Ever since the nationwide college admissions scandal news broke a few weeks ago, a majority of the attention paid to this illegal scheme has focused on Lori Loughlin. This has likely been the case for two reasons: She is best known for playing a whole character on a family sitcom; and the daughter she illegally helped get into college totally sucks as a human being . But another very well-known name has also been at the center of this controversy — and now Felicity Huffman has taken over the spotlight for an afternoon. The veteran actress pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud as well as honest services mail fraud on Monday. Huffman was one of 13 defendents to plead guilty to these crimes in a courtroom, as the former Desperate Housewives star has confessed to paying Rick Singer $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT test. The teenager ended up with twice the amount of time as normal to take this exam, due to the bribery, while a proctor corrected her answers afterward. In the end, Sofia scored a 1420 on the SATs, 400 points higher than she had scored on the PSAT. On March 12, Huffman was arrested and released on a $250,000 bond; she was charged at the time with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and, according to the official complaint. Her husband, actor William H. Macy was mentioned in the indictment as having agreed to the scam, but never charged with a crime. “I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” Huffman said in a statement on Monday. She continued: “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. “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. “My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. “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.” In a case such as this, the prosecutor recommends a sentence to the judge, while the latter has the final say on what sort of punishment is apt for the crime at hand. As of this writing, it’s unknown whether or not Huffman will face any jail time. She had been facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines — but it’s impossible to believe she receives anything close to that sentence in the end. Huffman portrayed Lynette Scavo in Desperate Housewives for every episode of that ABC drama. She has also enjoyed extended roles in American Crime and Get Shorty. The actress has also been nominated for an Academy Award. Attention will now turn to Loughlin, who is accused of bribing officials at the University of Southern California with $500,000 in order to pretend her kids were high school crew team members. This lie prompted the two daughters to have their admissions standards lowered because the school considered them to be athletic recruits. Neither Loughlin nor her arrested husband have spoken out yet on these allegations, choosing to keep a mostly low profile over the past month or so. Both Huffman and Loughlin, it’s worth noting, have also been sued for $500 billion .
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Felicity Huffman Pleads Guilty in College Bribery Scandal, Admits to Shame
