Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to prison. Flanked by her husband, Shameless’ William H. Macy, in a Boston courtroom, Huffman is the first parent involved with the college admissions scandal to receive sentencing. On March 12, headlines surged across the nation reading that Fuller House’s Lori Loughlin and Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman had been indicted in the nation’s largest college admissions scheme.
Orchestrated by William Rick Singer, the college admissions scheme allowed for parents to pay large sums of money to bribe college officials and alter test scores to admit their children into prestigious universities. Huffman was accused of forking over $15,000 to have wrong answers corrected on her daughter’s college entrance exams. Entering a guilty plea to a fraud charge, the Otherhood star has since expressed remorse.
As reported by THR, today in court, US Attorney Eric Rosen spoke about Huffman’s situation claiming, “There is no excuse for what she did.’’ Huffman’s attorney Martin Murphy insisted that his client has recalibrated her moral compass since the scandal was exposed. When her turn arrived to address the judge, an emotional Huffman declared, “I take full responsibility. I will accept whatever punishment you give me.” Prosecutors requested the actress serve one month in prison and pay a $20,000 fine. Macy remains unscathed by charges, as it was not confirmed he was aware of his wife’s activities. Now, the fate of the actress has been revealed. Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Huffman to 14 days in prison. Upon Huffman’s release, she is required to log in 250 hours of community service and pay a $30,000 fine.
The Oscar-nominated actress is expected to report to prison on Oct. 25. As of this writing, the prison where Huffman will be serving her two weeks remains unknown. Judge Talwani suggested Huffman accept her sentence with grace, then reconstruct her life. Huffman’s stint behind bars correlates with the upcoming premiere of Lifetime’s original movie based on the college admissions scandal. Former Huffman co-star, Penelope Ann Miller, has been tapped to play the titular lead character based on Huffman.
Huffman’s sentence could mean bad news for Loughlin. Following her termination from the Hallmark Channel and Fuller House, Loughlin pleaded not guilty and awaits a trial date. If convicted, the actress could spend up to 40 years in prison. Judge Talwani appeared to break up the impasse between the US Attorney and Huffman’s lawyer by sending Huffman to jail for half the requested time. A seemingly light sentence, it’s unclear how much of that time Huffman will actually serve behind bars. Serving as a cautionary tale to the nation, the scheme has become a hot commodity, and no doubt the lives of those involved in the college admissions scandal have been permanently altered.
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Source: THR
