You Won in Court. Now Let’s Actually Collect.
A judgment without enforcement is just paper. We locate hidden assets and track down judgment debtors across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — then use our authority as a NYC Marshal to collect what you’re owed.
Why Creditors Trust NYC Marshal Edward Guida
Appointed by the Mayor
As a mayoral-appointed NYC Marshal, we carry legal enforcement authority that no private investigator or collection agency can match.
Serving New York Since 1988
Edward F. Guida Jr. learned civil enforcement in the field under his father. That’s nearly four decades of NYC-specific judgment experience behind every case we take.
All Five Boroughs Covered
Our marshal authority covers the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — so wherever the debtor goes, enforcement follows.
Regulated by NYC’s Department of Investigation
We’re overseen by the Mayor’s Committee on NYC Marshals and the NYC Department of Investigation — a layer of accountability no private skip tracer carries.
Skip Tracing for Judgment Debtors NYC
Find the Debtor. Find the Assets. Then Collect.
Skip tracing is the process of locating a person who has moved, gone silent, or is actively avoiding a judgment. Asset location goes one step further — identifying what they own and where it’s held. Together, these two steps are the difference between a judgment that sits in a drawer and one that gets paid.
We work with creditors across New York City who have already won in court but haven’t seen a dollar. Whether the debtor relocated from the Bronx to Queens, closed their business in Brooklyn, or is working off the books in Manhattan, we know how to find them — and more importantly, we have the legal authority to act on what we find.
Locate Hidden Assets NYC Judgment
What Changes When You Work With a Marshal
Most skip tracers hand you a report. We hand you results — because finding the assets and collecting them happens under one roof.
- You stop chasing a debtor on your own and let a government-authorized officer handle the entire enforcement process.
- Assets hidden inside LLCs, co-ops, or a spouse’s name get traced through professional entity and records searches — not a consumer database.
- If we locate employment, we can immediately move to income execution and begin garnishing wages without involving a separate attorney.
- You get five-borough reach from a single point of contact — no need to hire different professionals for Brooklyn versus the Bronx.
- Your judgment stays protected — we conduct all enforcement actions in a neutral, professional manner that shields you from legal exposure.
- If you won a judgment years ago and gave up, it may still be enforceable — New York judgments remain valid for 20 years under CPLR § 211(b).
NYC Asset Search Judgment Debtor
NYC Debtors Don’t Vanish — They Just Know Where to Hide
New York City has asset-hiding opportunities that simply don’t exist in most other markets. Co-op apartments — which represent a large share of NYC housing — are held as corporate shares, not real property. That means they don’t appear in standard real estate searches. A debtor in Park Slope, Riverdale, or Forest Hills could own a co-op worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and never show up in a basic records pull.
Then there are LLCs. It’s common in NYC’s business and real estate community to shelter assets inside limited liability companies formed in Delaware, Nevada, or Wyoming — states with minimal disclosure requirements. A professional investigation traces those entity connections through Secretary of State filings across all 50 states, not just New York.
Add to this NYC’s informal economy — neighborhoods across the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn where cash income is common and off-the-books employment is the norm — and you quickly see why a generic online search isn’t going to cut it. We use NYC-specific tools, including the ACRIS property database covering Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, alongside court records, DMV data, UCC filings, and proprietary investigative sources, then manually verify what we find before acting on it.
Marshal Skip Tracing All Five Boroughs
The One Step Most Skip Tracers Can’t Take
Here’s the gap no one talks about: a private investigator can locate a debtor’s assets, but they can’t touch them. They hand you a report, and then you’re back to square one — figuring out who to call next, whether that’s an attorney, a sheriff, or a marshal. That costs time, money, and momentum.
As a NYC Marshal, we close that gap entirely. Once we identify where the debtor works, what property they hold, or what accounts they have access to, we can move directly to enforcement — levy, garnishment, or seizure — without a handoff to another professional. That integrated capability is something a collection agency, a process server, or a PI firm simply cannot offer. It’s also why creditors who have already tried other routes come to us when they’re ready to actually get paid.
How NYC Marshal Asset Search Works
A Straightforward Process From Search to Collection
You Share What You Know
We start with whatever information you have — the debtor’s last known address, employer, or any assets you’re aware of. More is helpful, but we can work with less.
We Conduct the Search
We cross-reference public records, ACRIS property data, business entity filings, court records, and additional investigative sources — then verify the results manually before proceeding.
We Execute Enforcement
Once assets or employment are confirmed, we move directly to enforcement — levy, income execution, or property seizure — using our full authority as a NYC Marshal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is skip tracing and how does it help me collect a judgment?
Skip tracing is the process of locating a person who has moved, changed contact information, or is actively avoiding being found. In the context of judgment enforcement, it’s the first step toward collection — because you can’t garnish wages or levy assets if you don’t know where the debtor is or what they own. Once we locate the debtor and identify collectible assets, we can move immediately to enforcement. That’s the part most skip tracing services can’t do on their own. As a NYC Marshal, we handle both sides of that equation.
Can a NYC Marshal actually perform skip tracing, or do I need to hire a private investigator first?
You don’t need to hire a private investigator separately. As a mayoral-appointed NYC Marshal, we are authorized to conduct asset searches and skip tracing as part of the judgment enforcement process. More importantly, because we hold enforcement authority, we can act directly on what we find — levying bank accounts, executing income garnishments, or seizing property — without any handoff to another professional. Hiring a PI and then a marshal separately is slower, more expensive, and creates an unnecessary gap in the process.
What if the debtor owns a co-op apartment in Brooklyn or Manhattan — can that be found and seized?
This is one of the most common blind spots in NYC judgment enforcement. Co-op apartments are not real property — they’re corporate shares in a housing corporation. That means they don’t appear in standard real estate searches, and many creditors (and even some professionals) miss them entirely. We know how to search for co-op ownership specifically, which is particularly relevant in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens where co-ops make up a significant share of the housing market. Whether the debtor owns a co-op in Park Slope, Astoria, or the Upper West Side, we know where to look and how to reach it.
I won my judgment several years ago and gave up trying to collect — is it too late?
Probably not. Under New York law — specifically CPLR § 211(b) — a money judgment is enforceable for 20 years from the date it was entered. That’s a longer window than most creditors realize, and many people write off collectible judgments because they assume the clock has run out. If the debtor’s financial situation has changed — new employment, a property purchase in the Bronx or Queens, a business interest — those assets may now be reachable. A fresh skip trace and asset search can reveal what wasn’t there before, or confirm what was always there and never found.
What if the debtor has hidden their assets inside an LLC or put everything in their spouse’s name?
This is a real and common problem, especially in NYC’s business community. Sophisticated debtors often transfer assets into LLCs — sometimes formed in Delaware, Nevada, or Wyoming specifically because those states require minimal disclosure. A professional investigation traces those entity connections through Secretary of State filings and cross-references beneficial ownership with the debtor’s known history. Assets held in a spouse’s name or a family trust require a different approach, but they’re not untouchable. The key is knowing where to look and having the legal tools to act once you find something.
The debtor claims they have nothing — should I bother with an asset search?
That’s exactly what debtors want you to believe. A debtor who says they’re judgment-proof may be telling the truth — or they may own a co-op in the Bronx, receive rental income from a Queens property, work a steady job in Manhattan, or hold business interests they haven’t disclosed. The only way to know for certain is a professional search. If the search confirms there are no collectible assets, you’ve lost nothing but the cost of the search. If it turns up something — and it often does — you’ve gone from a paper judgment to an actual recovery. We’ve been doing this across all five boroughs since 1988. Debtors who think they’ve covered their tracks are often surprised.
Call us at (718) 779-2134 or email us at gu*****@**********14.com to see how we can help you.