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Officials said the actresses were involved in the biggest corruption case in admired universities in a country, prosecuted by the Justice Ministry.
UNITED STATES TODAY & # 39; HUI
It does not happen every day: Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin and the husband of Loughlin fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli were arrested on Tuesday and accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to trick their girls into college.
The three men were charged with nearly 50 other people for a project in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and insiders in university testing centers to help their children attend some of the most prestigious schools. from the country, announced federal prosecutors for drama news. conference in Boston.
Elizabeth Much, a spokeswoman for Huffman, told USA TODAY that she had "no information to share at the moment".
Representatives of Loughlin and Giannulli have not responded to US messages today.
USA TODAY examined pages of court documents filed by the FBI and the US Attorney's Office in Boston to find out what prosecutors allege as the reasons they were charged with mail fraud and "honest service mail fraud" , or of a ploy "depriving others of the immaterial right of honest services".
In other words, by claiming to bribe school officials, they deprived other candidates of a fair chance of being admitted, as parents paid for those places, says James. Cohen, law professor at Fordham University in New York.
"If I pay the people admitted this money, I do not deprive myself. I do not care about honest services, "said Cohen in the US TODAY" HUI. " In fact, it's the last thing I want. But I deprive others of the use of honest services. "
Here is what the court documents say:
Felicity Huffman, 56 years old
Their children: The Oscar-nominated actress and her husband, William H. Macy, 68, have two daughters, Sophia Grace, 18, and Georgia Grace, who will turn 17 on March 14.
Her husband"Macy is not on the list of nearly 40 parents accused of participating in the nationwide bribery scheme, and the FBI affidavit mentions it only as a "spouse." The affidavit indicates, however, that Huffman's "spouse" participated in conversations in their home in Los Angeles with a confidential witness about the scheme.
What have they allegedly done?: Huffman and his "wife" made a "so-called" $ 15,000 donation to Key Worldwide Foundation, a charity based in Newport Beach, California, in February 2018, according to the affidavit.
The "contribution" was intended to "participate in the cheat ploy at the college entrance exam on behalf of his eldest daughter" prior to the December 2017 SAT college entrance examination. The SAT is the most common examination of high school students before applying to colleges and universities.
"Huffman then made arrangements to continue the scheme a second time, before deciding not to do so, for his younger daughter," the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, according to his affidavit, a person identified as CW-1 (cooperating witness) told Huffman and his wife that he "controlled" a collegiate test center where his daughter could spend the day. SAT collegiate and a "third party" would purport to monitor (or monitor during the exam) the girl and "secretly correct her answers thereafter".
"CW-1 informed the investigators that Huffman and his wife had accepted the plan," the affidavit states.
The girl took the test at the West Hollywood Test Center instead of her own high school. According to the affidavit, another person, identified as CW-2, flew from Tampa to Los Angeles in December to monitor the SAT test.
CW-2 told investigators that every time he was in Los Angeles to monitor an exam, he "facilitated cheating, either by correcting the student's responses after the test, or by letting them out." 39; actively assisting during the examination ".
"In the end, Huffman's daughter scored 1420 points in the SAT, an improvement of about 400 points over her PSAT (the preliminary SAT test), passed without CW-2 a year earlier" , adds the affidavit.
Lori Loughlin on July 26, 2018 in Beverly Hills. (Photo: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images)
Lori Loughlin, 54, and Mossimo Giannulli, 55
Their children: The Emmy Award-winning day actress and her husband, a fashion designer, have two daughters together, Isabella Rose, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19, who has YouTube channel of beauty tips.
What have they allegedly done?: Investigators say in the affidavit that "in July 2016, the couple" agreed to pay bribes totaling US $ 500,000 in return for the designation of their two girls as recruits to the USC team (University of Southern California), while they did not participate in. crew, thus facilitating their admission to USC. "
CW-1 informed Giannulli in a July 2016 email that her eldest daughter's academic credentials were at or just below the "low threshold" of USC admission standards. Subsequently, the Giannullis agreed with CW-1 to use bribes to facilitate his admission to USC as a recruited helmsman, even though she did not participate in competitions or to a crew, "says the affidavit.
In October 2016, CW-1 asked the couple "to send $ 50,000 to Donna Heinel, Deputy Director of Women's Sports at USC". The girl was informed that she had been admitted in March 2017 and a week later, the couple had received a $ 200,000 invoice from the Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF).
In April, Giannulli transferred the money to KWF. "The next day, a CW-1 employee sent the Giannullis an acknowledgment of receipt of KWF that wrongly stated that no goods or services were exchanged" for the alleged donation "to the so-called charity. considered a charity and a tax deduction, no property or service can be exchanged for alleged charitable donations. "
Heinel was among many university sports officials charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering in the case.
The affidavit says that the Giannullis have also followed the same process for their younger daughter to be admitted to the USC.
According to one of Olivia Jade's online videos, she was not in anyway interested in the university because of her busy work schedule, as she did. explained to nearly 2 million followers in the summer of 2018.
"I do not know how many studies I will go to school," she said in the video. "But I'm going to talk to my deans and everyone and hope that I can try to balance everything. But I want to live the experience, for example, match days, the party … I do not really care about school, as you all know.
She then apologized in another video.
What happens next?
What are the durations and penalties of these charges if there is a conviction?
Each charge is punishable by a minimum five-year sentence, Cohen said.
"And the fines are huge – they're in the hundreds of thousands of dollars – but the fines seem to be the least of those people's worries," said Cohen, who would have been willing to pay huge sums of money to cheat.
"So you have a possible jail sentence and there will probably be more than one charge with respect to each individual," added Cohen. "So you have a possibility of two sentences of imprisonment and a large fine."
Where will the accused appear for the first time?
Cohen says that they will be brought to justice and will plead in front of the nearest federal courthouse or will be summoned to Boston to answer the charges.
"I think the odds are really good.In these high-profile cases, prosecutors like to keep the case close," Cohen said. "So, if I'm the prosecutor, I could say to the people of Los Angeles," You have three days to go to Boston. "So you have three days' notice or maybe longer, know that one of those people is considered a risk of theft."
What will happen in court?
Some of the defendants will be in court to plead guilty, said Cohen. At their press conference, prosecutors also said that at least two of the defendants would plead guilty on Tuesday.
"Those who plead guilty most likely do so because they cooperate with prosecutors … and that their agreement is already in place, and by agreement, I mean that they plead before one, two or four charge leaders. "
Subsequently, their files will be sent for an internship report or a preliminary inquiry. "It will be adjourned for two to three months – maybe longer, depending on the backlog in the Massachusetts district – and they will leave there."
As this is a high profile case, the accused may be required to post a bond. "But it is highly unlikely that a bond will be set at a level such that anyone will remain in detention because he can not get bail," Cohen said.
Because the defendants appear to be prominent members of the community who are not at risk of flight, said Cohen, "they could simply be released on their own pledge and not have to pay anything in terms of bail."
Prosecutors may also request electronic surveillance and handing over passports.
What is the probability that these cases are judged?
Cohen says it would be unusual in federal court if any of these cases are tried.
"And it's because it's likely the federal government has blocked everything – it's saved everything." And there are also documents, "said Cohen." The evidence will be pretty solid. Prosecutors do not have to make extraordinary efforts to get the evidence. "
The best solution for the accused can be an advocacy agreement, said Cohen. "I think that a plea will probably be the best deal you will get, even if it does not seem to be the case for these people at the moment.
"Do not forget that this is a world in which this kind of thing – criminal prosecution – is foreign, neither parents nor children have any contact with the criminal justice system, and they will not like it. they see. "
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