Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin among dozens of people trapped in a cheating system of an elite college, according to authorities

Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among more than four dozen people accused in a fraud scandal of college admissions involving wealthy people allegedly paying up to $ 6.5 million. to place their children in elite universities, announced court records released Tuesday.

The alleged scam – which allegedly placed students in prestigious universities, including Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, the University of Southern California, UCLA and the University of Texas – was led by William Rick Singer from California, who helped parents get their kids' college admission by bribes, unsealed court documents claim in Boston. Officials have been investigating this case, known as Operation Varsity Blues, for more than a year.

Singer, one of the founders of the Admissions Advisory Society, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Boston on Tuesday afternoon for racketeering conspiracy charges and obstruction of justice.

At least 13 people, including Mossimo Giannulli, husband of Huffman and Loughlin, were arrested on Tuesday morning and are expected to make their first court appearance later in the day.

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Singer headed the charity Key Worldwide Foundation, which received $ 25 million in total to guarantee admission, said US lawyer Andrew Lelling at a press conference on Tuesday. The charitable foundation would have been used as a facade to manage the admissions scheme.

"It's a case where [the parents] They have posted their wealth, sparing no expense to trick the system so that they can ensure the success of their children with the best possible price, "said Joseph Bonavolonta, of the FBI's external office in Boston, at a press conference.

Most of the students did not know that their admission was due to a bribe, the authorities said, but in some cases the children and their parents took part in the program.

"Singer would accept what parents want to do," said Lelling, adding that "it seems like schools are not involved."

The project would have involved extensive coordination with parents. Lelling said that Singer had the knack for making false references realistic enough to avoid inviting them to scrutiny.

The parents of the children allegedly paid a certain amount of money, knowing that they would be used for admission to the college. The money would then go to a SAT or ACT administrator or a university sports coach, who would simulate a profile for the prospective student – regardless of his or her ability, according to the documents of the student. charge.

"There can not be a separate college admissions system for the rich and there will also be no separate criminal justice system," Lelling said. "We are not talking about donating a building, so a school is more likely to take your son or daughter, we are talking about deception or fraud."

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In a telephone conversation with a parent, prosecutors said Singer described the company as follows: "We are helping the wealthiest families in the United States to educate their children. … My families want a guarantee. "

Singer would help the children of his clients by asking another person to take SAT or ACT tests on behalf of the youth, officials said. Parents would pay up to $ 75,000 for each test and transfer money to "charitable accounts". He would argue with his clients to find out which SAT or ACT score was desired, looking for something impressive but not too much. He would then ask Mark Riddell of Florida to take the exams for the students or "replace the students' answers with his own". Riddell has been working with Singer since 2011, according to documents.

"Singer used the parents' so-called charitable giving, at least in part, to bribe two SAT and ACT test administrators," court documents said.

Some parents reportedly took their children to a Singer-paid therapist to receive notes that they needed more time to pass standardized tests.

Rudy Meredith, former head coach of women's football at Yale, and John Vandemoer, sailing coach at Stanford University, were among the coaches involved in the alleged project. Vandemoer was fired from office, the university said in a statement on Tuesday.

Singer allegedly bribed the coaches to fill the university slots for new players with his clients' children. To avoid suspicion, coaches and Singer would have told prospective students to pose for photos or edit stock footage and Photoshop their faces on athletes' bodies, to support athletic-based admissions.

Meredith, who resigned from his post in November, created a false sports profile and declared that this person was a rookie on the Yale women's football team, even though the applicant "did not play competitive football", indicated officials. Singer reportedly gave Meredith $ 400,000 after the student was admitted to Yale.

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According to the documents, a Georgetown tennis coach received from Singer a bribe from 2012 to 2018 worth over $ 2.7 million.

"In exchange for bribes, the Georgetown coach named about 12 candidates as recruits to the Georgetown tennis team, some of whom did not play tennis competitively, which facilitated their efforts. admission to the university ", according to the document.

Some of the registered "student-athletes" would never have shown up for the practice, while others would pretend to be injured. Some briefly played and then stopped, said Lelling.

Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, were accused of taking advantage of the SAT and ACT. Macy was not among those charged on Tuesday.

Both parents would have helped their daughter upon admission to the university by making "an alleged charitable contribution of $ 15,000 … to participate in the cheat ploy at the entrance examination at the university. "University," according to the documents. "Huffman then made arrangements to continue the project a second time, for his younger daughter, before deciding not to do so."

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In an interview with Parade in January, Macy explained how applying to colleges was "stressful".

"She goes to college. … We are right now at the heart of the college application period, which is so stressful, "said Macy. "I think that once she has been accepted, she may take a sabbatical year. God do not let you be 18 years old twice. But that's just my opinion and we'll see what she wants to do, what Felicity thinks and how the chips fall. "

The court documents also indicated that "[Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli] agreed to pay bribes totaling $ 500,000 for the appointment of their two daughters as recruits to the USC crew, even though they were not part of the crew, thus facilitating their admission to USC. "

Lelling said the case is still an active investigation and that there could be more parents and coaches involved. The vast majority of children accepted under the alleged admission scheme would still be enrolled and would be active students.

Several colleges, including Yale, the University of Texas and USC, issued statements following Tuesday's press conference claiming they were "victims" of the bribery scheme.

"As stated in the indictment, the Justice Department believes that Yale was a victim of a crime committed by his former women's football coach." The university has cooperated fully with the investigation and will continue to cooperate as the case progresses, "Yale said. University spokesman Tom Conroy said in a statement.

USC announced that it will conduct its own internal investigation and "identify all funds received by the university as part of this so-called ploy".

Stanford said in his statement: "The charges indicate that Sailing Head Coach, John Vandemoer, has accepted financial contributions to the sail program of an intermediary by agreeing to recommend two potential students to be admitted to Stanford .. None of the students came to Stanford.This behavior is quite contrary to Stanford values ​​… According to the survey conducted by the Department of Justice to date, there is no evidence that the alleged conduct would involve anyone at Stanford or be associated with any other team, but we will conduct an internal review to confirm this. "

After the arrests, the College Board also issued a statement in which it pledged to always take "the necessary steps to ensure a level playing field for the overwhelming majority of candidates who are honest and who respect the rules."

"The arrests of today following an investigation by the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts send a clear message that those who facilitate cheating on the SAT – regardless of their income or of their status – will be held responsible, "said the Council of the Order. a comprehensive and robust approach to fighting cheating, and we are working closely with law enforcement as part of these efforts. "

Associated Press contributed to this report.