| Post: | Chief, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation |
| Insignia: | IRS-CI_Logo.jpeg |
| Insigniacaption: | IRS-CI Logo |
| Flag: | USA - IRS CID.png |
| Flagsize: | 120 |
| Flagcaption: | IRS-CI Special Agent Badge |
| Incumbent: | Guy Ficco |
| Incumbentsince: | April 1, 2024 |
| Department: | Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation |
| Style: | Chief |
| Status: | Chief executive |
| Reports To: | Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement |
| Seat: | Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer: | Commissioner of Internal Revenue |
| Termlength: | No fixed term |
| Formation: | July 1, 1919 |
| First: | Elmer Lincoln Irey |
| Deputy: | Deputy Chief |
The Chief, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, abbreviated as Chief, IRS-CI or Chief, CI or simply Chief, is the head and chief executive of Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the United States' federal law enforcement agency responsible for investigating potential criminal violations of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes. Criminal Investigation is a division of the Internal Revenue Service, which in turn is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury. The Chief is the highest ranking executive within IRS-CI and reports to the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement of the Internal Revenue Service.
The Chief is appointed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and oversees a worldwide staff of approximately 3,300 CI employees, including approximately 2,200 special agents who investigate and assist in the prosecution of criminal tax, money laundering, public corruption, cyber, ID theft, narcotics, terrorist-financing and Bank Secrecy Act related crime cases.[1]
The current Chief is Guy Ficco since April 1, 2024. He was the Deputy Chief to former Chief Jim Lee, who retired on March 31, 2024 having served in the position since October 2020.[2] Shortly after the announcement of Lee's retirement, the Internal Revenue Service announced that Ficco would be the new Chief of the agency.[3]
The powers and duties of the Chief are spelled out in the Internal Revenue Manual, Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 19.[4]
(1) The Chief is responsible for the full range of planning, managing, directing, and executing the worldwide activities of CI. The Chief together with the Deputy Chief, directly supervises the Directors of the HQ offices, as well as the Area Directors, Field Operations.
(2) The Office of the Chief includes the following sections:
(3) The Chief of Staff, together with the Deputy Chief of Staff, manages the Chief and Deputy Chief's official appointments, speaking engagements, calendar items, and duties associated with the selection of senior management personnel. Additionally, the Chief of Staff supervises the Commissioner's Protection Detail which provides daily executive protection to the IRS Commissioner.
(4) Communications and Education plans, coordinates, and produces communications products and tools for CI. Communications and Education provides a wide range of products and services to help achieve communications goals to a variety of audiences; employees, managers, the media, tax, accounting and business professionals, and other external and internal stakeholders. Communications and Education also coordinates field office publicity through the PIOs who are special agents trained in media relations. Communications and Education is also the home to CI's Legislative Liaison who manages and enhances CI's relationship with members of Congress, ensures CI sections are informed of pending legislation affecting their areas, and responds to Congressional inquiries and correspondence.
(5) Equity, Diversity & Inclusion is responsible for identifying trends and issues of an EEO and diversity nature, and potential barriers to equal employment opportunity within CI. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion's responsibilities include educating management and employees on equity, diversity & inclusion, how to resolve complaints and conflict in the workplace, and providing observation on recruitment, outreach, promotion, retention, and leadership initiatives, thereby improving workforce demographics to achieve equal opportunity.
(6) Review and Program Evaluation independently reviews, evaluates, and reports on CI field operations, program areas, and headquarters sections in a fair and objective manner. Review and Program Evaluation identifies risks, emerging issues and best practices which affect CI; assess CI's leadership effectiveness, and ability to manage and mitigate risk; evaluate CI operations to ensure investigative alignment with the Compliance Strategy; and to ensure compliance with established policies and prior TIGTA, GAO, and RPE recommendations.
The following is a complete list of officeholders from 1919 to present.[5]
| N° | Picture | Name | Term | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – January 26, 1943 | First and longest serving Chief | |||
| 2 | – December 31, 1951 | Former Assistant Chief to Elmer L. Irey | |||
| 3 | – November 25, 1952 | Title changed to Director of the Intelligence Division | |||
| 4 | Garland H. Williams | – August 31, 1953 | Simultaneously agent in the Bureau of Narcotics | ||
| 5 | – August 15, 1955 | Resigned to become Regional Commissioner in New York | |||
| 6 | – June 30, 1959 | Former Assistant Regional Commissioner (Intelligence) of the Dallas Region | |||
| 7 | – December 31, 1965 | Resigned to become District Director in Pittsburgh | |||
| 8 | – June 13, 1970 | Former Director of the Internal Security Division | |||
| 9 | – June 30, 1972 | Former Chief in the Los Angeles District | |||
| 10 | – May 9, 1975 | Former Assistant Regional Commissioner (Intelligence), Midwest Region | |||
| 11 | – March 20, 1982 | Intelligence Division renamed to Criminal Investigation (CI) during his tenure | |||
| 12 | – December 12, 1986 | First officeholder to be titled Assistant Commissioner (Criminal Investigation) | |||
| 13 | – April 3, 1988 | Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner (Criminal Investigation) | |||
| 14 | – October 20, 1989 | Former Assistant Regional Commissioner in North Atlantic Region | |||
| 15 | – January 10, 1993 | Resigned to become District Director in St. Paul, Minnesota | |||
| 16 | – December 31, 1995 | Former Assistant Regional Commissioner for Criminal Investigation in Midwest Region | |||
| 17 | – April 11, 1999 | First Director of Refund Fraud in 1994 | |||
| 18 | – May 31, 2002 | First Chief that was not a Special Agent or Postal Inspector before being named Chief | |||
| 19 | – January 8, 2004 | Former Director of Field Operations for the Central Area | |||
| 20 | – February 25, 2007 | First female Chief | |||
| 21 | – January 31, 2009 | Former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office | |||
| 22 | – March 30, 2012 | Retired to serve as Executive Vice President of Compliance for Samsung Electronics America | |||
| 23 | – May 31, 2017 | Recipient of the 2015 Presidential Rank Award | |||
| 24 | – September 30, 2020 | Chief during the agency's 100th anniversary | |||
| 25 | – March 31, 2024 | Former Deputy Chief and Director of Field Operations | |||
| 26 | – Present | Former Deputy Chief and Executive Director of Global Operations, Policy and Support | |||