Law firm co-chairman to plead guilty in U.S. college admissions scandal

Gordon Caplan, (L) co-chairman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher law company, facing charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme, enters federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - The onetime co-chairman of the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher on Friday became the second parent to say he would plead guilty to participating in what prosecutors call the largest college admissions scam uncovered in U.S. history.

Gordon Caplan, who the New York-based firm placed on leave after federal prosecutors in Boston brought charges against him last month, in a statement said he is taking "full and sole responsibility for my conduct."

Caplan is among 50 people federal prosecutors allege participated in schemes that involved cheating on college entrance exams and paying $25 million in bribes to buy the children of affluent Americans seats in well-known universities including Yale, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.

The scam's mastermind, California college admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer, has pleaded guilty to overseeing a racketeering scheme in which parents paid to help their children cheat on admissions tests and bribe coaches to present them as elite prospects in college sports such as sailing, crew and water polo even if they had no athletic experience.

Other accused parents including "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman and "Full House" actor Lori Loughlin.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)