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Former Prosecutor Heads IRS Criminal Investigations
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In his ongoing effort to ramp up audits and prosecutions of tax evaders, IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson has appointed a hard-charging federal prosecutor to head the Criminal Investigations Unit
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By Darrin T.Mish
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Nancy J. Jardini seems perfect for her new job. A 39-year-old former prosecutor who has lectured extensively on criminal law, Jardini will head the law enforcement arm of the Internal Revenue Service.
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Known as the Criminal Investigations Unit, this important division of the IRS is responsible for investigating and assisting in the prosecution of criminal tax, money laundering and narcotics-related financial crime cases. The unit has 2,500 agents.
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The appointment of someone like Jardini shouldn’t come as a surprise. For the past year, IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson has used the $133 million Congress allocated his agency to increase audits and put a pinch on the estimated thousands of tax evaders that cost the United States millions of dollars each year.
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“Nancy has an impressive background that will benefit both Criminal Investigation and American taxpayers,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Bob Wenzel in a statement. “Her extensive experience as Associate Chief Counsel for Criminal Tax in IRS will serve well in her new position of Deputy Chief, Criminal Investigation.”
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Jardini’s appointments come at time when the agency has already increased the number of audits it performs on the nation’s highest earners. From 2002 to 2003, for example, the agency increased by 24 percent the number of audits it performs on taxpayers who earned $100,000 or more. The agency centered most of this activity on those who earned $250,000 or more.
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This new wave of activity is intended to sharpen the teeth of the IRS after a push toward customer service in the ’90s gave the agency a reputation for being lax on tax cheats.
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In fact, earlier this year, Everson specifically fine-tuned the IRS’s budget to make room for fewer backroom personnel and more on-the-street agents who can perform the increasingly necessary work-intensive audits.
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This increased case load will fall largely on Jardini, as the Criminal Investigations Unit is responsible for looking into some of the nation’s toughest tax cases and helping U.S. attorneys prosecute them.
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“Criminal Investigations special agents are well-respected law enforcement officers who are renowned for their financial investigative expertise,” she said in a statement. “And I look forward to continuing Criminal Investigation’s mission to investigate potential criminal violations in a manner that fosters confidence in the tax system and compliance with the law. Our top priority is to investigate violations of tax law. But our special agents’ financial expertise is also a critical key in the nation's fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and we continue to participate in those efforts.”
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That means the government now has one more warrior in its army bent on defeating tax cheats. Tax evaders, beware.
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Darrin T. Mish is a Nationally recognized Attorney whose practice focuses onrepresenting clients across the United States with IRS Problems.He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel and is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. He has been honored by a listing in Martindale-Hubbel's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. If you have an IRS Problem and need IRS help then contact him immediately. He can be reached at his website at http://www.getIRShelp.com or tollfree at (888) 438-6474.
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