Felicity Huffman pleads guilty in college admissions scheme

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“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty Monday in the college admissions bribery scheme, the biggest name to do so in a scandal that has underscored the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into top universities.

The Emmy-winning actress, 56, could face prison time after she admitted to participating in the nationwide scam, in which authorities say parents bribed coaches, rigged entrance exams or both to game the admissions system.

Huffman pleaded guilty in federal court to paying an admissions consultant 15,000 U.S. dollars to have a proctor correct her older daughter's answers on the SAT. She also considered going through with the plan for her younger daughter before ultimately deciding not to, authorities said.

The consultant, Rick Singer, arranged for the cheating by having students obtain permission for extra time on the exams through diagnoses for things like learning disabilities, and then taking the exams at his testing center, prosecutors say.

In court, Huffman explained her daughter had been seeing a neuropsychologist for years and been getting extra time on tests since she was 11, an apparent attempt to explain that her daughter's doctor had no part in the scheme.

Actress Felicity Huffman (C) is escorted by a police officer as she enters the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse with her brother Moore Huffman Jr. (L) in Boston, May 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

"I just didn't want to create the impression that neuropsychologists have any part in this," a tearful Huffman said before stopping to collect herself.

Sentencing was set for September 13. Because she agreed to plead guilty, prosecutors said they would recommend four months in prison, but the judge could choose not to put her behind bars at all.

She arrived at court holding the hand of her brother Moore Huffman Jr. and did not say anything to journalists. In court, she wore a gray dress and a sweater and sat flanked by her attorneys while her brother watched from the front row. Her husband, actor William H. Macy, didn't attend.

Huffman had apologized in a statement last month and said she will accept the consequences. She said she "betrayed" her 18-year-old daughter, who was not aware of her plan.

"This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty," Huffman said.

Investigators have said Macy, 69, was with her when admissions consultant Rick Singer explained how he could arrange for the cheating because he "controlled" a test center. Both Huffman and Macy agreed to the plan, authorities said, but Macy has not been charged. Prosecutors have not explained why.

William "Rick" Singer leaves Boston Federal Court after being charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice in Boston, March 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

California businessman Devin Sloane also pleaded guilty Monday to paying 250,000 U.S. dollars in bribes to get his son into the University of Southern California as a fake water polo recruit. Officials said he bought athletic gear and worked with a designer to create a bogus photo of his son playing the sport for the application.

Huffman and Sloane are among 14 parents who agreed to plead guilty in the biggest admissions scandal ever prosecuted in the U.S., known as "Operation Varsity Blues." The scandal involves prestigious schools across the country and has also embroiled prominent college coaches.

The parents are accused of paying Singer to bribe coaches in exchange for helping their children get into schools as fake athletic recruits. Singer also paid off entrance exam administrators to allow someone else to take tests for students or fix their answers, authorities said.

Some parents and coaches who have agreed to plead guilty are cooperating with prosecutors against current or future co-defendants, but Huffman is not known to be among them.

Singer has pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering conspiracy. He began working with authorities last year and secretly recorded his conversations with actress Lori Loughlin, Huffman and other parents in the hopes of getting a lenient sentence.

Two girls wear Lori Loughlin mask at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

Some parents have decided to fight the charges, including "Full House" star Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who have pleaded not guilty to paying 500,000 U.S. dollars in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither is a rower.

Loughlin and Giannulli, who are also charged with money laundering conspiracy, have not publicly commented.

Huffman was a star of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," which won her an Emmy Award in 2005. She was nominated for an Oscar for playing a transgender woman in the movie "Transamerica."

Experts differ on whether Huffman's swift acceptance of responsibility will leave her with an acting career.

After she agreed to plead guilty, Netflix officials said that a film starring her, "Otherhood," would not be released as planned in April and that a new date would be determined. A limited series featuring Huffman on the Central Park Five case is expected to debut this month.

Biggest U.S. college fraud bust nets actors Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin

(Cover: Actor Felicity Huffman, accompanied by her brother Moore Huffman Jr., leaves the federal courthouse after facing charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme in Boston, May 13, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AP