Citizen Academy lets Trine students experience IRS investigation work

Call it “Special Agents: Angola.”

On Oct. 27, Trine University accounting and criminal justice students got to experience the daily life of Internal Revenue Service special agents, as the IRS brought its Citizen Academy to campus.

The Academy provides a daylong simulation of a criminal investigation, providing students a firsthand look at what it's like to carry one out.

The opportunity to host the Academy came after two alumni who work for the Criminal Investigations Division of the IRS spoke to Trine business and criminal justice students last spring.

Ben Badger, a 2015 management and finance graduate, and Amy Cain, a 2002 accounting graduate, mentioned the Academy to Al Beatty, assistant professor in Trine’s Ketner School of Business, who said the idea piqued his interest.

The alumni, Beatty and Jackie Delagrange, J.D., chair of Trine’s Department of Criminal Justice, collaborated over several months to plan the event.

Learning more about law enforcement

Brayden Basey, an accounting major from Franklin, Indiana, said he wanted to participate because he’s always had an interest in law enforcement.

“I thought it was an ideal moment to delve into something I've often expressed curiosity about but never pursued,” he said.

Bryce Hufford, a criminal justice major from Portage, Indiana, said the Academy offered the opportunity to learn about a new area of law.

“It was a new experience to expand my horizon and understanding of how the IRS, and specifically the IRS Criminal Investigative division, handles and apprehends criminals who are committing tax and currency crimes,” he said.

Special agents

Ten IRS agents, including Badger and Cain, came to campus to run the event, with 32 Trine students participating.

The students were “sworn in” as special agents and split into three groups. Each group was given tips and evidence to begin solving their own mock case.

Tasks included forensic accounting and document analysis.

“They did interviews, participated in surveillance, created arguments for search and arrest warrants, presented their probable cause to a magistrate and were awarded search and arrest warrants,” said Beatty. 

“Students were able to apply concepts taught in the classroom in live simulations,” said Delagrange. “They were able to understand the importance of the Fourth Amendment and learn how everything fits together in an investigation. Students were challenged to use critical thinking skills to use the evidence to build their cases.”

Fake identities

Cade Clark, a criminal justice major from Fountaintown, Indiana, said his group worked on a case involving a fake identity fraud ring.

“We were given the suspected fraudulent tax documents and told to look for anything suspicious, such as large amounts of charity donations despite having low income and all tax documents being sent to one of three P.O. boxes,” he said. “After this, we went to a mock post office the agents had set up and talked to the worker about the person we suspected of owning the P.O. boxes.”

The group set up surveillance and waited for the suspect to retrieve documents they had planted in the P.O. boxes. Once the suspect recovered the documents, the group made sure they got back to his place of residence and discovered them in the trash, giving them probable cause to obtain a search warrant.

“Surveillance was probably my favorite part of the day,” Clark said. “We had walkie-talkies and badges and got to cooperate in a fun and engaging way.”

Identity theft

Basey’s group investigated an individual whose outstanding IRS warrant was discovered during a traffic stop.

“With his consent, we conducted a search of his vehicle, which revealed five treasury checks, a backpack containing Social Security numbers, debit cards and cash,” Basey said.

After questioning, the individual admitted involvement with a friend to use stolen Social Security numbers illicitly. The group set up an undercover operation and eventually arrested the friend and two accomplices for identity theft.

Tax fraud

Hufford’s group analyzed documents to determine an individual was falsifying tax return statements.

“We then did indoor and outdoor surveillance on the criminal, which gave us more leads and more evidence that we tracked,” he said. “We eventually sent in an undercover agent to the criminal’s ‘place of work,’ and, using our agent’s fake tax return, we were able to compile enough evidence for a judge to administer a search and arrest warrant.”

The group donned protective vests and gear provided by the IRS and traveled to the office to execute the arrest. They then searched the individual’s workplace and found more evidence to be used at trial.

Hufford said he was able to apply concepts from multiple classes to make he didn’t infringe on the suspect’s constitutional rights.

Practical experience

The experience ended when the students solved the crimes and arrested the mock offenders. The groups then reconvened to reflect on the collective experience and watch video clips of past cases.

Hufford said he enjoyed getting out of the classroom and being able to experience simulated law enforcement work.

“The surveillance was very engaging, as we got to use actual IRS radios and equipment to communicate, and travel throughout the buildings without being spotted,” he said. “My favorite part of the day was putting on the IRS Criminal Investigator vest and practice firearm while executing the arrest warrant. We were taught about breaching, security detail movement and knock-and-announce techniques, which all made the day feel real and applicable to my future.”