Desperate Housewives: Felicity Huffman, prey against fraud – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

The US Department of Justice has unveiled a network of millionaire bribes from wealthy families, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, to make it easier for their children to access prestigious universities such as Yale, Georgetown or Stanford.

"This is the biggest fraud in university admission ever pursued by the Department of Justice"Attorney General of Mbadachusetts, Andrew Lelling, said at a press conference in Boston.

The prosecutor said that formal charges were filed against fifty people, including university directors, test supervisors, parents and coaches.

"Since the beginning of 2011, the defendants – mainly people whose children were asking to enter the university – have conspired with other people to use bribes. wine or other forms of fraud to facilitate the admission of their children to the university ", said the text of the indictment.

Lelling noted that students did not know that they had access to universities as a result of bribes paid by their parents.

"These parents represent a catalog of wealth and privilege, including CEOs of public and private companies, successful financial and real estate investors, two well-known actresses and a renowned fashion designer," he added.

Some of the universities mentioned in the court document are Yale, Georgetown, Stanford and the University of Southern California, among others.

In total, the accused paid a total of $ 25 million.

The Oscar nominee, Felicity Huffman, charged with conspiracy to commit postal fraud and honest services or functions, according to court documents filed in the Federal Court of Mbadachusetts. Huffman was arrested in Los Angeles and would be released on bail.

As for Huffman, she and her husband, the famous actor William H. Macy, supposedly they made a contribution of $ 15,000 for their son to pbad the entrance examination. A quantity of money that the protagonist of Desperate Housewives would have disguised as a gift of charity.

The indictment indicates that the girl had twice as much time to pbad the entrance exam, than other students and the paid supervisor agreed to correct secretly his answers.

The court documents show that one of the university directors had met Huffman and her husband at his home in Los Angeles to explain to them what they should do if they wanted their daughter to study. in this city without following established procedures. The family accepted the market.

According to the complaint, the actress and Macy had considered using the same method to help their youngest daughter, but eventually gave up.

In the case of the actress Lori Loughlin, known for her participation in the television series "Full House", and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to pay $ 500,000 bribes in exchange for accepting her two daughters in the rowing team of the University of Southern California, while they were not practicing the sport and thus facilitating their admission .

Other parents have paid to submit falsified examinations of their children and get higher marks in order to enter these educational centers, among the most prestigious in the country.