This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/felicity-huffman-college-admissions-scandal.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Felicity Huffman and 13 Others to Plead Guilty in College Admissions Scandal Felicity Huffman and 13 Others to Plead Guilty in College Admissions Scandal
(32 minutes later)
The actress Felicity Huffman will plead guilty in the college admissions fraud scandal, prosecutors said on Monday, along with 12 other parents and one coach charged in the sweeping investigation. Felicity Huffman, the Hollywood actress, on Monday laid out a list of failings: Yes, she had paid a college counselor $15,000 to arrange for cheating on her daughter’s SAT test. And yes, it had backfired miserably, turning what Ms. Huffman said had been an effort to help her daughter into a betrayal of her.
According to prosecutors, Ms. Huffman paid William Singer, the college consultant at the center of the case, $15,000 to cheat on her older daughter’s SAT. “I am ashamed,” Ms. Huffman said, announcing that she will plead guilty to a federal crime, part of a sweeping investigation of college admissions fraud unveiled last month by prosecutors in Boston.
“My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her,” Ms. Huffman said in a statement. “This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life.” In the statement issued by Ms. Huffman, she said she wanted to apologize to her family, friends and colleagues, and especially, she said, “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.”
A total of 33 parents were charged as part of the investigation. One of two Hollywood actresses who were charged, Ms. Huffman is the highest-profile parent to admit wrongdoing. Ms. Huffman was one of 50 people charged in a sweeping investigation of college admissions fraud unveiled last month by federal prosecutors in Boston. On Monday, prosecutors said that 14 people — 13 parents and one coach — would plead guilty in the case. Dates for the formal pleas in court had yet to be set.
The actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, the fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were also charged in the case and have not yet indicated whether they will plead guilty or fight the charges. The government has said that the couple conspired with Mr. Singer to pay $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits to the women’s crew team, even though neither actually rowed crew. Ms. Loughlin has lost some professional opportunities as a result of the charges — most notably, the Hallmark Channel said that it would stop development of shows that feature her. Ms. Huffman said that her daughter had been unaware of the cheating — prosecutors say a proctor corrected her test answers after she had left. And Ms. Huffman acknowledged that, in an attempt to assist her daughter, she had ultimately hurt and betrayed her.
It was not clear what impact Ms. Huffman’s acknowledgment of guilt would have on her career. She has roles in several coming movies and television series, including playing the prosecutor Linda Fairstein in the mini-series “When They See Us” about the so-called Central Park Five, five black and Hispanic teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989. “This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life,” she said. “My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”
Ms. Huffman was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but it was unclear how much, if any, time Ms. Huffman would receive. Sentences in the college admissions case may be affected in part by how much money each parent is alleged to have paid to Mr. Singer and others as part of the scheme. Ms. Huffman’s payment of $15,000 was among the smallest, according to court documents. The case prosecutors have laid out centers on a college consultant, William Singer, whom Ms. Huffman and the other parents hired to guide them through the application process. According to prosecutors, Mr. Singer specialized in boosting students’ chances through fraud: He bribed test administrators to allow cheating on college entrance exams and bribed college coaches to designate his clients’ children as recruits to teams for which they were not actually qualified. Mr. Singer cooperated with prosecutors and has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges.
The Justice Department charged 50 people in the case, its largest ever college admissions prosecution. Those charged included parents, coaches, and test administrators for the SAT and ACT. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Singer bribed the test administrators to allow cheating on the college entrance exams and bribed the coaches to designate his clients’ children as recruits to teams for which they were not actually qualified. Mr. Singer cooperated with prosecutors and has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges. A total of 33 parents were charged in the case. Some have made clear they will fight the charges, while others may still be debating what to do. Ms. Huffman is the highest-profile parent to admit wrongdoing in the case so far.
The actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, the fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were also charged and were not among those who prosecutors said on Monday would plead guilty. The government has said that the couple conspired with Mr. Singer to pay $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits to the women’s crew team, even though neither actually rowed crew. Ms. Loughlin has lost some professional opportunities as a result of the charges — most notably, the Hallmark Channel said that it would stop development of shows that feature her.
It is not clear what impact Ms. Huffman’s acknowledgment of guilt will have on her career. She has roles in several coming movies and television series, including playing the prosecutor Linda Fairstein in the mini-series “When They See Us” about the so-called Central Park Five, five black and Hispanic teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of beating and raping a female jogger in Central Park in 1989.
Prosecutors said that Ms. Huffman and most of the other parents would plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but it is unclear how much time, if any, Ms. Huffman and the other parents will receive.
Their sentences may be affected in part by how much money each is alleged to have paid to Mr. Singer and others as part of the scheme. Ms. Huffman’s payment of $15,000 was among the smallest, according to court documents. Ms. Huffman’s and the 12 other parents’ sentences are also likely to be lighter as a result of their pleading guilty and not making the government go to trial.
In addition to the parents, prosecutors said on Monday that one of several coaches charged in the case, Michael Center, the former head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, would also plead guilty to the same crime. Prosecutors said that Mr. Singer paid Mr. Center $60,000 in cash and directed $40,000 to the University of Texas tennis program in exchange for Mr. Center designating the son of one of Mr. Singer’s clients as a recruit for the tennis team, even though he was not a competitive tennis player and did not ultimately play on the team.
Two parents, Bruce and Davina Isackson of Hillsborough, Calif., have also agreed to cooperate, prosecutors said. The Isacksons were accused of paying Mr. Singer $600,000 to bribe athletics officials in order to secure their two daughters’ admission to U.C.L.A. and U.S.C. as athletic recruits, and to cheat on their younger daughter’s ACT.
According to the criminal complaint against Ms. Huffman, her husband, William H. Macy, was also involved in the $15,000 payment to Mr. Singer. For reasons that are unclear, Mr. Macy was not charged.According to the criminal complaint against Ms. Huffman, her husband, William H. Macy, was also involved in the $15,000 payment to Mr. Singer. For reasons that are unclear, Mr. Macy was not charged.
Among the other parents who had said in recent days that they would plead guilty is Gordon Caplan, a lawyer from Greenwich, Conn. His former firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which had placed him on leave, said that in light of his acknowledgment of guilt, he was no longer employed there. On Monday, two other parents, Bruce and Davina Isackson of Hillsborough, Calif., issued a statement expressing regret and saying that they were cooperating with prosecutors. Ms. Isackson’s lawyer, David Willingham, said they both intended to plead guilty. The number of students who have been punished as a result of the investigation is also growing. Last week, Stanford announced that it had expelled a student who had falsely claimed in her application to be a competitive sailor and had vacated the credits that she had already accumulated. The student’s name has not been made public. The former Stanford sailing coach, John Vandemoer, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and has acknowledged accepting donations to his sailing program from Mr. Singer in exchange for agreeing to use recruiting slots for Mr. Singer’s clients.
“No words can express how profoundly sorry we are for what we have done,” the Isacksons said in a statement. “Our duty as parents was to set a good example for our children and instead we have harmed and embarrassed them by our misguided decisions.” The student whom Stanford expelled, the daughter of a client of Mr. Singer’s, was not actually recruited as a sailor, but after she was admitted, Mr. Singer directed $500,000 to Stanford’s sailing program.