Greenwich resident Gordon Caplan, who was co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Manhattan before being placed on leave when the allegations surfaced in mid-March and since leaving the firm, was among 50 people charged in the scheme to gain students’ admission into some of the country’s top colleges.
Caplan was accused of paying $75,000 to bribe the proctor of an ACT exam with the help of a college prep company. The FBI wiretapped phone calls between Caplan and a witness who eventually cooperated with the FBI.
Caplan was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. He was released on a $500,000 bond.
In a statement Friday, April 5, Caplan said that his daughter was unaware of his actions.
“I take full and sole responsibility for my conduct,” Caplan said in the statement. “I want to make clear that my daughter, whom I love more than anything in the world, is a high school junior and has not yet applied to college, much less been accepted by any school. She had no knowledge whatsoever about my actions, has been devastated to learn what I did and has been hurt the most by it.”
Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, along with Loughlin’s fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have also been charged in an investigation authorities labeled "Operation Varsity Blues."
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