Felicity Huffman could be first parent behind bars in the college admissions scandal after court moves up her plea hearing as she faces 4 to 10 months for $15,000 payoff
- Felicity Huffman, 56, will appear in court eight days earlier than expected, with her formal indictment now scheduled for May 13
- The prosecutor handling the case revealed this in a court fining that explained he would be out of the country at the time
- 'The Government has conferred with defense counsel for Defendant, who has graciously consented to this request,' explained Eric Rosen
- Huffman is expected to enter a plea of guilty at her formal indictment to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud
- That carries a maximum sentence of 20 years , but guidelines put her time behind bars somewhere between four and 10 months
- Prosecutors have stated that they will recommend a sentence in the lower ends
Felicity Huffman could be sentenced and out of jail before many of the other parents in the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal begin their trials.
A court filing submitted the the US District Court for the State of Massachusetts in Boston on Thursday states that Huffman will now be appearing on May 13 and not May 21 as previously scheduled at the request of the prosecution.
Eric Rosen with the US Attorney's office informed Judge Indira Talwani in the filing that he will be unable to appear that day because of a trip that will take him out of the country.
'The Government has conferred with defense counsel for Defendant, who has graciously consented to this request,' explained Rosen in the court filing, which was obtained by DailyMail.com.
The Boston Globe was the first to report the story.
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Desperate: Felicity Huffman, 56, will appear in court eight days earlier than expected, with her formal indictment now scheduled for May 13 (Huffman above with her lawyer on April 3 in Boston)
Family affair: Huffman is expected to enter a plea of guilty at her formal indictment to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud ( l to r: Sofia, Georgia, William and Felicity Huffman)
Earlier this month, Huffman admitted paying $15,000 to a fake charity to facilitate cheating on her daughter Sofia's SATs.
Soon after the statement broke, the actress released a statement saying she was 'ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.'
The Emmy-winning actress also stated: 'My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her.'
Huffman, 56, is expected to waive her indictment during her court appearance and enter a plea of guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
That carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but based on the scale of the crime, Huffman will instead be looking at four to ten months behind bars.
The US Attorney's office previously stated it would recommend a sentence on the lower end of those guidelines.
This means that Huffman could put this entire experience behind her by the end of the year.
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Fellow actress Lori Loughlin, on the other hand, might be in the pre-trial phase for over a year, with the Full House star fighting back hard and entering a not guilty plea against the claims she paid to get her eldest daughter into USC.
Multiple sources told DailyMail.com that one of the actress’ daughters received a target letter from federal prosecutors earlier this month regarding the Operation Varsity Blues probe.
That letter informed the embattled University of Southern California student that she was the subject of an investigation which could result in criminal charges.
No students have been charged or arrested at this point in the investigation, but court documents make it clear that some of the youngsters were aware of the illegal actions being carried out in their behalf.
Loughlin and her husband are facing jail time because they opted to use the athletics route to gain their daughters admittance into University of Southern California.
This required daughters Isabella and Olivia, who had never before rowed in their lives, to pretend they were on crew teams.
In order to sell that, they posed for photos on ergometers, suggesting that they were both aware and willing participants in their parents' plan.
Fullest house: One of Loughlin's daughters received a target letter from the Department of Justice announcing that they were the subject of a criminal probe (l to r: Olivia, Lori, Massimo and Isabella)
Morning Lori: The sources DailyMail.com spoke with only knew about one of the daughters getting a letter, the tone of which was described as 'ominous' (Loughlin above on April 3 heading into court in Boston)
Furthermore, Olivia knowingly had Singer's team fill out her college applications according to the complaint.
'On or about December 12, 2017, Loughlin e-mailed [Singer], copying Giannulli and their younger daughter [Olivia], to request guidance on how to complete the formal USC application, in the wake of her daughter’s provisional acceptance as a recruited athlete,' states the complaint.
'Loughlin wrote: "[Our younger daughter] has not submitted all her colleges [sic] apps and is confused on how to do so. I want to make sure she gets those in as I don’t want to call any attention to [her] with our little friend at [her high school]. Can you tell us how to proceed?"'
In response, Singer wrote an email 'directing an employee to submit the applications on behalf of the Giannullis’ younger daughter [Olivia].
Loughlin and Giannulli 'agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team - despite the fact that they did not participate in crew - thereby facilitating their admission to USC,' according to the documents.
The couple emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU.
Huffman's moved-up court date will provide a relief of sorts for Netflix no doubt, the current distributor of Huffman's upcoming miniseries about the Central Park Five.
Huffman portrays Linda Fairstein, the former chief of the sex crimes unit at the Manhattan District Attorney's office, in When They See Us, which is directed by Ava DuVernay and set for release on May 31.
This new court date gives the story more time to die down ahead of the series premiere.
Netflix did however cancel the release of a new film starring Huffman that was set to premiere this weekend.
The suddenly-shelved comedy Otherhood, which stars Huffman, Angela Basset and Patricia Arquette, will no longer be released later this month a production source told DailyMail.com.
The film, which follows three mothers who move to New York to surprise their adult children, does not have a future release date at this time and a company spokesperson declined to comment when asked when the film would premiere.
Netflix was previously forced to deal with fallout from a celebrity scandal last year after it was alleged that Kevin Spacey had sexually assaulted multiple underage men.
In the wake of that news, the company fired Spacey from his series House of Cards and shelved the Gore Vidal biopic he had just wrapped filming in at the time.
There were also reports that Netflix had fired Lori Loughlin for her role in Operation Varsity Blues last month
A source told DailyMail.com at the time however that Loughlin only appeared on Fuller House in a guest-starring role, and did not have a contract in place like the rest of the cast.
There are approximately 50 people involved in a countrywide scam to bribe people at colleges including Yale, with 14 parents entering plea deals on earlier this month
THE FULL LIST OF PEOPLE CHARGED WITH COLLEGE ADMITTANCE SCAM
THE STARS
Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli spent $500,000 getting their two daughters into USC, according to prosecutors
Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli
Actress Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo are among the three most well known names on the list. They have two daughters, Olivia, 20, Isabella, 19, and Mossimo also has a son from a previous relationship. It is not clear which of their children is in college.
Olivia is a YouTube star who has amounted millions of fans online but she is also enrolled at USC, as is their 19-year-old daughter Isabella.
They allegedly paid $50,000 to get their oldest daughter into USC under the guise that she was a crew coxswain when in fact she does not row crew.
Felicity Huffman is accused of paying a $15,000 bribe to get her oldest daughter Sofia into USC
Felicity Huffman
Huffman is best known for her role on Desperate Housewives.
She is married to fellow actor William H. Macy but he has not been charged in the indictment.
The pair have two daughters, Sofia, 18, and Georgia, 16.
Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 to have her daughter's exam proctored by Mark Riddell.
Riddell was described by authorities as 'just a really smart guy' who would either sit tests for students, change their answers afterwards or help them actively while they took it in one of two test centers that was 'controlled' by the scheme's 'mastermind' Rick Singer.
Huffman allegedly used the scheme in December 2017 but the indictment does not specify how Riddell allegedly helped her daughter.
She considered using it for her youngest daughter, Georgia, but decided in the end that she did not need to, according to authorities.
THE COLLEGE PROFESSORS, COACHES AND 'MASTERMIND'
William Rick Singer, the 'mastermind'
Rick Singer ran The Key, a college preparation business
Singer is accused of leading the scam.
He led a college counseling program and, according to prosecutors, also ran a fake charity through which he funneled bribes.
The scam worked in two ways; he would have people come into the exam to correct students' answers and he also then bribed sports coaches to offer them scholarships, in some cases for sports they did not even play.
Singer cooperated with authorities as part of the investigation and continued taking bribes after he had been contacted by police.
Some of his conversations were recorded by police who obtained a wire tap to listen in. He is facing a maximum of 65 years behind bars and has pleaded guilty on all counts he was charged with.
It remains unclear if he will be given leniency given his cooperation.
Rudolph Meredith
Meredith is a women's soccer coach at Yale. In his bio on the college's website, he is heralded as the 'winningest' coach, with 24 seasons under his belt.
Mark Riddell
Riddell is the director of IMG Academy , a college entrance exam preparation company.
Rudolph Meredith, the women's soccer coach at Yale (left) and Mark Riddell, director of IMG Academy
John Vandemoer
Vandemoer is the head sailing coach at Stanford.
Gordon Ernst
Ernst is the head of women's tennis at the University of Rhode Island.
He taught at Georgetown in the past and worked as a personal tennis coach for Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, while they were in the White House.
John Vandemoer (left) is the head sailing coach at Stanford. Gordie Ernst was Michelle Obama's private tennis coach when she was First Lady. He is now the head of women's tennis at the University of Rhode Island.
Houmayoun Zadeg
Homa H Zadeh is a professor at USC. He is the Associate Professor and Director, Advanced Education Program in Periodontology.
Michael Center
Center is the men's soccer coach at the University of Texas.
Homa H Zadeh (left) is a professor at USC. Michael Center (right) is the men's soccer coach at the University of Texas.
Donna Heinel
Heinel is the senior women's athletics director at USC. She is alleged to have accepted a $50,000 from Lori Loughlin and her husband, among others, for admitting fraudulent tests.
Laura Janke
Janke is a former assistant soccer coach at USC. She allegedly took payment from Loughlin and her husband for their youngest daughter.
Donna Heinel (left) is the senior athletic director at USC. Laura Janke (right) is a former assistant soccer coach
Ali Khosroshahin
Khosroshahin is the head women's soccer coach at USC.
Jovan Vavic
Vavic is the head coach for the men's and women's water polo teams at USC.
Ali Khosroshahin (left) is the head of women's soccer at USC and Jovan Vavic is the head of the men's and women's water polo teams at USC
Igor Dvorskiy
Dvorskiy is the president of the West Hollywood College Preparatory School and he worked at the West Hollywood Test Center where he turned a blind eye as the cheating happened for $10,000 at a time.
Niki Williams
Williams worked as a test administrator at one of the test centers Singer told parents he 'controlled'. She was a teaching assistant for Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas.
PARENTS
Bill McGlashan
McGlashan is a prolific private equity investor who is the founder and managing partner of the firm TPG Growth.
He is also at the helm of The Rise Fund, a social impact fund he launched with Bono.
Gregory and Marcia Abbott
New York couple Gregory and Marcia Abbott, 68 and 59, were also named.
Gregory Abbott is the founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corp., a successful food and beverage packaging company.
The couple, who have homes in New York City and Aspen, Colorado, allegedly paid a total of $125,000 to have someone take the ACT and SAT subject tests for their daughter so she could gain entrance to Duke University.
Bill McGlashan and Gregory Abbott are pictured
Gamal Abdelaziz
Abdelaziz stepped down as president and COO of Wynn Resorts in 2016.
He is accused of bribing Donna Heinel, the senior women's athletics director at USC, to recruit his daughter for the basketball team in 2017.
According to court documents, his daughter played high school basketball but was not gifted enough to get recruited as an athlete so he arranged for her to be one.
He then made a $300,000 'donation' to the fictitious charity run by 'ringleader' Rick Singer and then made monthly $20,000 payments directly to Heinel.
His daughter got into the college but never joined the basketball team, according to the documents.
In a phone call with the fixer, they said: 'I’m not going to tell the IRS anything about the fact that your $300,000 was paid to Donna-- Donna Heinel at USC to get [your daughter] into school even though she wasn’t a legitimate basketball player at that level.'
Jane Buckingham
Buckingham is the owner of the now defunct market research firm, Youth Intelligence. She sold the company in 2003.
She is charged in the scheme for allegedly paying $50,000 to have someone else take her son's ACT exam in July 2018 because he had tonsilitis.
Buckingham sent a handwriting sample for her son to a test taker and had him take a fake exam at home so he wouldn't know about the fraud, court documents indicate.
Gamal Abdelaziz, the president and COO of Wynn Resorts (left) and Jane Buckingham, the owner of the now defunct market research firm Youth Intelligence
Gordon Caplan
Caplan is a financial attorney and partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City. He lives in Connecticut.
He allegedly paid $75,000 to have Singer arrange a proctor to corrected his daughter's answers after she took the ACT in November or December 2018.
Robert Flaxman
Flaxman is the CEO, Co-founder, Crown Realty & Development, Inc, a real estate company based in Orange County.
Gordon Caplan (left) is a financial attorney and partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City. Robert Flaxman (right) is the CEO, Co-founder, Crown Realty & Development
Agustin Huneeus
Vineyard owner Huneeus owns a range of wines that are produced in Napa Valley.
He allegedly participated in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter in 2017 and 2018 by conspiring to bribe Heinel and Jovan Vavic, the USC water polo coach, to facilitate his daughter’s admission to USC as a purported water polo recruit, according to the indictment.
Elisabeth Kimmel is the former president of Midwest Television. She sold it in 2017 for $325million. Agustin Huneeus, whose family owns vineyards in Napa Valley, was also charged
Elisabeth Kimmel
Lis and Manuel Henriquez
Kimmel, of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the former president of Midwest Television. She sold it in 2017 for $325million.
She allegedly used the scheme to get her daughter into Georgetown and her son into USC by pretending the former was a tennis player and the latter was a pole vaulter.
Kimmel ultimately facilitated $475,000 in payments to KWF, according to the affidavit.
Toby MacFarlane
MacFarlane and his wife Christy are well known on the San Diego social and charity circuit.
He sits on the board of multiple companies and the family has their own trust but it is not exactly clear what he does.
Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez
Marjorie Klapper
Diane and Todd Blake
I-Hsin "Joey" Chen
Amy and Gregory Colburn
Marci Palatella
Peter Jan Sartorio
Stephen Semprevivo
Devin Sloane
John Wilson
Robert Zangrillo
Steven Masera
William Ferguson
Martin Fox
Jorge Salcedo
Bruce and Davina Isackson
Mikaela Sanford
David Sidoo
Michelle Janavs
Douglas Hodge
