Ex-Willkie Co-Chair Gordon Caplan To Plead Guilty in College Cheating Case
Gordon Caplan, former co-chairman of Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, left, leaves the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston with his lawyer Joshua Levy, of Ropes & Gray, right, after his initial appearance in the college admissions bribery scandal April 3, 2019. Photo: Jack Newsham/ALM
Gordon Caplan, the suspended co-chairman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher charged last month with paying bribes to rig his daughter's college admissions test, said Friday he would plead guilty.
In a statement sent by his attorneys, Caplan said he takes "full and sole responsibility" for his misconduct and said he plans to plead guilty to the charge against him, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The charge carries a legal maximum of 20 years in prison.
"I apologize not only to my family, friends, colleagues and the legal Bar, but also to students everywhere who have been accepted to college through their own hard work," the statement said. "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.
"My immediate goal is to focus on making amends for my actions to try to win back the trust and respect of my daughter, my family, and my community," the statement continued. "The remorse and shame that I feel is more than I can convey."
Caplan is represented by Joshua Levy and Michael McGovern of Ropes & Gray and Patrick Smith and Sarah Zimmer of Smith Villazor.
Representatives for Willkie Farr & Gallgher were not immediately available to comment Friday.
