Who Are We?

Executive Profile

Dave Klimek, Owner / Managing Member / Principal Investigator of Tracecraft Special Investigations, LLC, possesses a Master of Arts in Human Sciences with a Concentration in Psychology; is a former Probation Officer; former FBI Special Agent — with deep knowledge, training, and experience at the federal level; Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE); Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council (CDITC) Certified Forensic Interviewer — Forensic Testimonial Evidence Recovery (CFI-FTER); and CDITC Certified Criminal Defense Specialist (CCDS).

Mr. Klimek currently operates discreetly as a licensed professional Private Investigator (PI) who serves Dallas and the surrounding communities in North Texas. During his tenure with the Dallas Division of the FBI, Mr. Klimek served as a Principal Relief Squad Supervisor, Certified Defensive Tactics Instructor (DTI), Principal Defensive Tactics Instructor (PDTI), FBI Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) Certified Surveillance Operations Group (SOG) agent, and as a FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) Field Coordinator. Mr. Klimek also led teams conducting White House Special Inquiry background investigations — vetting candidates selected for some of the highest positions of trust and confidence in the United States Government.

Mr. Klimek has an extensive law enforcement background investigating numerous types of federal criminal matters including all forms of white-collar crime — government fraud, healthcare fraud, complex financial crimes (including bank fraud, mortgage fraud, securities & investment fraud); public corruption; civil rights violations; violent crimes — including responding to active bank robberies; crimes against children; and human trafficking matters. During the final years of his FBI tenure, Mr. Klimek served on the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team — responding to Amber Alerts as a member of the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking squad. He also served as the FBI Dallas Division's Human Trafficking Task Force Coordinator and was embedded with the Dallas Police Department's High Risk Victims and Trafficking Unit. It should be noted that Tracecraft Special Investigations, LLC does not accept human trafficking cases. Those matters are more appropriately — and most effectively — handled by sworn law enforcement. That said, the deep experience Mr. Klimek gained working both sex and labor trafficking matters at the federal level has profoundly shaped the firm's commitment to victim advocacy. That experience informs the way Tracecraft approaches every case: with a genuine desire to help victims whenever possible, in any kind of matter, while maintaining the investigative neutrality and objectivity that the work demands.

Mr. Klimek served as the FBI Case Agent responsible for the planning, coordination, and command of a 500+ person joint interagency operation involving the FBI, IRS, and United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Law enforcement personnel were flown in from across the United States to participate in the DFW Metroplex-based enforcement operations, which executed simultaneous search and arrest warrants at 18 enforcement sites — including law firms (pursuant to the crime-fraud exception) and medical facilities. The operation resulted in the indictment and simultaneous arrest of 22 subjects involved in a multi-national organized crime fraud ring. Mr. Klimek has personally investigated individual fraud cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars — the kind of high-stakes, complex financial matters that demand an investigator with the background, education, training, and experience to match.

Mr. Klimek has earned a reputation as a skilled, tenacious, serious-minded, and ethical investigator. He consistently exhibits a true passion for victim advocacy in all of his professional endeavors. As a court-qualified Expert Witness, Mr. Klimek has testified in both State and Federal Court — including as a qualified expert witness in a Texas State Court murder jury trial on self-defense and the reasonable and appropriate use of deadly force, helping the defense secure a just acquittal for a defendant who had been facing life in prison. Mr. Klimek is a prolific public speaker and subject matter expert in various disciplines, has been recognized with numerous commendations and awards, and has a combined total of over 27 years of public service working at both the state and federal government levels.

Mr. Klimek has worked actively in the private-sector as a professional PI since his retirement from the federal government in February 2021.

FBI retirement ceremony — Dallas Division

FBI Retired Special Agent — official directory