Under the ACFE Fraud Examiners Manual, Law Section, particularly The Civil Justice System and Individual Rights During Examinations , individuals have legally protected privacy interests that can give rise to civil liability when violated. One recognized invasion of privacy tort is intrusion upon seclusion, which occurs when someone intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, into another person’s private affairs without authorization and in a manner that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.

In this scenario, Wilson searched Garcia’s private tablet without legitimate authority or investigative basis. Garcia had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her personal device, and there was no suspicion of wrongdoing to justify the intrusion. Because the wrongful act is the unauthorized access itself, Garcia would most likely assert a claim for intrusion into private matters.

Public disclosure of private facts requires dissemination of private information to third parties, which is not indicated here. Defamation requires a false statement communicated to others that harms reputation, which is also absent. Property damage would require physical harm to the tablet.

Therefore, the most appropriate civil claim is intrusion into an individual’s private matters, as the injury arises from the unauthorized invasion of Garcia’s privacy.