USC Admissions Scandal: Felicity Huffman Sheds Tears as She Pleads Guilty

LifestyleMay 16, 2019

Recently, Felicity Huffman, 56, the Emmy award winning actress broke down before a federal judge while admitting to paying $15,000 to a fake charity, to facilitate her daughter’s cheating during the SATs for college admission. The charity was connected to Rick Singer, who confessed to helping financially-endowed parents cheat during the standardized exams that their kids would take. Singer also paid bribes to college coaches to designate these kids as recruited athletes, thereby opening the doors of admission to them, a criminal complaint says.

While denying any knowledge of Singer paying others, Huffman accepted all other charges of the prosecutors. Prosecutors recommended a four month prison sentence, a $20,000 fine and 12 months of supervised release for her felony charge in the college admissions scandal, to the Desperate Housewives star when she appeared in court in Boston. The sentence will be announced on September 13. Huffman’s husband, actor William H. Macy, escaped all charges.

Prosecutors said Singer and Huffman exchanged emails for providing her daughter extra time to take the SAT exam and arranged for Huffman’s daughter to take the test in a controlled location where the controller had been bribed. Huffman’s daughter received a SAT score of 1420 out of a possible 1600 (400 points higher than her earlier Preliminary SAT exam scores). Prosecutors alleged that Huffman discussed the scheme in a recorded phone call with Singer who pleaded guilty in March to multiple charges of racketeering. Singer will be sentenced on September 19.

Huffman and 13 other parents pleaded guilty in the scam, accepting full responsibility and consequences for actions with deep regret and shame. She felt ashamed for having caused pain to her daughter, her family, friends, colleagues and the entire educational community. She apologized to the students working hard daily to get into college, and their parents who made enormous sacrifices to support their children honestly. Seventeen people, including Full House actress Lori Loughlin, pleaded not guilty.