Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman was sentenced by a federal judge to 14 days Friday afternoon, for taking part in the nation’s largest college admissions cheating case. Huffman was the first of more than 30 parents to be sentenced.
Prosecutors asked that Huffman serve a month in prison, with supervised release and a $20,000 fine, while lawyers asked that Huffman receive one year on probation and complete 250 hours of community service. However, the judge passed down an even shorter sentence, which also includes a $30,000 fine, supervised release for a year and 250 hours of community service.
The actress pleaded guilty back in May to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. She admitted to paying $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT scores boosted back in 2017. Reports state that her daughter’s score was raised 400 points from her PSAT she’d taken the previous year.
Parents and athletic coaches were among the 51 people charged in the scheme, but none of the children were indicted. The parents charged in the investigation allegedly paid bribes, had official exams altered, and even had their children edited into stock photos to fake sporting talents on applications.
Huffman wrote a three-page letter to U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani before the sentencing, pleading for mercy, “In my desperation to be a good mother I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot.”
Prior to Friday’s sentencing for Huffman, former Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer was the only other person sentenced, and he served no jail time.
