Freelance Investigative Journalist – Corporate Fraud
If you've spent years chasing paper trails that lead to offshore accounts, sitting across from executives who'd rather you didn't exist, and filing FOIA requests that keep getting "lost" — this is probably the most interesting call you'll get this year. We're looking for one person. Someone who has done this before and knows what it actually takes. Not a generalist writer who covers fraud occasionally. A journalist who has made corporate wrongdoing their beat, who understands how to read a 10-K the way a detective reads a crime scene, and who doesn't flinch when a defendant's lawyer calls. What You'll Be Doing You'll be handed a specific case — corporate fraud, the kind that harms real people and rarely gets the scrutiny it deserves. Your job is to investigate it thoroughly, document what you find, and publish it. That's it. No editorial committee. No watered-down headlines. No waiting six months for a green light. You'll dig into financial records, corporate filings, and public documents. You'll reach out directly to the SEC, relevant regulators, and yes — the defendants themselves. You'll talk to people who've been wronged and people who'd rather stay quiet. You'll build a story that is airtight, sourced, and impossible to ignore.You'll self-publish your findings — whether that's your own Substack, a personal site, or a placement in a credible outlet. The point is that the story gets out.
What We're Looking For
You don't need a famous byline. You need a real track record. We want to see that you've gone after hard targets, that your work has had consequences, and that you understand the legal and ethical lines that separate great investigative journalism from reckless reporting.Specifically, you should be able to say yes to most of these: •You've investigated corporate fraud, financial crime, or white-collar misconduct — and published it. •You've dealt with regulators directly. You know how to file a tip with the SEC, how to read enforcement actions, and how to use regulatory records as source material. •You've reached out to defendants or their legal teams and handled the pushback professionally. •You understand defamation law well enough to know what you can and can't say — and you work with that knowledge, not against it. •You can work independently. You don't need hand-holding. You need access, a clear brief, and room to work. •You're based in the US, or you have deep familiarity with US corporate and securities law. We'll consider exceptional candidates outside the US. How This Works This is per-project. We'll agree on the scope and the fee before anything starts. Pay is competitive and reflects the complexity of the case, the depth of research required, and the experience you bring. We're not looking to lowball good people — we want this done right.
How to Apply
Keep it simple. Send us: 1. A short note — two or three paragraphs — on the corporate fraud work you've done and what made it difficult. 2. Links to two or three pieces you're proud of. Ideally ones where something actually happened as a result. 3. How you structure your fees for project-based work.That's all we need to start a conversation.