Tampa Bay Brand Protection and Organized Retail Crime Investigations
Your Examiner
Matt Aubin, CDFE, FBCI
Managing Partner, E3 Legacy Intel · FL Licensed Investigator A-1400197
Every matter on this page is worked under a named, licensed examiner. Matt Aubin brings seventeen years in cybercrime and open source intelligence. He is a Certified Digital Forensics Examiner (CDFE), a Florida Board Certified Investigator (FBCI), and a Certified AI Agent Developer, and he has investigated cases jointly with the FBI, the SEC, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Marshals.
His work has been featured on ABC News, Spectrum News, and The Daily Beast, and in a television pilot for Netflix and MAC Pictures as a cybercrime expert. He keynotes nationally and serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Licensed Investigators (FALI). About Matt Aubin
E3 Legacy Intel investigates brand crime across Tampa Bay. We identify the people behind organized retail crime, counterfeit product, diverted goods, and cargo theft, and we build the evidence prosecutors can use. Our office sits in the Tampa market, in Brandon.
The Tampa Bay brand-crime landscape
Tampa Bay has become one of Florida’s busiest corridors for organized retail crime, and the scale is not small. In late 2025, a Hillsborough County operation known as Operation D-Fence dismantled a ring that had moved millions of dollars in stolen goods and ended in fourteen arrests. Federal agents working the region have seized more than a million dollars in counterfeit merchandise in a single case, thousands of fake handbags, wallets, and fragrances carrying the trademarks of brands like Coach, Chanel, and Burberry. International Plaza and the retail corridor along Dale Mabry Highway draw organized crews that know which stores run high inventory turnover and lean security. Port Tampa Bay keeps a steady flow of goods moving into the region, legitimate and otherwise.
Our brand-protection work across Tampa Bay
We trace stolen and counterfeit product back to the operators, map the network across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee counties, and document it to the standard the Hillsborough County Sheriff, regional task forces, and Florida’s statewide prosecutors expect. We handle organized retail crime, counterfeit product, product diversion, and cyber-enabled cargo theft.
A Florida-licensed firm in the Tampa market
E3 Legacy Intel is a division of Southern Recon Agency, LLC, operating under Florida Private Investigator License A-1400197. Being licensed and local lets us run the field work and chain-of-custody documentation that turn intelligence into a usable case. Call (877) 732-6648 for a confidential consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which counties do you cover around Tampa?
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee, plus the wider Tampa Bay region, with statewide reach beyond it.
Why is Tampa Bay a hotspot for brand crime?
It combines high-value retail, Florida’s largest port by tonnage, and the I-4 and I-75 distribution corridor, which concentrates organized retail crime, counterfeit flow, and cargo theft in one region.
Can your findings support prosecution?
We build documented, chain-of-custody evidence to the standard local task forces and Florida’s statewide prosecutors expect. How a case is charged is up to the authorities, and this is general information, not legal advice.
See our Florida brand protection overview and the statewide brand protection page.
Tell us what happened
A licensed examiner reads every inquiry. You get a written, flat fee quote before any work starts. Or call (877) 732-6648.
