The advent of electronic filing of income tax returns and the availability of Refund Anticipation Loans (RAL) has provided additional means for abusive preparers to commit fraud.

Criminal Investigation, since 1977, has been screening suspected fraudulent returns.  This is done by the Criminal Investigation Fraud Detection Centers (FDC) at each of the ten IRS campuses where tax returns are filed.  The purpose of the FDC is to detect refund fraud and return preparer schemes and refer them to the Criminal Investigation field offices for further investigation. 

Table of Contents - Abusive Return Preparer

Criminal Investigation (CI)