Felicity Huffman has accepted a plea deal from the federal government that includes prison time for her role in the college cheating scam. Huffman is among 14 people who entered guilty pleas in a Boston, Massachusetts courtroom on Monday, April 8.
The ‘Desperate Housewives’ star admitted she paid $15,000 to a SAT exam proctor to give her daughter more time to take the SAT test. Huffman was charged with mail fraud as well as honest services mail fraud.
She is the first of the celebrity accusers to plead guilty and accept her punishment. Her husband, actor William H. Macy, was not charged in the case, but he was present in the courtroom when Huffman plead guilty.
Huffman released a statement which reads:
“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.”
Fuller House star Lori Loughlin, pictured leaving a Boston courthouse last week, did not plead guilty on Monday. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, did not accept plea deals that would guarantee prison time.
They face longer prison terms than Huffman, who could be sentenced to a maximum of 27 months in prison.
Loughlin and Giannulli were both charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud last month.
They are accused of paying a California man $500,000 to help their 2 daughters gain admission to USC. The couple was not charged with the more serious offense of income tax evasion for writing off the $500,000 as a charitable donation on their taxes, which could’ve landed them in federal prison for decades.
Friends say Loughlin will take her chances with a jury.
Photos by Paul Marotta/Getty Images
