Douglas Jones
College Scam Mastermind Rick Singer Gets 3.5 Years In Prison
Rick Singer pleaded guilty nearly four years ago to paying off people to help get students of wealthy parents into elite schools.
LEARN MOREPosted: 6:50 p.m. EST Dec 1, 2023
Emmy Award-winning "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman spoke out for the first time after her time in prison, discussing the college admissions scandal — dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" — that sent her to jail.
Huffman was charged after being accused of paying $15,000 to the illegal scheme's mastermind, Rick Singer, to hike up her daughter's SAT scores.
"I know hindsight is 20/20, but it felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn’t do it,” Huffman said.
She told Los Angeles station KABC her side of the story.
The actor said she felt ashamed for participating in the scam, and she sent out an apology directed at the "students and the families that sacrifice and work really hard to get to where they are going legitimately."
Huffman was sentenced in late 2019 to 14 days in prison, and then to serve a year on probation with the order to also perform 250 hours of community service. She was also fined double the amount she paid into the scheme, a penalty of $30,000.
Rick Singer was sentenced earlier this year to 3 1/2 years in prison and forced to forfeit $10 million after he was convicted of obtaining funds from the parents of students who sought to increase their children's standardized testing scores. Singer was also charged with bribing school officials.
A total of 33 wealthy parents faced charges from federal authorities in the scam, accused of conspiring to utilize tactics like fraud and bribery to have their children admitted into top universities.
Some of the most well-known names involved in the illegal activity apart from Huffman were actor Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.
Huffman's husband, well-known U.S. actor William H. Macy, was not charged.
Scripps News has reached out to representatives for Felicity Huffman for further comment.
