Students from Union and Evergreen High Schools will get the chance to work side by side with special agents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in a forensic accounting simulation, Thursday, February 11, 2010 beginning at 2:45 p.m.
According to the IRS's Daniel Wardlaw, Special Agent and Public Information Officer, "Typically, people run in the opposite direction when someone says ‘The IRS is coming!' But that is not true of the iQ Credit Union and accounting students from Union and Evergreen High Schools. Around two dozen of them will learn what it is like to actually be an IRS criminal investigator as they ‘play' one for the day."
During the exercise, the students, accompanied by current IRS special agents, will solve a real-world fraud case dealing with tax evasion. Union High School will serve as the location where the ‘honorary' special agents will conduct interviews, review financial documents, carry out an undercover operation, execute an arrest warrant, testify before the "grand jury" and more. This will all be done for the purpose of learning the fraud detection and investigation skills used by IRS criminal investigators every day in solving real financial crimes.
IRS special agents are duly sworn law enforcement officers who investigate complex financial crimes associated with tax evasion, money laundering, narcotics, organized crime, public corruption health-care fraud, investment fraud (such as ponzi schemes), counter terrorismism, and much more. They often conduct these investigations jointly with other law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, the DEA, and/or local police departments. IRS special agents conduct undercover operations, search warrants, and arrest warrants. They testify before grand juries seeking indictments of alleged criminals, and often sit right next to the Assistant United States Attorneys during trial.
Union High School is located at 6201 NW Friberg-Strunk Street, Camas, WA. The simulation exercise will take place in Rooms 112 and 113 of the Leadership and Business Building.