Felicity Huffman is released from prison three days early, following time served for being a participant in the college admissions scandal. On March 12, headlines raged 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 scam.
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. Last month, 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. Flanked by her husband, Shameless star William H. Macy, Huffman reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California on Oct. 15. Huffman’s duration in prison, however, was shorter than expected.
According to Variety, Huffman was released after serving 11 days of her two-week sentence. Slated for an October 27 release, prison policy permitted the actress to depart before the end of her initial sentence. Residence to 1,227 inmates, the low-security prison in Dublin states that inmates whose release date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, are permitted to check out on the last preceding weekdays.
Huffman was the first parent to receive sentencing in the college admissions scandal, but she is far from the last. Huffman’s mandatory prison time, however short, could mean bad news for Loughlin. Following her termination from the Hallmark Channel and Fuller House, Loughlin continues to plead not guilty to the charges and awaits a trial date. If convicted, Loughlin could serve up to 40 years in prison. As of this writing, it remains to be seen how Fuller House will address Aunt Becky’s exit in the fifth and final season.
Huffman’s stint behind bars correlated with Lifetime’s original movie based on the college admissions scandal, which aired on October 12. Huffman’s career has been tainted, however, Hollywood does love a good rehabilitation story. Seemingly remorseful, Huffman would benefit by laying low for a while, but no doubt she is being eyed to utilize her recent experiences for a spotlight performance. Serving as a cautionary tale to the nation, the scheme continues to make waves, and no doubt the lives of those involved in the college admissions scandal have been permanently altered.
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Source: Variety