Felicity Huffman to plead guilty in college admissions scandal: 'I am ashamed of the pain I have caused'

Suzy Byrne
·Editor, Yahoo Entertainment
Updated

Felicity Huffman is pleading guilty in the college admissions scandal.

The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney announced Monday that 14 defendants in Operation Varsity Blues made plea deals — and the Desperate Housewives star is among them. She will plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The date for her plea hearing has not yet been set.

According to a report last week, prosecutors had been insistent that defendants making plea deals would have to serve some jail time. However, that’s up ultimately left up to the judge.

After the announcement was made, Huffman, who agreed to pay William “Rick” Singer $15,000 to change her daughter Sophia Macy’s SAT scores, broke her silence for the first time since her arrest in a statement obtained by Yahoo:

“I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney's Office. I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.”

Huffman described herself as “ashamed” for the “pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”

She ended by making it clear that Sophia, who attends Los Angeles High School of the Arts (LAHSA), was unaware that her mom was working behind the scenes to boost her chances of getting into a more esteemed university.

“My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her,” Huffman said. “This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”

According to the complaint, Huffman worked with Singer to secure a better score on Sophia’s test. She — and her husband, the Shameless actor William H. Macy — also spoke with Singer about doing the same thing for their younger daughter, but then they apparently changed their minds.

Macy was not charged with any crimes. He appeared at Huffman’s bail hearing after her arrest, but did not accompany her to court in Boston last week. She was with her brother instead. There have been reports that their marriage has been under strain since her arrest.

Not on the list of defendants pleading guilty are Fuller House actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli. They are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters, social media star Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, into University of Southern California as part of the school’s crew team — although they had never participated in the sport. They have since left the school.

Huffman and Loughlin’s court appearances had been markedly throughout this scandal. The court sketch artist who observed them in an L.A. court said Huffman came off as “authentic and genuine” while Loughlin was “defiant.” Last week, Huffman looked extremely serious going in and out of court in Boston while Loughlin treated the experience more like “red carpet time.”

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter.