Professor Ventry Comments for Daily Tax Report on Illinois Whistleblower Law

Professor Dennis Ventry commented for Daily Tax Report on Chicago attorney Stephen Diamond, so-called the “king of qui tam” for having won nearly $30 million in whistleblower actions, thanks to a provision of the Illinois False Claims Act (FCA) permitting whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the state to correct alleged tax frauds. 

Diamond has been accused of abusing the statute by critics as a result of having filed over 900 qui tam actions under Illinois’ FCA over the last 15 years. In the article, Professor Ventry stated that while that accusation may be true, the law “is what it is and until it’s changed, he’s not doing anything wrong.” “If he’s winning 40 percent of these cases,” Ventry continued, "maybe this isn’t as frivolous as we thought.” At the same time, Ventry was clear that the majority of Diamond’s actions “are still nuisance claims,” and Diamond “is still…abusing the statute.” 

Professor Ventry is an expert in tax policy and legal ethics. His research interests include tax expenditure analysis, family taxation, professional responsibility and standards of care, tax filing and administration, tax compliance, public finance, and tax and legal history. In addition, he is a member of the IRS Advisory Council, and co-author on the casebook, Federal Income Taxation with Martin McMahon, Jr., Daniel L. Simmons, and Bradley T. Borden.