In March, 50 Americans were indicted for their alleged participation in a college admissions scheme in which parents paid businessman William Singer to fraudulently influence their children's college applications, among them actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin. Now, Huffman has been sentenced to prison over her role in the scheme.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Huffman to 14 days of jail time, a $30,000 USD fine, one year of supervised release and 250 hours of community service. Of the 33 parents named in the affidavit, Huffman is the first to be sentenced; other people named in the case included coaches and athletic administrators from eight universities.
Huffman was charged with one count of mail fraud for allegedly paying $15,000 USD to Singer's "charity" in exchange for improved SAT scores for her daughter, to which Huffman pleaded guilty. Her husband, William H. Macy, was not named in the affidavit.
In the wake of her sentencing, Huffman has shared the following apology:
I accept the court's decision today without reservation. I have always been prepared to accept whatever punishment Judge Talwani imposed. I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period.
I would like to apologize again to my daughter, my husband, my family and the educational community for my actions. And I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children.
I have learned a lot over the last six months about my flaws as a person. My goal now is to serve the sentence that the court has given me. I look forward to doing my community service hours and making a positive impact on my community. I also plan to continue making contributions wherever I can well after those service hours are completed.
I can promise you that in the months and years to come that I will try and live a more honest life, serve as a better role model for my daughters and family and continue to contribute my time and energies wherever I am needed.
My hope now is that my family, my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions.
Since the actors' participation in the scheme was revealed, a movie starring Huffman was indefinitely delayed by Netflix, while Loughlin was fired from three shows, including Fuller House. Loughlin has since pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Huffman to 14 days of jail time, a $30,000 USD fine, one year of supervised release and 250 hours of community service. Of the 33 parents named in the affidavit, Huffman is the first to be sentenced; other people named in the case included coaches and athletic administrators from eight universities.
Huffman was charged with one count of mail fraud for allegedly paying $15,000 USD to Singer's "charity" in exchange for improved SAT scores for her daughter, to which Huffman pleaded guilty. Her husband, William H. Macy, was not named in the affidavit.
In the wake of her sentencing, Huffman has shared the following apology:
I accept the court's decision today without reservation. I have always been prepared to accept whatever punishment Judge Talwani imposed. I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period.
I would like to apologize again to my daughter, my husband, my family and the educational community for my actions. And I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children.
I have learned a lot over the last six months about my flaws as a person. My goal now is to serve the sentence that the court has given me. I look forward to doing my community service hours and making a positive impact on my community. I also plan to continue making contributions wherever I can well after those service hours are completed.
I can promise you that in the months and years to come that I will try and live a more honest life, serve as a better role model for my daughters and family and continue to contribute my time and energies wherever I am needed.
My hope now is that my family, my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions.
Since the actors' participation in the scheme was revealed, a movie starring Huffman was indefinitely delayed by Netflix, while Loughlin was fired from three shows, including Fuller House. Loughlin has since pleaded not guilty.