Felicity Huffman and 12 other wealthy parents have accepted plea deals in the college admissions cheating case, according to published reports.
Huffman and the others will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Huffman, who starred on ABC’s Desperate Housewives, allegedly paid California-based Edge College & Career Network $15,000 to get her older daughter unlimited time to take the SAT test. The payment was disguised to look like a tax-deductible donation, prosecutors previously said.
The actress’ husband, Shameless star William H. Macy, was not charged in the sweeping FBI investigation.
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In a statement Monday, Huffman said she accepts responsibility for her actions.
“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 said. “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.”
The actress went on to apologize to other students who get into college without gaming the system.
“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.
The 56-year-old star added that her daughter “knew absolutely nothing” about the scheme.
On March 12, federal investigators announced 50 high-profile individuals, including Huffman and Full House actress Lori Loughlin, were charged in a scam that involved changing college entrance test results, hiring proctors to take exams for children and superimposing their kids’ faces onto pictures of real student athletes, to guarantee college admission through athletics programs.
Federal officials said 33 parents paid businessman William Rick Singer to get their children into elite colleges, including Georgetown University, Stanford University, UCLA, the University of San Diego, USC, the University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale. The amounts parents paid ranged from thousands of dollars to $6.5 million, authorities said.
Singer pleaded guilty last month to money laundering, racketeering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Federal officials said he accepted $25 million in bribes from parents between 2011 and 2018.
