UPDATED: 2019/03/14 6:00PM
Manhattan law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher has put Gordon Caplan on a leave of absence. Caplan is accused of paying $75,000 to have a proctor correct the answers on his daughter’s ACT exam after she took it as part of a multi-million dollar scheme involving celebrities and wealthy people cheating to get their children into college.
According to court documents, Caplan had a conversation with Rick Singer, the mastermind of the scheme and said that he felt “pretty weird” and was apprehensive. He asked, “If somebody catches this, what happens?” He also expressed worries that his daughter would be “finished” if she was attached to the scheme. He said, “I’m not worried about the moral issue here. I’m worried about the, if she’s caught doing that, you know, she’s finished.”
In a statement, the law firm said, “As widely reported, one of our partners, Gordon Caplan, was among the persons charged in the college admissions matter This is a personal matter and does not involve Willkie or any of its clients. In light of the seriousness of the matter, Mr Caplan has been placed on a leave of absence from the Firm and will have no further Firm management responsibilities.”