Getty Image / Gregg DeGuire / Contributor
The wheels of justice are starting to turn in the college cheating scandal and many wealthy families have already pleaded guilty in an effort to get lenient sentences. On Monday, 14 parents plead guilty for their roles in the college bribery scam including actress Felicity Huffman. Notably missing from the guilty list was Full House star Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli.
In Operation Varsity Blues, 50 people were snagged for their involvement with William “Rick” Singer, who had a network to get undeserving students into well-known universities. Now 13 parents and one college sports coach have pleaded guilty in the college cheating scandal including the Desperate Housewives actress.
Huffman issued an apology in the form of a statement where the 56-year-old actress said she accepts “full responsibility” for her actions. “I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” Huffman said in the statement. Huffman’s actor husband William H. Macy was not charged in the scandal.
BREAKING: Felicity Huffman statement regarding pleading guilty pic.twitter.com/jt5bPz30uh
— Kristin Thorne (@KristinThorne) April 8, 2019
“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. I am ashamed of 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.”
The list of 13 parents who paid their kids’ way into school and one college coach involved in the scam include:
- Gregory Abbott, 68, of New York, N.Y., together with his wife, Marcia, agreed to pay Singer $125,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their daughter;
- Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York, N.Y.;
- Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $50,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;
- Gordon Caplan, 52, of Greenwich, Conn., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
- Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
- Felicity Huffman, 56, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer at least $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her oldest daughter;
- Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $300,000 to participate in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter;
- Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;
- Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
- Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $400,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son;
- Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $250,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son.
- Michael Center, 54, of Austin, Texas, the former head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, was charged in a third Information and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. In 2015, Center personally accepted $60,000 in cash from Singer, as well as $40,000 directed to the University of Texas tennis program, in exchange for designating the child of one of Singer’s clients as a tennis recruit, thereby facilitating his admission to the University of Texas.
How bad were the grades of the kid whose dad paid $400,000 to get him into college?
Here is the potential punishment that the parents could be looking at for attempting to get their kids into college through bribes.
The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Lori Loughlin did not plead guilty, but she has yet to put in an innocent plea either. Loughlin allegedly paid off a USC crew coach to get her two daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose Giannulli, into the University of Southern California.
Attorney Adrienne Lawrence explains how Huffman pleading guilty before Loughlin could hurt Lori in the long run.
https://twitter.com/AdrienneLaw/status/1115335730547445760