Badges, fake guns, interrogations and arrests in IRS simulation for students - KOAM TV 7

PITTSBURG, KAN. - April 15 is the tax deadline, and if you were contemplating not paying taxes this year, dozens of students are gearing up to make sure you go down.

On Friday an IRS training program called the Adrian Project was held at Pittsburg State University, giving students a real world simulation including badge and fake gun.

The goal is to help accounting and criminal justice students who are interested in the career.

"It's a program that gives us a chance to come out to the universities and maybe even the high schools and give the students an idea of what an IRS agent does," said Toni Weirauch, the special agent in charge.  "We try to give them the full gammet of what we do, as well as they will be doing some arresting and hand cuffs and some felony car stops."

From the oath to the arrest

The students took an oath, and were fitted with the Adrian Project's version of a badge and a fake gun.

Then they start from square one, interviewing and interrogating mock suspects of tax evasion.

They investigated accounts where a tax return preparer may try to hide income, whether legally or illegally.

"It's kind of like a puzzle and that's what's real fun to me," said PSU senior Kyle Spechinger.  "You have to put a lot of pieces together before you can come up with your answer.  It's cat and mouse."

Then they did felony car stops, and used hand cuffs when making the arrest.

"Today they will be investigating a couple of different types of crimes, and yes, they are white collar crimes generally speaking," explained Agent Weirauch.  "They will be looking at tax evasion and then crossing into money laundering and bank structuring acts."

For students like Spechinger, it's the beginning of a childhood dream.

A crash course

PSU senior Kyle Spechinger is a justice studies major and told us he had looked up the Adrian Project, but did not expect how involved it would be.

"I really am having fun," he said.  "I'm strapped up with a fake gun right now."

"When you are a little kid, you want to be a cop of a fireman and it's something I've always wanted to do - be a cop," Speichinger said.  "But then I got into college and there's a lot more than being a cop, and you get to use your mind more then your braun."

A growing job market

The Adrian Project is named after Adrian College in Chicago, where the program started in 2000, and organizers say the job market for IRS jobs is growing.

If you are interested in these opportunities visit USAJobs.com.

By MIKE CORCORAN