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Hollywood star Felicity Huffman and 12 other parents indicted in a cheating college admissions scandal have agreed to plead guilty in the high-profile case nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues, according to a document filed Monday in court federal in Boston.
One of the coaches involved in the project also agreed to plead guilty.
"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions and I betrayed her in a mistaken and deeply erroneous way. This transgression to her and to the public that I will carry all my life, "said Huffman in a statement.
Under her plea agreement filed on Monday, federal prosecutors calculated her range of sentencing guidelines from 4 to 10 months and said they would recommend that she serve a sentence "to the lower end "of this range. They also sought a fine of $ 20,000 and a "restitution of an amount to be determined by the court at the time of sentencing".
Huffman's lawyers, however, calculated the sentence range differently, saying it was between zero and six months for their famous client, according to the plea agreement.
The presiding judge finally has the last word on the sentence.
Huffman, 56, was among the top 50 celebrities, including celebrities, coaches, and financiers, who were accused last month of a ploy in which wealthy parents paid bribes. ranging from $ 15,000 to $ 1.2 million to help their best kids colleges in the nation.
Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, who is not charged, allegedly paid $ 15,000 to a charity headed by alleged leader William "Rick" Singer, according to the documents filed by the court. Singer reportedly made arrangements for an accomplice to monitor his daughter's SAT exam in December 2017 and then correct his answers, scoring 1420 points, an increase of 400 points from his PSAT score.
Huffman is best known for her roles on the TV show "Desperate Housewives" and the movie "Transamerica".
His statement on Monday was a complete mea culpa.
"I am fully aware of my guilt and, with deep regret and shame for what I have done, accept responsibility for my actions and accept the consequences that flow from them," Huffman said.
She added that she is "ashamed of the pain I have caused to my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and most importantly, I apologize to the hard-working students every day for entering the university and their parents who are doing enormous sacrifices to support their children and do it honestly.
Other parents who agreed to plead guilty were Bruce Isackson, a 61-year-old Californian real estate developer, and his wife, Davina, who is 55 years old.
In a statement on Monday, the couple said: "No word can express how deeply we are sorry for what we have done. As parents, our duty was to set a good example for our children. Instead, we hurt and embarrassed them with our wrong decisions. "
The Isackson said they dropped their entire community.
"We have worked in cooperation with prosecutors and will continue to do so because we take full responsibility for our poor judgment," the couple said.
Other parents continue to fight, including another Hollywood star, Lori Loughlin, known for her roles in "Full House", "Fuller House" and "Beverly Hills 90210".
Huffman and Loughlin appeared for the first time in the Moakley court in the seaport last week and were both released on bail. The actresses were among the 32 parents charged last month with conspiracy to commit postal fraud
In some cases, parents would have paid the program's admitted brain, university consultant William "Rick" Singercq, for someone else to pass their children's SAT or ACT exams or correct their responses through the after. In other cases, parents are accused of paying bribes to Singer to encourage coaches to designate their children as sports recruits for sports they have not practiced – which guarantees their admission. at colleges like Georgetown, Yale, the University of Southern California and San Diego.
Documents filed in court indicate that some children were not aware of fraud schemes, while others would have been active participants.
Singer began cooperating with federal authorities in September and recorded secret conversations with some parents. He admitted to rigging a system in which parents paid bribes to his company disguised as charitable donations.
Shelley Murphy can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymurph.
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