# Cheating on SAT Illegal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904 "2011-09-28T17:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904/61 "2011-10-01T23:53:30Z")
I Googled _legal definition of benefit_ and [this was the first link](http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/benefit): > [@](#): > > 1. n. any profit or acquired right or privilege, primarily through a contract. 2) in worker’s compensation the term “benefit” is the insurance payment resulting from a fatal accident on the job, while “compensation” is for injury without death. 3) in income taxation, anything that brings economic gain. 4) “fringe benefits” are rights from employment other than salary or wages, including health or disability insurance. 5) v. to gain a benefit. Definitions 1 and 3 would seem to say the payment constitutes a benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904/62 "2011-10-02T03:02:11Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > In any event, compensation and benefits are distinct concepts and are not interchangeable. This is not difficult to overcome at all. Compensation is a form of benefit. In a legal sense a “benefit” resulting from an illegal act is anything at all that might put you in a better position, give you something you didn’t have before, or anything else that is of value or worth, either monetarily or otherwise. > [@](#): > > ETA: And we’ve covered the defrauding part as well, and nobody has yet offered a solid argument as to what the testing authority was deprived of, in order to constitute fraud. Again, this is not difficult at all to show. They were deprived of the ability to ascertain the true identity of the person submitting the results of the test. They were deprived of the ability to guarantee to their customers (universities) that the results were genuinely obtained by the person named on the test. Their reputation rides on the reliability of their matching of scores with persons. If this isn’t reliable, then their service loses value. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904/63 "2011-10-02T04:51:11Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I’m not sure why you keep making that contention as many posts in this thread have pointed out that it is not the case. If he was found with a cheat sheet inside his coat pocket while taking the test, then there are no crimes committed. If they didn’t require ID and he just falsely signed his name, that probably wouldn’t be a crime. But he used a forged government ID. I sincerely doubt he used an actual forged government ID. I would bet a lot of money that the article was mistaken given that most articles on the matter deliberately use different wording, and that common sense would indicate that he would use an ID that would be far easier to forge. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904/64 "2011-10-02T05:20:40Z")
The [Thursday NY Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/nyregion/after-arrest-a-wider-inquiry-on-sat-cheating.html) referenced upthread says specifically: > [@](#): > > Ms. Rice brought criminal charges against Mr. Eshaghoff and misdemeanor charges against six current and former Great Neck North students who said Mr. Eshaghoff took the test for them. […] > > The district attorney’s office believes the ruse started in November 2009. Prosecutors say Mr. Eshaghoff took the tests using a borrowed driver’s license and five fake school ID cards, including one for a girl. In other words, out of the alleged test-taker’s six alleged frauds, one is said to have been committed using a NY driver’s license and the other five with school IDs. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904/65 "2011-10-02T12:00:28Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > The [Thursday NY Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/nyregion/after-arrest-a-wider-inquiry-on-sat-cheating.html) referenced upthread says specifically: > In other words, out of the alleged test-taker’s six alleged frauds, one is said to have been committed using a NY driver’s license and the other five with school IDs. The several other articles I linked to seem to quote the DA, and don’t include that info. More importantly, what is being alleged in the article you quoted is not a fake or forged driver’s license (as claimed), but a real one used by someone other than the person on it. Big difference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheating-on-sat-illegal/597904.md?page=3)