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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Felicity Huffman to Plead Guilty in College Bribes Case

The actress Felicity Huffman is among 13 parents in the sweeping college admissions scandal who will plead guilty to bribery and fraud charges, federal prosecutors said Monday.

BOSTON (CN) - The actress Felicity Huffman is among 13 parents in the sweeping college admissions scandal who will plead guilty to bribery and fraud charges, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Along with dozens of other parents, the defendants were arrested last month and charged with conspiring with William “Rick” Singer  who ran a college admissions program called the Edge College & Career Network.

Prosecutors say Huffman, who starred on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” paid $15,000 to have an agent of Singer correct her daughter’s SAT test.

Similar charges are believed to still be pending against “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. Huffman’s husband, the actor William H. Macy, was not charged.

Unlike the entrance-exam scheme, Loughlin and Giannnulli are said to have secured their daughters’ college admissions by having the girls listed as college athletes, thus lowering the academic threshold they would face for entry.

Singer also operated a third scheme involving a nonprofit fund that was allegedly used to launder bribe payments, leaving some parents facing additional tax-fraud charges.

All of the defendants who improperly took tax deductions for the bribe payments have agreed to cooperate with the IRS to pay back taxes, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Plea hearings have not yet been scheduled by the court. In addition to Huffman, the parents pleading guilty are Gregory Abbott, Marcia Abbott, Jane Buckingham, Gordon Caplan, Robert Flaxman, Agustin Huneeus, Marjorie Klapper, Peter Jan Sartorio, Stephen Semprevivo, Devin Sloane, Bruce Isackson and Davina Isackson.

Prosecutors say Michael Center, who was the head coach of men's tennis at University of Texas at Austin, also agreed to plead guilty Monday.

Mail-fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges provide for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, plus six-figure fines.

This story is developing...

Categories / Criminal, Education, Entertainment

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