September 13, 2019
Felicity Huffman Sentenced in College Admissions Scandal
Felicity Huffman was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in the college admissions scandal.
Adam Bagni of WCVB reports Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison, and was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine. She is also required to perform community service.
The former “Desperate Housewives” star had looked somber in a navy blue dress and nude heels as she arrived to John Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston with her husband William H. Macy by her side to hear her sentence.
She later released a statement, saying, in part, “I accept the court's decision today without reservation. I have always been prepared to accept whatever punishment Judge Talwani imposed. I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period.”
The news comes after Huffman was arrested in March, and later pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Huffman released a statement in April accepting responsibility for her actions that read: “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions."
She continued, “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”
Felicity insisted that her daughter knew nothing of her actions, claiming “in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her.”
The star ended by saying, “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.”
According to court documents obtained by “Extra,” Huffman allegedly gave a “purported charitable contribution of $15,000... to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme,” which gave her daughter twice the amount of time to take the SAT, and a secret proctor corrected her answers afterwards. The document added, “Huffman later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so."
Huffman's husband William H. Macy, who was only listed as her “spouse” in the papers, was not indicted in the scandal.
Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were also arrested in the bust. The docs state, "[Loughlin] agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC."
Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty. Their next court date is a status conference set for October 2.