The American actress Lori Loughlin released on bail

Full House actress Lori Loughlin appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday to face charges of taking part in a ploy in which dozens of wealthy parents are accused of having paid for their children to work their way into the prestigious American universities.

US Magistrate Judge Steve Kim commissioned Loughlin, one of the many entertainment and trade personalities caught in the trap

Douglas Hodge, former chief executive of investment firm Pimco, and another of the 33 parents indicted for the $ 25 million scam appeared earlier in the day's case in a Boston court. He was released on bail of $ 500,000 by a federal magistrate who rejected a federal prosecutor's objection to Hodge retaining his pbadport.

The Los Angeles judge ruled that Loughlin could continue to travel to British Columbia for a number of productions she was working on. provided that she informs the US authorities in advance of each trip. But the TV star was ordered to give up her pbadport in December

Loughlin and Hodge are among the 50 people accused of participating in a scam that led high school graduates into prestigious universities, including Yale, Georgetown and Stanford. admission process. Prosecutors have described it as the biggest scandal of this type in the history of the United States.

Interim President of the University of Southern California, Wanda Austin, issued a statement that anyone involved in a candidacy for the current academic year would be denied admission while the students currently involved in this project will be examined on a case-by-case basis. USC announced on Tuesday that two employees – a deputy sports director and women's water polo coach – had been fired in connection with the scandal.

Another parent charged with the scheme, Manuel Henriquez, resigned as President and CEO of Hercules Financial Corporation. Capital Inc., said the company early Wednesday.

Gordon Caplan, who, according to prosecutors, would have paid US $ 75,000 to correct some of his daughter's incorrect answers during a university entrance exam, was laid off. from his position as co-chair of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said the company Wednesday.

A month of wiretapping

The brain of the ploy, William "Rick" Singer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of racketeering. Prosecutors at the US Attorney's Office in Boston have said his company, Edge College & Career Network, had earned $ 25 million since boarding the fraud in 2011, offering what he had promised was a "guarantee" d & # 39; admission.

After months of calls from him. Singer ended up cooperating with the investigators last September, helping them to secretly record the incriminating conversations he had with their parents.

The elaborate scheme consisted of bribing administrators of college entrance tests to allow a child to correct his wrong answers or to someone else to do the test for them. Singer has also arranged for parents to buy from college coaches the testimony of a child gifted for the sport.

In some cases, but not all, Singer ensured that the child was unaware of cheating.

"They feel good about themselves," he told Caplan in a phone call, according to the criminal complaint. "And they just do not know that they did not get the score they thought they had."

In some cases, Singer even helped a doctor take pictures to make his child look sporty.

Parents paid their contributions to According to prosecutors, a fake charity, Singer, was also allowed to carry out a fraudulent tax deduction. The fake charity organization, Key Worldwide Foundation, was supposed to help provide education for "disadvantaged students".

It was unclear how many children would benefit from this help and investigators said that more parents and coaches could still be charged. During telephone interviews intercepted by investigators, Singer boasted of having helped hundreds of students, while he rebadured parents, he had helped more than 20 or 30 students cheat these last years.

Gifted Rowers

] Loughlin is accused of paying $ 500,000 to the singer to help her two daughters make their way to USC by bribing a sports official to school to pretend that the girls were gifted rowers. Her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, is also charged with fraud and appeared in court Tuesday in Los Angeles before being released on bail of $ 1 million.

One of the girls, Olivia Giannulli, has become a prominent "influential". social media under the name "Olivia Jade."

"Officially, studying at the university!" she subtitled a photo that she had posted in September on Instagram and which showed her in her dorm USC adorned with items she'd ordered from online retailer Amazon.com Inc., which paid for the job.

Other notable relatives charged by the United States of Boston. the prosecutor's office includes actress Felicity Huffman, who starred in "Desperate Housewives"; and Bill McGlashan Jr., who ran the private equity arm TPU Capital, a private equity firm, which put him on indefinite leave after being indicted.

Huffman was one of the defendants who appeared in court on Tuesday before being released on bail.

Representatives of the accused parents refused to comment or did not respond to inquiries. Many of the coaches accused of accepting bribes were fired, put on leave or resigned.

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