BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Orion Protection and Investigations cut the ribbon on its West Madison Street office in February.
Owner Zachary Paul said he spent part of his childhood a block away from the new office on South Street.
The licensed investigator said that Starke is his hometown, and his office is central to his primary business area of North Florida.
Paul started in the profession working on cyber investigations for businesses that had been hacked or that were victims of online fraud.
“Then I transitioned into pharmacy work and did fraud investigations,” he recalled. “I really had a knack for investigating, and I really enjoyed it.”
Paul said he considered a career in law enforcement, but with a new family, he wanted to avoid the danger and stress associated with police work.
“So, I decided to become a private investigator,” he said. “That way, I could do what I loved: investigations and not necessarily have the danger of everyday police work.”
He said cyber investigations remain a big part of his business, like investigating bank fraud or threats received through email or other digital means. However, the firm also does surveillance, missing persons cases, wrongful death, homicide, and background checks.
“If you’re going into business with someone and you want to know what they’re like,” he said, “we do a cyber investigation to see their habits, what they’re liking, what groups they’re connected to, and who their associates are, to get a full understanding of who that person is.”
Paul said his firm has partnered with the FBI on cyber cases and with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on drug and dog fighting rings.
“Whenever we come across something criminal, and charges can be brought,” he said, “we make sure first to ask our client if we’re allowed to release confidential information. If they agree to that, then we go to the respective law enforcement agency and let them know what’s going on and how we can help them and just partner with them to try and bring down that crime.”
The firm has also protected people transporting high-dollar items, and provided protection during concerts, political and other events.
“Or maybe they just want to get transported to the airport safely,” he added. “When we work with the FBI, we get people to the FBI field office safely. A lot of times, our clients are in immediate danger when it comes to working with the FBI. So basically, we get three to five vehicles, and we have armed guards that get them to their location safely.”
Paul said his firm does not provide traditional security services but does provide a service he calls mobile surveillance.
“So, like for mobile home communities, hotels, and apartment complexes,” he said. “Basically, we show up in a lettered vehicle that says Orion Protection and Investigations. And what we’re there to do is mitigate crime through the presence of that lettered vehicle.”
Paul said that crime can be lowered by 65% just by having a marked vehicle in the area.
“And then if something does happen,” he continued, “we are eyewitnesses. We get video documentation, and we can give an eyewitness report to the police officers to solve that crime much more quickly than if no one was there.”
Paul attended public school in Starke for kindergarten and Northside Christian Academy for grades one through seven. He ended his secondary education in Union County, graduating early, for which he credits Northside.
Most of Orion’s clients range from Hillsborough to Duval counties and into the panhandle. Paul said that although he takes on cases throughout the Sunshine State, the further he travels, the more costs and the length of time it takes to solve a case increase.
Paul said that soon, Orion will rebrand to Paragon because of a conflict with another company in Florida.
“We chose that name because Paragon is an example of excellence,” he said. “It is something that people strive to be, and that’s what we strive to be. We are a premier agency that gets the results and does everything that we can do in our power to get a good investigation or to protect someone to the highest.”
