A veteran IRS criminal investigator who publicly criticized his own agency while leading aggressive tax enforcement investigations against wealthy individuals could soon be fired over alleged misconduct tied to his personal tax returns.Brian Visalli, a nearly 25-year special agent in the IRS Criminal Investigation division, has until May 29 to respond to allegations that he failed to file accurate and timely tax returns over a three-year period and demonstrated a “lack of candor” involving income earned by his physician wife, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg Tax.The disciplinary letter, signed by acting Deputy Director Carissa Messick, reportedly described the conduct as “egregious” and said Visalli’s dismissal was warranted because IRS agents must be held to the “highest standards of conduct.”
Visalli has framed the disciplinary action as retaliation for years of whistleblower complaints he has filed targeting agency leadership and enforcement practices, according to a letter he wrote to his current and former colleagues. Last year, he published a roughly 6,000-word essay in Tax Notes calling out IRS leadership for failing to aggressively pursue corporate tax avoidance schemes and calling for broader institutional reform.
