The tax system of the US relies on the voluntary filing of taxes. Does it make easier to commit fraud and get away with it? No, there is no such possibility. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a Criminal Investigation Division to ascertain that no fraudulent tax activity goes unnoticed.

If you were facing charges of tax evasion or fraud, it is necessary to get a tax attorney for defense immediately. Criminal conviction regarding tax matters may lead to serious consequences for you, including imprisonment and fines along with civil penalties. If the IRS decides to prosecute, chances are they have a strong case against you.

You need to understand that the IRS does not decide to prosecute on grounds of negligent errors on your tax filing. The multi-layered investigation process at work here makes sure that no frivolous matters reach the stage of prosecution. How does the investigation work? Here is a stepwise overview.

Source from which the investigation begins – this may include information from IRS collection agents or auditors, tip-offs from general public, data available from investigations by law enforcement divisions, and from United States Attorneys.

Primary investigation – is the preliminary stage of analyzing data by the special agents working in the Criminal Investigation (CI) Division.

Initiating a subject criminal investigation – the preliminary analysis goes to the front line supervisor for review. If he/she approves, this goes to the head of the office. After this approval, a subject criminal investigation begins.

Criminal investigation begins – the special agent works with criminal tax attorneys of the IRS Chief Counsel to obtain and analyze the date, interview witnesses, executing search warrants, and so on to determine whether to prosecute.

Recommendation of prosecution – by the special agent occurs only if there is substantial evidence to support the violation of the laws. The written report undergoes review by the front line supervisor of the agent, Centralized Case Review (a quality review team), as well as the special agent and the assistant special agent in charge.

If the determination is to prosecute, the CI sends this recommendation to The Department of Justice, Tax Division. The various layers of investigation make the case a strong one. However, if you have a competent Florida tax attorney this could work to your advantage as well.

Your attorney could be able to establish points of defense from the initial stages. This may lead to discontinuation of the investigation. You would also need your tax attorney if the need for defense at the trial stage arises.