by asking them a personal question if you feel like getting the point across).

Trust your instincts. Your gut is warning you. Do the research. Take appropriate actions.

Weird things come up in our lives. I had a neighbor once who kept asking if he could have his mail sent to my house. My antenna went up. I just felt like something was off but I thought, okay, I will bite. So, I just asked him why did he need his mail sent to my house.

He came up with a BS story about wanting to surprise his wife with a special gift and he couldn’t risk her finding out about it in the mail. He claimed it was correspondence about her gift. I just didn’t trust this guy. I told him no that I would not allow him to use my address to receive his mail. He never discussed it with me anymore.

A few months later another neighbor told me that she had bought his story and allowed mail addressed to him to be sent to her house. It was mail from a woman.

This guy was married. He was having an affair on his wife. He had this double life going on, had children with this other woman and everything.

My neighbor got curious about the mail and opened it. She shouldn’t have opened his mail but she did. She confessed to opening his mail. He got furious but she was holding the cards because she could take it to his wife. She put a stop to him using her address for his secret love life.

People do dumb things. I wondered why he didn’t just use a post office box. This is how people get caught. They are stupid.

Stay on top of things. Have you decided what you will do? Will you tell your mom who may or may not believe you about these so called friends or will you confront them yourself? Awkward...

Tough situation...but you are wise to protect your family.

No need to pay any website to do a background check. The things that are most apropos, criminal or civil court activity, is a matter of public record. Just go to your local court website and do a search there.

I am going through the same thing. After a very inappropriate event, I started searching and hit paydirt! Felony convictions for theft, forgery, drugs. I found mugshots too (www.bailbondsearch.com)! I did most of the searching myself on the county website for case histories (criminal and civil) and county sheriff's website. I also paid to use instant checkmate but it didn't reveal anything I hadn't already found by myself.

You do know that a background check doesn’t predict the future and it doesn’t reveal anything the person hasn’t been convicted of? I personally wouldn’t waste money on an internet background check. Almost all of the information they provide can be obtained for free if you do the work yourself.