Brown University fundraiser resigns after controversy over Jeffrey Epstein

PROVIDENCE -- A Brown University fundraising director who was put on leave for his part in accepting donations from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab has resigned.

Peter Cohen, who was put on paid leave from Brown in September, resigned Tuesday, Brown spokesman Brian Clark wrote in an email.

"While at Brown, Mr. Cohen's performance was deemed effective and he was a valued member of the team," Clark wrote. "The University wishes Mr. Cohen the best in his future endeavors."

Clark declined to say whether a deal had been struck between the university and Cohen over his resignation or whether he is being compensated to leave.

"Consistent with Brown’s responsibility as a fair employer, details related to individual personnel matters are not discussed publicly, so I don't have information to report on these other questions," Clark wrote.

Cohen, a Brown graduate, was director of development for the MIT Media Lab before moving to Brown in 2018 to become director of development for computer science and data initiatives at Brown.

During Cohen's time at MIT, the Media Lab accepted donations from Epstein and listed them as anonymous to prevent public scrutiny, according to media reports and an MIT-commissioned investigation.

When MIT released its report earlier this month, Cohen pointed out that it showed he was was following instructions of senior MIT administrators. The MIT investigation, performed by law firm Goodwin Procter, found that in 2013, a year before Cohen was hired, three members of MIT’s senior administrative team established a system for accepting Epstein donations and listing them as anonymous to prevent negative scrutiny.

“Today’s report from MIT clearly demonstrates that I and others were following the instructions of senior MIT administrators in dealing with Jeffrey Epstein’s donations to the Media Lab,” Cohen said in an email statement Jan. 10.

The Goodwin Procter report found that Epstein had given $850,000 to MIT since 2002. It did not mention Cohen.

Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in August, while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

More than 100 Brown graduates and data scientists had signed a petition for Cohen to be fired over his involvement with Epstein at MIT.