Felicity Huffman is on the verge of becoming the first condemned parent for the university admissions scandal on Friday

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Huffman, who along with fellow actress Lori Loughlin, is one of the most prominent parents in the admissions scandal, will be sentenced on Friday.

And while former actress "Desperate Housewives" is expected to speak in front of a crowded courtroom, Huffman has already sent a letter to Judge Indira Talwani last week in which she tried to explain why she had given $ 15,000 to brain of the scam to improve his daughter's scores at SAT.

"In my desperate desire to be a good mother, I persuaded myself that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot," said Huffman in a three-page letter. "I see the irony in this statement now because what I have done is the opposite of justice.I've broken the law, cheated the middle of the education. , betrayed my daughter and let my family down. "

Huffman's letter adds yet another dimension to Talwani's sentencing decision.

Prosecutors and the defense differ on the length of sentence

After Huffman pleaded guilty this year to conspiracy to commit postal fraud and honest services, prosecutors, defense lawyers and even US officials of probation and pretrial detention are fighting over how to punish mother of two children.

Prosecutors have suggested a month in jail and a $ 20,000 fine to Huffman.

His lawyers do not require any jail time, one year probation, 250 hours of community service and a $ 20,000 fine.

In a motion filed on Wednesday, Mr. Huffman's defense team said the government memo cited examples of previous cases that were "very different" from his and that any comparison is " a potato".

Huffman's lawyers argued that the sentencing guidelines in these cases were much stricter and reserved for the brains of the schemes, not just participants.

Prosecutors argued that universities and testing companies were victims of these schemes, and that the amount paid to parents must reflect the severity of the punishment.

However, the Probation and Pre-Trial Services of the United States, which prepares the preliminary investigation reports for each accused, generally stated that the universities and testing companies had not suffered any pecuniary damage and that the price bribery of the parents was therefore irrelevant. And if Talwani adheres to this argument, it could mean more lenient sentences for parents, including Huffman.
Actress Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy and should be sentenced on Friday.

Huffman explains his actions

More than 50 people – parents, coaches, test administrators and conspirators – have been indicted in the scandal, according to Attorney General William "Rick" Singer, who allegedly facilitated fraud on standardized tests or corrupted college coaches to give students an advantage in their confession. process.

Of the accused, more than 30 are parents, accused of conspiring with Singer. More than a dozen of these parents, including Huffman, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.

Huffman should be the first convicted parent in this case.

Until now, only one person has been sentenced: former Stanford coach John Vandemoer, who has not served a prison sentence.

Huffman wrote that before paying $ 15,000 for her daughter's SAT test, she had been working legally for a year with Singer's consulting and preparation company to try to improve the scores SAT of his eldest daughter in mathematics.

But the scores have not improved, and Singer warned that no universities where her daughter would be interested would consider her auditions in their acting programs, Huffman wrote to the judge.

She wrote that Singer had finally offered to ask a supervisor to improve her daughter's scores after the test, unbeknownst to her daughter. Huffman struggled with the offer for weeks before yielding, she writes.

Huffman remembered the moment when his daughter "looked at me and asked, tears running down his face:" Why did not you believe in me? Why did not you think I could do it myself? "

"I did not have an adequate answer for her," wrote Huffman.

In March, Singer pled guilty to four counts for cheating on standardized tests and corrupted coaches and university administrators.

His family wrote letters of support to the judge

Huffman's husband, actor William H. Macy, and other relatives sent letters to Talwani on behalf of Huffman, pleading for leniency.

Eva Longoria and other celebrities write letters of support to actress Felicity Huffman before her conviction

Each letter described Huffman's loyalty and commitment to the writer – an attempt to show his role in admissions-related swindles was a special case in his life.

Macy also shed light on the immediate aftermath of the Huffman's arrest by the FBI in early morning in March.

Two days after the arrest, writes Macy, their eldest daughter was heading for an audition in a school where her heart was fixed – a school that did not require the SAT score. But when she got off the plane, the school sent her an email, officially canceling the invitation to a hearing because of the scandal.

Macy wrote that their daughter "called us from the airport into hysterical", begging them to "do something, please, please, do something".

Macy also said that her daughter was still traumatized to have witnessed her mother's arrest.

Eva Longoria, a former casting partner of Huffman's "Desperate Housewives," also wrote a letter in which she remembered that Huffman had always helped Longoria's charity service, which aimed to help poor Latin American children.

And she mostly remembered Huffman's help in contract negotiations. Longoria was to be paid less than the other main artists, until Huffman intervened and forced them all to negotiate the same salary, she writes.

"It was not a money issue for me, it was the fact that I was considered an equal, so Felicity always had me. seen, "Longoria wrote.

CNN's Eric Levenson contributed to this report.

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