A Hollywood executive has become the latest person charged in the massive college admissions scandal to feel the professional fallout.
Bill McGlashan, founding partner of the private equity investment firm TPG Growth and cofounder of STX Entertainment, said in a letter to board members Thursday he was stepping down to focus on his family after he was one of dozens of wealthy and powerful people charged with paying a man to facilitate bribes and artificially boost entrance exams to get their children into elite universities.
Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives and Full House actor Lori Loughlin, along with her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were also among those charged in the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors allege McGlashan donated $50,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation, the firm that facilitated the scheme, so that his son could take the ACT exam at an offsite location where his test answers could later be corrected before being submitted. According to the criminal complaint, FBI agents also recorded him discussing ways to create fake athletic profiles of his son in order for him to be admitted to USC as a team recruit.
In his letter to board members, McGlashan said, "The progress we have made is too important for you to be distracted by the issues I am facing personally."
"I am deeply sorry this very difficult situation may interfere with the work to which I have devoted my life," he wrote. "As you can imagine, my primary concern at this point is for my family. I will also be focused on addressing the allegations that have been presented, and there are aspects of the story that have yet to emerge that I wish I could share."
Since 2015, STX Entertainment has released over two dozen films, including The Upside, the Bad Moms franchise, and The Edge of Seventeen.
McGlashan also established the Rise Fund, a venture capital fund that attracted big names, including U2's Bono, with the mission of ethical investing.
His letter came on the same day TPG placed McGlashan on indefinite administrative leave "effective immediately," according to an internal memo obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.
Also on Thursday, the Hallmark Channel fired Loughlin, a longtime actor who appeared in several of its shows, citing the charges she faces in connection with the alleged scheme.