(Reuters) – Law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher said on Wednesday it had placed co-Chairman Gordon Caplan on a leave of absence following charges involving a U.S. college fraud scheme.
“The firm will continue to be managed by its Chairmen, Steven Gartner and Thomas Cerabino, and its Executive Committee,” the U.S. firm said in a statement.
Federal authorities arrested dozens of people on Tuesday for a $25 million scheme to help wealthy Americans, including actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin and some CEOs, cheat their children’s way into elite universities, such as Yale and Stanford.
Caplan’s most prominent client is Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay Co, which also owns the Saks Fifth Avenue luxury retailer.
HBC declined to comment.
Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Lisa Shumaker