In “I did not see that coming” news, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Chief Don Fort is announcing his retirement, effective September 30, 2020.
Chief Fort has served in the position of Chief of CI since June 2017 (you can read my introductory piece on him from 2017 here).
As Chief, Fort is responsible for investigating criminal violations of the tax code and related financial crimes. Fort oversees a worldwide staff of nearly 3,000 CI employees, including approximately 2,100 special agents, who investigate crimes involving tax, money laundering, public corruption, cyber, ID theft, narcotics, and terrorist-financing.
A replacement for Chief Fort has not yet been named.
“I will look back on my time with CI with nothing but positive memories. CI is an amazing place with amazing people; I have grown up in the organization, made lifelong friends and worked for an organization with one of the most noble missions in all of Government and law enforcement. I’ve given my all for the organization and together we have achieved great heights. I’m proud of leading the establishment of the NCIU, championing data analytics for the future of CI, being a founding member of the J5, securing additional funding for CI, and establishing CI’s guiding principles. I routinely surrounded myself with greatness and the accolades for all of these accomplishments and more belong to those of you who worked tirelessly to make them a success. I will always be proud to brag about CI’s accomplishments to anyone who will listen!” said Fort.
Fort has been part of several initiatives at IRS-CI, including the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, called the J5, which was organized in 2018 to combat global crime by sharing resources. He was also a key figure in several prominent investigations into the dark web.
“Don has been a remarkable leader and champion for IRS Criminal Investigation,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “He has a long, distinguished career and the entire IRS leadership team appreciates everything he has done to uphold the law and support tax administration. We look forward to his remaining time at the IRS, and we wish him well in the future.”
