Law Enforcement

Criminal Investigation Special Agent Career

Mission
In support of the overall IRS Mission, Criminal Investigation (CI) serves the American public by investigating potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes in a manner that fosters confidence in the tax system and compliance with the law.

How Does Criminal Investigation Support the IRS Mission?
The IRS mission is to: "Provide America's taxpayers top-quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all." The Internal Revenue Service is responsible for collecting more than 90% of all dollars collected by the United States Government.

The Money Trail
Criminal Investigation finds criminals or crimes by tracking money. Special Agents are first and foremost investigative accountants. They are forensic accountants searching for evidence of criminal conduct.

The Investigative Arm of the Internal Revenue Service
Criminal Investigation is responsible for the enforcement of tax, money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act laws. Compliance with tax laws in the United States relies heavily on self-assessments of what tax is owed. That is called voluntary compliance. When individuals and corporations deliberately do not comply, CI responds and enhances compliance through successful criminal prosecutions.

As financial investigators, CI Special Agents fill a unique niche in the federal law enforcement community. Today's sophisticated schemes to defraud the government demand the analytical ability of financial investigators to wade through complex paper and computerized financial records. Due to the increased use of automation for financial records, CI Special Agents are trained to recover computer evidence. Along with their financial investigative skills, they use specialized forensic technology to recover financial data that may have been encrypted, password protected or hidden by other electronic means.

Criminal Investigation's conviction rate is one of the highest in federal law enforcement. Not only do the courts hand down substantial prison sentences, but those convicted must also pay fines, civil taxes and penalties.

Strategic Priorities:
The Criminal Investigation strategic plan is comprised of three interdependent programs: Legal Source Tax Crimes; Illegal Source Financial Crimes; and Narcotics Related Financial Crimes.