WASHINGTON - Eileen Mayer, currently head of the IRS’s Office of Fraud / Bank Secrecy Act, was named today as head of the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.

“Eileen is a seasoned prosecutor and knows the criminal justice system inside and out,” said Mark W. Everson, IRS Commissioner. “She will play a key role in IRS efforts to halt tax fraud. I look forward to her joining the leadership team.”

As director of the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division’s Office of Fraud / BSA, Mayer was responsible for the agency’s internal fraud referral program. Her office ensured that egregious cases of noncompliance uncovered by the agency’s examiners were forwarded to criminal investigators working for CI. She also was responsible for the agency’s mission as one of the federal regulators involved in the enforcement of BSA. Within the agency, SB/SE is responsible for enforcement and compliance issues involving individual taxpayers and small businesses.

Mayer came to the IRS in January 2006 after 19 years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. She was deputy chief of the criminal division, supervising the prosecution of federal criminal offenses in the D.C. area. Her tenure included a two-year detail as an Associate Deputy Attorney General with the Department of Justice and a three-year detail as special assistant to the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN is a branch of the Department of Treasury.

Her duties at FinCEN included coordinating the implementation of the original Bank Secrecy Act regulations for non-bank financial institutions. The act is the main federal law used to combat money laundering.

Mayer received a degree in economics from Randolph-Macon Women’s College at Lynchburg, Va., and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.