STUDENTS GET HANDS-ON WITH THE IRS posted 2/14/03
Program enters second year; only place in country where it takes place

Cracking crimes with accounting?

It might sound funny, but that's what the IRS will try to teach several Adrian College students in an educational exercise on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Special agents from the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS--the same organization that snagged Al Capone for tax evasion--is assigning several of its special agents to simulate several crime scenarios. Criminal justice and accounting students will then team up to try to solve the crimes.

The simulation might start with a crumpled tax form in a bag of trash, or maybe an anonymous phone call. This might lead the student investigators to an interview with a suspicious banker or lawyer, played by a hard-nosed special agent.

"It will be like real life," says Stephen Moore of the IRS. "They'll lie, and the students will have to ask the right questions."

If the students keep their wits and hold up under the stress, they might discover tax evasion, or money laundering.

"We want to see if the students can teach themselves our job," Moore said. "We'll guide them, but it won't be a cakewalk."

The program took place for the first time last year. This collaboration between the IRS and Adrian is the first of its kind, and is part of a continuing effort by the IRS to show that the agency works in ways that people don't usually think about. During the day, students will learn how both criminal justice and accounting are key to this type of law enforcement.