Actor Felicity Huffman is among more than a dozen people who will plead guilty in the U.S. college admissions scandal as prosecutors aggressively wrest admissions from wealthy parents looking for deals to reduce their punishment.
The U.S. announced the agreements on Monday, identifying 13 parents and a University of Texas men’s tennis coach who have negotiated plea bargains in the largest college admissions scandal the U.S. has ever prosecuted. Many are making plea agreements that carry at least minimal prison time, although their lawyers will seek none.
Prosecutors have said the investigation continues and have indicated they will file further charges against others. In addition, a revised criminal complaint against two of the parents suggests a new avenue of investigation for the government -- tax and financial advisers who may have helped conceal bribes as charitable donations.
Huffman, 56, will plead guilty to a felony, prosecutors said. She’s accused of paying the scam’s ringleader, William Rick Singer, at least $15,000 to cheat on a standardized admissions test for her oldest daughter.
Her husband, actor William H. Macy, isn’t accused of wrongdoing, but prosecutors said in a complaint that “Huffman and her spouse” made a payment to Singer’s foundation “to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme” under the guise of a donation “to provide educational and self-enrichment programs to disadvantaged youth.”
“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,” Huffman said in a statement. “My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her.”
Prosecutors are taking a hard line with the 33 parents swept up in the scandal after charging them last month with a conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest-services mail fraud. Those who don’t enter into a deal risk an additional charge such as money laundering.
That charge was brought earlier against oncologist Gregory Colburn and his wife, Amy -- two of only three parents to be indicted so far -- after they balked at a plea. The Colburns have denied wrongdoing and vowed to clear their name in court.
Now Bruce Isackson, one of the 13 parents who said they’d plead guilty, faces the charge.
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