Credit check them for a start. You'll probably have to pay but try Dun & Bradstreet or Experian (I think they're also in the US).
When I worked for an insolvency practice in the 80s, it was the joke that any company which refurbished its reception area would go bust within the year - seemed to work empirically then
Think Polly Peck and Azil Nadir
Cheers
Whirls