About

Biography

Edmond J. (Ed) Martin

Ed Martin grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana.  In 1968, he earned his degree in accounting from Southeastern Louisiana College (now the University of Southeastern Louisiana).  In August 1969, the Intelligence Division of the IRS accepted Martin. From September 1969 to February 1970, he trained as a Special Agent in federal law enforcement in Washington, DC. Upon returning to New Orleans, he became part of the DOJ Strike Force team that investigated and tried District Attorney Jim Garrison and the New Orleans Police Department for public bribery by the local pinball industry.

In 1975, Martin and his family moved to Austin, Texas, where his career continued with the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. He was the lead agent in several investigations and prosecutions of income tax evasion cases and multiple fraud and money laundering investigations.

Martin resigned from the US Treasury Department in 1984 and went to work with the Texas State Securities Board in Austin as a Supervising Examiner.  This experience allowed Martin to become adept in broader definitions of fraud: Ponzi schemes (John Colgin–1985), oil and gas fraud, and securities fraud.

In May 1989, Martin received his Certified Fraud Examiner designation and, in 1991, became the first President of the first Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in Austin, TX. 

In 1991, Martin returned to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division as a Special Agent to investigate income tax fraud and money laundering cases.  Some of the cases Martin handled during this period included the employee leasing company Ralph Kirley, Inc. employment tax fraud (1996 $20,000,000), the advanced fee scheme of William Fourie (1996-1998 $5,000,000), the Foreign Currency Ponzi schemes of Russell Erxleben (1998-1999 $40,00,000), and the defrauding for a Trust fund by Brian Stearns (1999-2000 $45,000,000).  Martin was also the lead agent and instrumental in solving the 5-year-old mystery disappearance of Atheist leader Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her two adult children (1997-2000) from Austin, Texas. Four murders were proven, and the disposition of $1.5 Million in gold was proven. After the trial of one of the criminals convicted in the O’Hair case, the Austin Chronicle stated: “If not for the methodical investigation of Special Agent Ed Martin and the FBI, they (Gary Karr and David Waters) would have gotten away with murder.”

Martin was an instructor at FLETC in Glynco, GA, and taught advanced training to Senior Special Agents.  Martin was a firearms instructor for 20 years and was taught at the Secret Service in Beltsville, Maryland, and the Federal Law Enforcement Center in Glynco, GA. After twenty-six years with IRS CID, Martin retired on October 1, 2001.  He was presented with an award for his “Dedication to the Cause of Law Enforcement” by the US Attorney’s Office in Austin, and he was nominated for the FBI’s Director’s Award.  In 2002, Martin received the “Law Enforcement Circle of Excellence Award” from the Central Texas 100 Club, and in June 2002 received the “Service Above Self Award” from the Austin Rotary Clubs.

Martin has been interviewed on American Justice, American Chronicles, TruTV, A&E, Discovery "Murder by the Book" and recently on Discovery ID - Vanity Fair “The Lady Disappears” for his investigation of the disappearance and murder of Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her children. Martin contributed to the O’Hair case by interviewing a key witness who exposed the motive for the kidnapping - 1.5 million dollars and the hip replacement that verified that Madalyn was buried on the 5,000-acre ranch in Uvalde, TX.

Since retiring in October 2001, Martin launched Sage Investigations, LLC, a Private Investigation, consulting, and Forensic Accounting firm licensed in Texas. There, he conducts investigations in various cases, including civil plaintiff and defense for individuals, businesses, and government entities, forensic accounting, expert witness testimony, asset searches, and criminal defense in Federal income tax and money laundering.

In 2002, Martin joined the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators (TALI), and later, in 2006, TALI awarded Martin a “Meritorious Service Award for Investigative Excellence.” In 2007, Martin tested and received the Texas Certified Investigator (TCI) designation from TALI.  Martin is currently the Treasurer for TALI.  Martin was the Treasurer for five years, and in 2015 received the “Hudgins-Sallee Award” from TALI and was elected TALI President from 2018 – 2020.

Martin continues his investigative practice in Austin, TX.  Martin is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association and offers Forensic Accounting and Expert Witness testimony nationwide.  The significant cases include the 10 million Dollar embezzlement of Dell Computer by three conspirators, one of whom was an insider and all three of whom were college fraternity brothers.  The case evidence and analysis were turned over to the IRS CI and the FBI, and the three were prosecuted for the theft. 

The Director of Equipment and Maintenance embezzled a large Central Texas construction company for $3.7 Million in credit card purchases that were not controlled and were stolen by the Director. 

Financial Investigator