CEO charged in college scandal says he resigned, but firm says he was fired

• Bill McGlashan, CEO of a fund managed by private equity firm TPG, says he resigned after being charged in the college cheating scam, but the company says it fired him
• McGlashan allegedly paid to have his son's ACT exam doctored and to have a phony football profile created to help get him in the University of California
  
• Another prominent financial executive also lost his job in connection with the scandal

A second financial executive left his job this week after being charged in a sweeping college admissions scam that has the Justice Department accusing some 50 parents of cheating and bribery to get their children into elite schools.

Bill McGlashan, CEO of a "social-impact" investment fund managed by private equity firm TPG, was "terminated for cause" from his position with TPG, the company said by email. But McGlashan, who managed TPG Growth, which invested in companies including Spotify and Airbnb, disputed the characterization, with a spokesperson emailing that McGlashan had resigned Thursday afternoon. 

"The progress we have made is too important for you to be distracted by the issues I am facing personally," McGlashan wrote TPG board members in a message forwarded to media outlets, including CBS MoneyWatch. He also led TPG's Rise Fund, which touts itself as investing for social and environmental good.  

In a statement, however, TPG suggested the firm had asked McGlashan to leave: "After reviewing the allegations of personal misconduct in the criminal complaint, we believe the behavior described to be inexcusable and antithetical to the values of our entire organization."

Another parent facing federal charges in the admissions scandal, Hercules Capital co-founder and CEO Manuel Henriquez, has "voluntarily stepped aside,"  from the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, the company said earlier this week. He will remain a Hercules board member and adviser. 

Released on $500,000 bail after his arrest on fraud charges Tuesday, Henriquez is accused of paying at least $250,000 to buy his daughter's entry into Georgetown University, and is one of 50 people indicted in a scheme unveiled by federal prosecutors Tuesday.

In addition to parents of college applicants, others charged include ACT and SAT administrators, a test proctor, and coaches at Yale, Stanford and the University of Southern California.

McGlashan allegedly paid to have his son's ACT exam doctored and to have a phony football profile created to help him get into the University of California. 

Lawyer Gordon Caplan, co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, is reportedly on leave of absence from his law firm, which did not immediately return a request for comment.

Accused of paying $75,000 to have his daughter's college test score fixed, Caplan was was released on a $500,000 bond after a court appearance Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.