James Cohen was quoted in a USA today article about the recent college admissions cheating scandal.
USA TODAY examined pages of court documents filed by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston to find out what prosecutors allege as the reasons why the three have been charged with mail fraud and “honest services mail fraud,” or a scheme “depriving another of the intangible right of honest services.”
In other words, by allegedly bribing school officials, they deprived other applicants of a fair chance at admission because the parents paid for those spots, says James Cohen, a law professor at Fordham University in New York.
“If I’m paying people in admissions that kind of money, I’m not depriving myself. I don’t care about honest services,” Cohen told USA TODAY. “In fact, that’s the last thing I want. But I’m depriving other people of the use of honest services.”
