Harvard Law Admins Accused Of Embezzlement

A pair of former admins are accused of stealing from an account for disabled students.

(Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

(Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

We’re used to writing stories about law school stealing money from students, but we usually mean that colloquially. Sometimes it takes a story like this to remind you that schools charging an arm and a leg to pump out students unable to find a job — cough cough — may be a problem, but they aren’t stealing in the most literal sense.

Unlike, say, the accusations in this case.

In a recently filed criminal complaint, authorities allege that two former Harvard Law admins, Meg DeMarco and Darris Saylors, pilfered from an account designated for students with disabilities. According to the local CBS affiliate, the pair are accused of using the funds to buy “laptops, iPads, DVDs, jewelry, and even a few X-rated items.” I can envision the defense now… “no Your Honor, it’s not a dildo, it’s a custom walking stick for a very short, blind student!”

The alleged scheme started to fall apart way back in 2013 when the school brought on a new budget manager who noticed irregularities. These stories always involve a new accountant, don’t they? Someday I want to see the story read, “and then the original accountant finally cracked the code that had been missed for years.” Until I see something like that, I’ll continue to advise every organization to fire their accountant every two or three years just to be safe.

DeMarco, then the award-winning Director of Student Affairs, now works at Babson College and told the CBS affiliate:

It was a big job and I made mistakes. I never intended to harm the university. I’m very sorry and will do everything in my power to rectify the situation.

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Not sure her attorney would approve of making a media statement, but it sounds like there’s a lot of contrition. It doesn’t seem as though any student went without because of a shortage of funds and not a lot of money is involved — a few thousand here and there — making it relatively easy to pay off. But Harvard Law has to answer some serious questions about its internal controls.

Meanwhile, Saylors now works at the Honors College at UT-Chattanooga and didn’t respond to the reporters’ inquiries.

For the record, neither institution has reported a spate of unauthorized sex toy purchases, but of course we’ll never know for sure until they hire a new accountant.

Harvard Law Administrators Accused Of Stealing Money Meant For Students With Disabilities [CBS Boston]


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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.