Was told once by a former federal prosecutor: "The fraud statute is so broad, fraud is anything I say it is."
The statute listed for wire fraud in the Gatto document is 18 U.S. Code 1343: "Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both."
The schools are listed as the "defrauded" party because they provided scholarships to players that Gatto knew to be ineligible. I have a very hard time understanding how the schools were in fact victims of criminal "fraud". Like your friend told you, the prosecutors are using broad language to say it is fraud because they say it is fraud.
