On March 12, the FBI and DOJ announced the dozens of arrests in connection with their Operation Varsity Blues taskforce. Felicity Huffman was one of the parents caught up in it, and the FBI full-on raided her home at dawn to arrest her and take her into custody. It seemed like a giant wakeup call for her, and less than a month later, she accepted a plea deal from federal prosecutors and she made a public apology wherein she admitted her wrongdoing. The terms of the plea deal were a bit sketchy, as the federal judge would have the final say on sentencing, but it was clear that Felicity had agreed to the deal with the promise that the prosecutors would ask for a lighter sentence in what will probably be a minimum security prison.
Felicity went back to court on Monday – federal court, in Boston. This was just the formal hearing on her plea deal, and prosecutors ended up requesting that she be sentenced to four months in prison.
Prosecutors have recommended that Felicity Huffman spend four months in jail as part of a plea agreement in the high-profile college admissions cheating scandal. The Desperate Housewives actress appeared in court on Monday to officially plead guilty in the case. Arriving nearly two hours early, she was wearing a dark coat and light skirt. Holding hands with her brother, she had a somber expression as she entered the courthouse.
Huffman broke down in tears in the courtroom while addressing the judge. She told the judge that she understood the terms of her plea deal. The judge then reminded the 56-year-old actress that she would be waiving her right to stand trial if she pleaded guilty. Huffman has agreed not to appeal any prison decision up to 20 years. In return, the government is recommending that she receive a punishment near the lower-end of the sentencing guidelines. They recommend that she spend 4 months in prison and pay a $20,000 fine.
It’s sobering, right? I actually do feel a little bit sorry for her – she hadn’t gotten to the point where she was bribing people to get her kids into college, she was just at the “bribing test-takers” stage of Terrible Mothering. I mean, she absolutely deserves to be punished. But it’s intense to think that she’s going to prison for four months. Well, they said that the DOJ wants to make examples out of these rich, clueless a–hole parents, so there it is. Lori Loughlin’s actions were so much worse and she thinks she can act churchy and everybody will believe her.
Superficial notes: Felicity looks like she’s aged a decade in a month, and I like her lowkey court look. She looks appropriately humbled.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Where is her husband?
That was my first thought. Why isn’t her husband with her? He was part of this whole thing too.
I think they’re trying to separate him from this to minimize the impact on his career. Hers will be affected to some degree for an unknown length of time. One of them has to be able to keep working to support the family & pay the mortgage.
I don’t care if it’s a PR strategy – that’s his wife and she’s clearly suffering. He seems to be distancing himself from her. I’m not saying she shouldn’t be punished, but in the court of public opinion, his absence reflects on her.
@AryasMum they may have decided this together – keeping them apart for her court appearances allows him some distance from this mess. why damage BOTH of their careers if they don’t have to? they own like 6 properties on top of the kids in college, someone needs to still be working to pay for their lifestyle. she’s got her brother, he’s been at her court appearances with her so she has support.
This family owns no less than six multi-million dollar mansions. I don’t think paying the mortgage is the problem, but I do think this court case will impact their earning ability.
Based on what we’ve seen of Felicity, which could all be an act, she doesn’t seem the type to do the morning or late night talk shows, at least I hope she doesn’t. I imagine Oprah will want to interview her. Do people get paid to be on talk shows?
I could be wrong, but I have the impression he was hesitant about the whole plan, advised against it, she went ahead with it, and he’s disgusted by the fallout. Sort of like Lynette and Tom. I imagine there’s a lot of tension and “I told you so’s” at home right now.
I think you are giving him too much credit. He was in on it, he just didn’t get his hands as dirty as she did.
It’s really unclear if he was in on it. My understanding is he found out after the fact and when it came time for the second daughter to do it, they didn’t go forward. Seems to me he’s very peripherally involved, only in the sense that he knew.
@Originaltessa Uhhh no. He knew about it. In fact he was on the emails when they were planning on running the same scheme for their youngest daughter. The only reason he wasn’t charged is that they decided against doing it. So no crime was committed. But if he was in on it for their youngest daughter then of course he was in on it for the oldest. He simply dodged a bullet and they had no paper trail linking him to it like they did Felicity.
I believe he was aware, also, and it was reported last night on a newscast that the monies came out of Felicity’s personal account. So that would be the paper trail that would target her more so than him.
As much as I admire the fact that she owned up to everything right off the bat, and plead guilty, I hope she does serve time if nothing else to put the fear of G-d into Lori. I also believe that if Felicity didn’t get caught, that she/they wouldn’t have much remorse for what they did.
Do we know when the sentencing is?
Lori Loughlin is probably losing her sh!t right now, because if Felicity gets prison time, there’s no way she won’t get more.
The husband was not on the emails for the first daughter. His name wasn’t even on anything for the paper trail. That’s why the USA didn’t pursue him. He may be on the communications for daughter #2 but they ultimately decided against it. That’s the key.
Maybe he is at a garden center picking out plants again. Her brother escorted her to the last appearance, with Macy being photographed with his garden supplies around that time.
She may be fine with it, but it seems cold to me that her husband would not accompany her to court.
@ Christin : This is all about appearances for the court. I was a lawyer for many years and her “look” is picture perfect for someone who is trying to represent repentance. The grey outfit, the length of the skirt, the “mom” sweater, the not glamorous hair, the facial expression. This is exactly how I would have dressed her if she was my client and we were looking for sympathy. Also, she is an actress and I can’t help but feel she is just playing part. And that includes the tears in court. Honestly, if I could get every client to be this receptive to how they appeared to the court and the public, I would have been thrilled.
Elizabeth, I thought that too when I saw her look – minimal make-up, dowdy, grey clothes – she is being advised well and she is smart enough to take that advice.
Dr Phil had a fascinating guest on his podcast a few weeks ago, a guy who got imprisoned federally for a white-collar crime, who now has a business advising others in a similar position. He talked for more than an hour about these cases and his insight was amazing.
In short, Felicity is doing everything right – pleading, acting contrite etc. Lori is doing everything wrong and she will suffer big time for it. What she is doing goes down very badly with the feds.
I have been wondering as well. It’s definitely a choice. My charitable explanation is that they are minimizing press coverage by only having one celebrity in the pap photos.
I assume he is with the kids at home. They have a high school teen I think.
I don’t feel sorry for anyone in the situation, except the children who really didn’t know.
Unlike Lori and her husband, Felicity was smart to take the deal. Her fine was minimal, her lawyer fees will be minimal, and her prison time will be over and done with, while the others are still paying their lawyers hundreds of dollars an hour and will probably end up with more time in the slammer.
She’s the only one who has actually played this smart.
She totally played it smart. She may actually be able to salvage her career once this is done.
A plea deal is the way to go, but let’s not pretend that FH is playing it smarter than others: the vast majority of those arrested during Varsity Blues accepted plea deals. Because they’re guilty. LL and her husband are idiots but that doesn’t make FH smart (or humble; she had no problem cheating and doing tax fraud until she was caught)
She did play it smart. Like Martha Stewart, she will do her time and come out and get on with her career. And she is a good actress so I think her career will be fine. Lori is going about it all wrong.
Felicity definitely played this better than Lori and any other parents who declined to accept a plea deal right away.
I truly cannot understand how Lori believes a PR campaign is going to help her. Felicity at least appears contrite and focused on getting this behind her.
Lori “defense” appears to be she didn’t know anything she did was illegal. If some judge goes along with this, I’ll be spitting mad.
Olivia knew what her folks were doing & went along with it.
She may get away with the ignorance defense.
What would bother me (if I were a judge) is how lightly she seemed to treat the charges. Supposedly she had defensive/arrogant body language during her first court appearance and was posing and mingling outside as if it were a pap stroll. That is hard to forget.
Lori will show up in court toting a bible, a gold cross, and sign autographs as she skips into the courtroom. I have a bad feeling this Trump-loving couple are going to get away with it.
Ignorance of the law excuses no one (or something close to that saying) so no, they shouldn’t be allowed to walk because they “didn’t know”. Hopefully. But I have little faith in judges these days.
Seriously, Trump will probably pardon them anyway. Our country is in a scary place right now.
Tuille- if she’s such a shining example of Christian virtue, you would think she would realize she violated something in the Ten Commandments at least.
And didn’t Jesus have something to say about people who lead children astray? Something about a millstone around the neck, mayhap?
Oh, Aunt Becky. You are in trouble now.
I agree that it was the right thing to plead guilty and take the punishment. But I can’t help wondering if LL and her husband will actually get off on their much worse charges. Seems like being a garbage person with no redeeming qualities beyond wealth has been really paying off in the US these days.
Yes, yes, yes. My entire career was devoted to equal application of existing law regardless of economic status. I have been depressed to say the least with the Drumpf administration. It seems my professional life was a waste along with all my parenting based on first do the right thing. Sleaze wins.
I know, right? The cynical side of me is feeling pretty sure that LL will get away with this. Since nothing seems to matter anymore.
I don’t feel sorry for Felicity either. I guess this is still my cynical side talking but I can’t help but think she’s sorry because she got caught. She paid someone to take her daughter’s SATs! Sigh.
Lesanne, it does matter, because you were fighting the good fight for people who needed you to. Our current situation is no doubt a garbage fire, but that just means we need more people fighting for what’s right. Thank you for your service.
I also think that Lori Laughlin will get away with this. She’s fighting this in the court of public opinion and she’s painting herself as some kind of martyr for the deplorables. Depending on who is on the jury, she could definitely walk on this and she’s guilty as sin.
I…yeah, I got nothing. Megs is right.
She better get 10 months in jail like that black woman in Ohio, nothing less.
Amen
For some reason I feel sorry for her. She committed the crime though.
I do too. Can’t help it. She did awful things… and is taking her medicine. But man she looks so pathetic in these photos and I can’t help feeling sad for her!
For NO reason do I feel sorry for her.
@ Diana : Of course she looks pathetic in those photos. That’s the whole point – that you and everyone else is supposed to feel bad for her. Huffman and her husband appear to have hired good crisis management people who are directing their steps. It’s a smart thing for them to do career-wise. It’s fake as hell but it’s a good move for their careers and it will likely help them at sentencing time. I was a lawyer for +20 years and I only wish all of my clients had been so willing to take direction about how to dress for court. I once told a rough biker looking guy it might help if he pulled his long hair back into a pony tail and he got all upset and said something about how he should be judged for who he really was. Ah, that’s not going to work out so well, honey, if what you really look like is someone who should be doing life with no chance of parole.
I don’t. She committed more than one crime and she got caught. Now she’s playing the same game as LL only better and more subtle. The grey suit, the lack of makeup and holding her bro’s hand is meant to bring out sympathy; after all she’s only a mother who tried to give the best to her children…
@ Arpeggi : Exactly what I was thinking.
Agree with Arpeggi. She’s an actress playing her part well. She’s someone who’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants, that’s all I see. Last year, it was committing a crime to get her daughter into a ‘name’ school. This year, it’s crying in front of the judge to reduce her sentence. Next year, it’ll be something else.
You are too kind. I think we should save our sympathy for someone who truly deserves it. She says the reason she did this is because her daughter has a learning disability. F that. With her wealth and privilege, there’s no doubt her daughter would have medically been cleared to have extra time during her exams. So either she’s LYING, which I have no doubt she would do, given her crimes, or her daughter does and she just threw her under the bus because scamming was easier than going down the right path. She’s a scam artist. She looks pathetic because she is and she knows she has to sell it. It’s amazing how many defendants know what to wear and how to dress and style themselves to look so sad and sympathetic.
@Original Jenns, the no make-up look helps the wan and pitiful look also. I do have some sympathy because one of my children also has a learning disability, but we navigated through that difficulty. Yes, he got extra time for the SAT, but he didn’t get someone sitting with him giving him answers! Sorry, but that angers me. Yes, FH got caught, but how many didn’t? Are there other “entrepreneurs “ helping parents cheat at college admissions?
I agree she’s just playing a part. Intentionally don’t sleep much so you look haggard, be sure to wear the dullest grey unattractive ensemble possible with flat shoes so you look like a martyr, skip makeup, and voila you look like an innocent grieving parent.
I just wanted to clarify that I do believe she is remorseful and contrite, I just think the image she portrayed in the photo is intentionally contrived to invoke pity for her. As far as her husband, they are definitely intentionally keeping him out of the spotlight of this scandal so his public image doesn’t become tainted.
I don’t feel sorry for her but she’s taking responsibility, unlike Dippy and her husband.
I do too! And I’m not white before anyone says anything lol. Maybe because I loved Lynette but I feel sorry for her. She’s an amazing actress, hope she can come back from this.
This woman committed this crime because she could. she wasn’t in desperate circumstances. She wanted something that was outside of her scope to earn, and instead of coming up with another plan, like EVERYONE else who doesn’t choose to knowingly commit crimes, she decided she was entitled to what she wanted, and found what she knew was an illegal avenue to get it. AND folks are up here feeling sorry for her because she plays pretend on tv and her makeup is bad in these pictures. SMDH.
In comparison to Lori Loughlin I feel sorry for her. At least she fessed up and admitted wrong doing. I will be livid if Lori gets the same sentence or somehow gets out of jail time completely. But its America 2019 so who knows. I have no faith in the justice system.And lets face it POC get more time for a joint than these rich women do for actual serious federal crimes.
She just had a whole bunch of work done to her face in the last six months – this is just any good lawyer’s advice not to glam up too much for court.
i was going to say the same thing. I know a woman whose husband was on trial and his lawyer told her to stop with the manicures, the makeup, tone down the jewelry, etc. for the trial.
Christina Ferrare was a model-actress who was married to automaker John DeLorean when he went to trial for various charges (cocaine smuggling). She was a very beautiful, glamorous woman and was advised by her husband’s lawyer that this might work against him. So she deliberately dressed in a conservative manner almost like she was in mourning. She also cut her hair into a more functional short look that definitely made her look much more severe. Huffman is doing the same thing.
I find her makeup here pretty hilarious. She’s wearing plenty, it’s just purposefully applied to make her look bad. The deeply unflattering drawn on eyebrows that make her whole face look unusually downcast, the base makeup blended everywhere but her eye area in order to make the shadows and redness really pop, the way her base is applied much heavier in areas where her complexion has some colour so it looks like she’s ashen, the eye makeup with no mascara so she looks half-done…she went to a lot of effort to look like she’s too upset to make any effort.
Wow, I enjoyed your analysis of what she did to look so bad. I completely bought it that she had no makeup on at all!
The concept of “ashen makeup” to look penitent is EXTREMELY fascinating — I think you may be right. Good eye.
As a WOC she gets no sympathy from me. Having said that she was smart to accept a plea and will probably not serve a full sentence.
As a white woman, I will humbly follow your statement and agree. The prisons are filled with POC who were in dire circumstances and committed minor offenses and nobody spared them a camera as a chance to parade around looking remorseful and contrite.
I don’t understand how people can feel sorry for you them.
Had they not been caught, do you think this would have kept them up at night?!
It’s time to understand what people mean when we say justice should be blind and the same for everyone.
I can’t even begin to explain the rage and disgust I feel when I think about the new trend of white people documenting their business venture now that weed has been legalized in some places while in a neighboring state, someone is still jailed for it. How could this not have been addressed prior to legalization?!
No sympathy for the rich folk. The whole system is set up for them to succeed. Any failure is absolutely on them.
Same here.
This was not someone who had her back to the wall and had to commit a crime to feed her family. These are wealthy celebrities who did all of this for their image, so their kids would go to the “right” college.
I do have sympathy for those who make a mistake or act out of desperation, and it costs them greatly. I don’t have any for those who commit crimes out of pure entitlement and greed, especially when their kids got acceptances that could have gone to deserving students.
Yep, no sympathy for her at all. Many people cry when they’ve caught and have to face the consequences.
Her legal and PR team are playing this right.
Zero sympathy from me. Maybe a teensy bit of respect for accepting responsibility quickly, apologizing in an unqualified way and saving her poor children further embarrassment. She’ll be out in way less than 4 months anyway.
It’s the kids who suffered here. The kids who earned their scores without help, and her poor kids who have to deal with knowing mom didn’t think they were smart enough on their own.
I’m also a WOC and I second your comment.
I’m glad at least one person’s lawyer is advising them that acting like a self righteous asshole who’s being unfairly targeted is not a good look for someone who has been caught 10 ways from Sunday doing something illegal (of course, who knows if anything will actually happen to LL, but still).
Right now, Felicity Huffman actually looks like she understands what a stupid, selfish, entitled thing she’s done.
I’m not going to begrudge her her emotions. I think it’s valid that she’s upset. Yes, it was her own doing, but facing the consequences of your actions isn’t always an easy thing to do, and I’m sure she’s a mixture of ashamed, scared, and just extremely sad.
But I commend her for ACTUALLY admitting her wrongdoing and accepting the consequences. She’s done terrible things, but she’s taking the right steps now, and is coming off like a complete class act – especially in comparison to the others. She definitely looks older – but I also think she’s a beautiful woman. If she was smiling, I think she’d light right up. She has that very warm, maternal kind of vibe – she reminds me of a mother of a close friend, the kind that welcomes her children’s friends into their home and takes a genuine interest in their lives.
I swear if Lori doesn’t get at least a year I’m going to be so angry.
Any legal people out there – can this set a precedent on how the others are sentenced?
Erinn, yes and no. Sentencing disparities are one of the factors under section 3553 that the parties and judge have to consider but despite the attempt at unifying sentences that was the US Sentencing Guidelines the sentences are still quite inconsistent around the country. Plus it’s extremely clunky and time consuming to search pacer for sentences at the trial court level although there are companies changing that and compiling it for a fee. This is such a high profile case tho that any attorney with a white collar case would be dumb not to cite it when she gets probation. (Unless the judge hates her she’s not getting any prison time.) hell im considering delaying one of my federal sentencings in a white collar case just so I can cite this case lol.
Thanks Jay!
This is all super interesting. I’d always had an interest in law – but at the end of the day, I really don’t think I could do what you do! I’m an angry crier – it really wouldn’t look good in court. I’m always amazed by the amount of information you need to be able to draw on though – it’s crazy.
That makes sense though – especially where this is such a high profile case. I really don’t imagine she’ll see much jail time, if any. Especially where she’s smart enough to have taken the deal and accepted responsibility and be humble about it. I do want to see Lori fry a bit, though. SO smug.
Erinn, I really enjoy reading your comments. They are well thought out and reasonable. You are never harsh or over the top. You sound so intelligent and compassionate.
Seconded.
Aww thank you, joanne. I can definitely be flippant at times, but try not to be!
Errin, I am with you. I am furious that she thought this was okay and thrilled that she is facing consequences, but I appreciate that she has owned up to her wrongdoing and is saving taxpayers the cost of a trial by pleading guilty. Sometimes your perspective can only be changed by having to deal with the fallout, and she seems to comprehend how serious this is and how much she screwed up.
The fact that so many POC are serving longer prison sentences for far lesser crimes is criminal in and of itself. Our judicial system needs an overhaul.
Yeah, honestly? I do think she’s someone who will take what happened and use it to change. I mean – I don’t know her personally. But this entire situation is something she’s handling like a reasonable person (obviously not counting the paying test givers) and I think she does understand how much she screwed up here. I understand wanting to give your kids a leg up – but you have to do it legally, and now she’s suffering the consequences.
The laws need a HUGE overhaul in so many aspects. There are just so many outdated laws, not enough to protect women and minorities, and we aren’t keeping up with the technology we have available. Something needs to happen STAT. Sadly, we’re not seeing it because white men aren’t the ones suffering from the outdated laws. It does give me hope that there’s more and more women acquiring impressive political platforms. Change will come – though I hope it really gets a move on.
Who is she holding hands with? It doesn’t look like William H. Macy.
I think that is her brother?
it’s her brother – he accompanied her to her last court appearance, too
Well…if she got four months then LL and her shady husband should get a few years at least, right??
One would think so, especially since they didn’t accept a plea deal, committed worse crimes, and they haven’t seemed remorseful.
I have read this site for YEARS…and never commented. However, I just can’t help myself. I am probably going to be someone everyone disagrees with but I wish they would just leave the families alone. I understand what they did was not right but what parent wouldn’t want to help get their child into a really good school. As a mother of teenagers, let me tell you.. I would happily go sit in jail for 4 months to ensure my child got into a wonderful school. With that said, I know the kids got kicked out which I think should be more of a case by case basis from grades, attendance, etc. People donate to schools all the times. Bribes happen all the time. Does that make it ok? Of course not but the time and energy they put into this case is beyond measure in my opinion. I mean what was the point of raiding her home at 5am with big guns? It was for show. I feel very sorry for all the parents and kids involved in this. I think there are better ways for it to be handled without anyone going to jail. In a way, it makes me sick. A parents love over rules everything.
So…. you would cheat deserving kids out of their place in school because you think your entitled kids have a stronger right to be there? A parents’ love means teaching your children decency, that life isn’t fair, that you don’t deserve everything you want. I’m sad that your kids are growing up thinking that a parent’s love excuses everything. Don’t you teach your kids right from wrong and consequences?
Exactly.
No, a parent’s love does not overrule everything. I have a kid, and when I say I’d do anything for her, that’s a figure of speech. One thing I wouldn’t do, for example, is commit a felony to get her into university.
So left flip your argument: Let’s say your kid was just a regular kid who worked hard in school, got amazing grades did what they were supposed to do and applied for one of these colleges. And would have gotten in. Except that Huffman or Loughlin’s illegal actions pushed your kid off the list.
A parent’s love does NOT overrule everything. And it certainly doesn’t overrule the law. These people took the spots of hard working DESERVING kids. They deserve what they get.
they broke the law – this isn’t a private family issue anymore.
why would you go sit in jail for 4 months for your kid to get into a school you already know they can’t get into on their own merits? clearly the school is too tough for your kid – if they can’t even get in, what makes you think they can succeed?
Wow. This attitude reminds me of the “affluenza mom” who helped her kid flee the country after he killed four people drunk driving.
If you lived in a world where cheating to get ahead didn’t mean someone who worked hard and didn’t cheat would still get the spot they’ve earned it’d be one thing. But that’s not how it works.
I understand why parents might FEEL like they would want to get their kids ahead no matter what. But I think a lot of it ties into ego, and that’s incredibly unhealthy.
But if you’re putting a kid ahead of the pack who doesn’t have the skills and merit to be there – how is that helping them? You’re putting someone who is not competent in a position where they may just flounder around – which isn’t good for the kid. Alternatively, they might squeak through and then what happens? You have someone who isn’t qualified going out into the working world. Do we want people becoming doctors, lawyers, judges, police members who aren’t qualified? Would you want to be operated on someone who worked their way to the top on their own? Or someone who’s mommy bought a spot for? Because honestly, that should terrify you if the moral aspect doesn’t.
Raise your kids well. Teach them to be independent and rational. Try getting them as much opportunity as you can through volunteering, tutoring, finding work experience opportunities… don’t set them up to be reliant on their parents because you’re just doing them AND the rest of the world a huge disservice.
Yeesh. Yeah, I’m going to disagree with you.
Lots of people who commit crimes are parents who love their kids. Where do you draw the line? What is excusable? If someone robbed your house, and said they only did it to buy their kid a new iphone because their old one was just ok, you’d be alright with that?
The time and energy put into this case caught over 50 people who bribed over $25 million. This wasn’t just Felicity and her family. This was a massive fraud perpetrated by many people.
Whoa. Are you being serious or just trolling us? I can’t believe anyone would even attempt to justify what these spoiled, rich people did for their entitled kids. This is not a victimless crime. These parents deserve to have the book thrown at them.
Kisha – usually raids are done if there is good reason to believe the suspect might destroy evidence. I would assume that’s why the raid occurred. They have to get a warrant and convince a judge that it is necessary. They don’t just blast in to “teach a rich person a lesson”.
And what would your children feel about you committing fraud and bribery to get them into a school you didn’t think they could get accepted to on their own? About their dear mother setting them up to get expelled because their applications were fraudulent? That’s grounds for expulsion everywhere. How would they feel about their dear mother going to court and getting sentenced and sitting in prison? That’s not protecting them. That’s shaming them.
Really, it’s not just about you. What you do has a profound impact on your children. There are so many colleges and universities in the US, if your children have an ounce of required skill and you have the money – there are many options for them. Why choose the one that is bound to damage them if it’s discovered? It’s not as though you stole food to feed them when you had run out of options to buy food. You would be telling them that you think they are too stupid to get into college on their own, among other things.
@kisha At the very least, I agree that there are no winners here. We’ve overstated the importance of SAT scores — to the point of absurdity — because fearmongering about the SAT is big business. An undergraduate diploma barely matters anymore, yet the cost of tuition in the U.S. is exorbitant. No one holds these universities accountable (Occupy Wall Street was deliberately squashed by municipalities), and admissions have always been a joke, as you say. These parents — primarily the mothers — are being made examples-of because they’ve embarrassed the universities’ almighty admissions processes. (And the fact that the law stepped in to protect the *universities* says a lot about this country.)
A lot of millennials my age (35-38 years old) were hit by a job-market bubble immediately after college, and a lot of us never recovered — and I think the parents of Generation Z are appropriately worried about the same happening to their own kids. I have nothing but contempt for what these parents did, but it boggles the mind that even the wealthiest, most privileged people in the world could be this frightened about the college admissions process. The whole thing is a racket.
@ kisha Jaggers. There are lots of good schools out there especially if the parents have money for private school tuition. IMO, this is about bribing people to get the kid into a big name, status school that will reflect well on the parents. I do not believe this was ever about getting their child a “good education”. And honestly if the parents are rich, the kid doesn’t need a “good education” to get ahead because the parents’ connections will open the necessary doors for a kid who has even a small amount of talent and ambition.
The part that got me was when she said her daughter had a learning disability- as if this negates any wrong-doing or explains her actions. Not only does this send a message to those who have been diagnosed with a LD that they “can’t” do well without cheating, or are not good enough, but also, imagine how her daughter feels now – “sorry honey, your abilities weren’t good enough for us”. It’s shameful.
It really is shameful. There were qualified students – with LDs – who got shut out of that daughter’s spot. Her daughter needed to go to a good-fit school and also have appropriate support for whatever the specific issue was.
That’s what I thought when I saw that! She has the wealth and privilege to ensure that her daughter probably could have extra time or whatever it is that she needed. Many struggle for this and are often denied. She totally used her daughter’s disability (if she has one) and threw her under the bus. And now the message is, if my daughter could have done it on her own, I wouldn’t have had to do this.
If her daughter does have a learning disability that made testing more difficult, how was she going to handle going to a school that would not have been equipped to assist her with it, not knowing she had one.
I doubt Felicity spends more than 30 days in jail. If that. She is very smart to play this as humbled and wiser. She will be able to write a book or do the talk show circuit and fully recover. Loughlin will likely never fully recover even if she beats the charge.
Federal sentences are different than state or local. According to 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)(1). she won’t be eligible for any kind of sentence mitigation such as good behavior time. She will do 4 months, likely in Dublin, California.
I honestly didn’t know that these are crimes that could land people in jail. I thought the kids would just be kicked out of school or something like that.
It’s fraud, including tax fraud: it’s serious. There are POC doing time for much lesser crimes like lying about your address so that your kid would be able to get into a better public school in the neighboring district: that’s a stupid reason to jail someone. Building a plan to cheat your way into college and get a tax credit from it is not a small thing
Look up “2019 college admissions bribery scandal” on Wikipedia and it will explain all the charges. Mail fraud, bribery, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud — white-collar crimes, non-violent crimes are still crimes, they still hurt the public, they still erode the fabric of society, and so of course people go to jail. Just not for as long and they are more likely to afford legal representation that can keep them out of even posh white-collar-criminal jails for as ong as possible.
I feel SOME empathy for her because you can tell she knows how badly she f**ked up. She admitted her guilt, she’s accepting that she’ll do some time in some cushy, minimum-security prison. Aunt Becky should take a page from her book.
Or she’s acting that part well. She’s an actress. We’ll never know. What we do know is that appearing in this way is likely to reduce her sentence. At the least, she’s playing the role of contrition well.
If she knows it’s wrong now, why didn’t she know it was wrong then?
So the prosecutors suggested 4 months in prison – but it seems it’s up to the judge how long she’ll have, right? But maybe since she agreed not to appeal whatever sentence is handed down the judge won’t rule for a longer time?
So ….nothing criminally ever happens to PresidentTrump and his administration, but the system goes after people who cant fight back. I dont agree with what Huffman did…but come on people; we have far more bigger problems than a college scandal!!
you consider a wealthy hollywood actress “people who can’t fight back”? have you SEEN their real estate portfolio?
This isn’t a college scandal; it’s a white-collar crime scandal and absolutely reflective of the power and entitlement that wealthy people feel they have in this very unequal society.
It’s also a reflection of the overly intense competitiveness in access to higher education.
We can prosecute all levels of crime and I certainly hope the same for Donald Trump and every one in his administration. The more the merrier.
Well said.
This is what about-ism, and it doesn’t work.
Yes, Trump & Co. are gross criminals and all deserve to rot in jail, but because that hasn’t happened, it doesn’t mean all other crime is off the hook.
If the police are looking for a bank robber in your town, and see someone stealing a car, they’re going to arrest the car thief too.
Actually, it cost a lot of tax payer money to incarcerate her. I think instead of sending Felicity to jail they should make her set up a 2 million dollar scholarship fund for inner city kids and she should pay fully for their college education. Also, she should be made to fill 1000 hours of community service helping high school kids fill out there college applications and/or tutor them for SATs. Court tells her where she has to tutor no selecting it on her own and own time.
It costs even more taxpayer money to incarcerate black women and men who have committed extremely minor offenses. Making her do volunteer work that she should be doing anyway would underscore the gross inequity in the justice system.
How about she pay more taxes on her extremely high income, instead? How about we get rid of private prisons so taxpayers aren’t funding the profit-take of their CEOs?
I wouldn’t want a criminal, a cheat, tutoring my child. I wouldn’t want an actress tutoring my child. I want a well-paid, unionized, professional educator tutoring my child.
Lock her up.
I know right??? And it is offensive to act like tutoring children would be a punishment. There are many very wonderful and well qualified people whose job is to educate children and it is one of the most important things one can do!
I don’t know where you live and work. I live in Chicago and teach at a inner city elementary school. It is just me and 25 students. For our after school tutoring program ,there are no unionized professional educators, paraprofessional, or parents helping us after school, but high school kids, who are light offenders and are required by the courts to do community service. Many have gone on to be teachers or social workers .If a Felicity Huffman is required to do community service to tutor kids by the courts , I will take her and show her how the other half lives.
I will also take her million dollar contribution and set up a college fund to help these after school tutors go to college.
My husband works for the Chicago Public Defenders office and he says many of these defendants, like Felicity Huffman, will serve their time in a fancy Federal Prison and will come out and go back to their lives like nothing ever happened.
It costs taxpayer money to incarcerate anyone! We as a society have an underlying agreement that it is worth the money to hold people accountable and punish them for breaking laws.
Cash fines are easy for them. A drop in the bucket. . Community service as you describe would be easy also. Let them pick up trash on the highway in an orange jumpsuit instead. Give the more pleasant jobs to others of lesser means.
Besides, prosecuting for any crime is costly. We do it because it’s important, not because we want to break even financially onnthe justice system.
A jail sentence will be far more effective in ensuring they don’t make fraud a habit. It’s not as though they were going to be tortured. They are still going to be more gently dealt with than non-rich people. Even the prisons they will be sent to will be genteel.
I’ve always thought it was worse to cheat on the test. Even though the money is much smaller. Possibly because I give these tests and security is so important. And I despise cheaters. At the same time, I like her so much better than that Churchy B.
yes, to me the test cheating is worse. Kids wind up at fancy colleges for all sorts of reasons – Churchy B. (<3) and co. just did it stupidly, in a way that didn't benefit the college itself. But the tests are supposed to be inviolate.
Supposed to be inviolate, but they aren’t, and haven’t been in quite a few instances – that we’re aware of-. And the funny thing is, the tests don’t have much predictive validity anyway. They add very little value on top of course marks and course marks relative to courses taken as well. (And marks in the context of the school and school district.) They add enormous profit-taking for everyone peddling the, though. America loves its numbers, even when it’s not sure what they ostensibly measure.
She’s doing the smart thing. Her kids aren’t media or brand influencers. They are just average kids that kept their mouth shut. She will go to a minimum security Club Fed. She will spend her time having coffee and contemplation. Her makeup and clothes are perfectly remorseful.
She will do 4 or 5 months. Come out of it and go on a get my career back talking tour. Discussing how she used the time to reflect and and become “a better person” seeing the error of her ways. Just a Mom that loved her kids too much! It’s all PR fluff.
Expert prediction!
Well she is guilty
I’m glad she will get jail time and I think she (or her lawyer) is smart enough to realize that the right thing to do was plead guilty and get her sentence over with. William Macy not being there is really not a good look for either one of them. His career will already be tainted even though he was never charged.
I wish one of the conditions of her sentence would be to set up a hefty scholarship fund for those who can’t afford to go to college and/or need financial assistance.
The only person I feel bad for is their daughter.
Just curious though….. does everyone know this would be an illegal thing to do?? I am not American. We don’t have SATs here in Canada and I’ve never gone through the process of trying to get into college. I would think it was shady, sneaky and sly what they did. But would I think it’s a federal offence??? I would have no idea! Just me???? Lol.
Bribery would include the assumption of illegal to most people, especially on this scale. And tax fraud — well, everybody knows that’s illegal. Even famous people go to jail for it.
Plus what they did is against the university standards for the students and is grounds for expulsion. That makes it pretty clear that it was Not A Good Thing To Do.
I was always told to report cheating to the Administration rather than believing a sob story about “I never did this before”. Cheaters can easily cheat multiple times if nobody reports to a central authority. And there are consequences for students if they are caught cheating. What loving parent puts their child in that situation?
And how exactly did Aunt Becky think her children were going to make it through school if they didn’t even have a chance of getting accepted without industrial strength fraud? Was she perhaps all set to keep opening her pocketbook to hire people to do their work and take their tests? Had she already done that for them when the fraud was revealed?
In Aunt Becky’s case, she let her kids slide in high school and didn’t worry when they skipped school or didn’t do their own work. That’s why they had little chance of getting into that particular school on their own. They might have had problems elsewhere also, and the US is full of decent colleges where people can get proper degrees in many fields. Actions (and lack of actions) have consequences.
My prediction for 2021: After serving minimal if any federal time, she will co star in a road trip buddy movie with Robert Downey Jr, funded by and a cameo by Martha Stewart. It will get rave reviews and everyone will forget about this.
I am really surprised as I thought the US (I am not an American citizen) was trying to move away from jailing people who had not committed crimes like murder etc. The jails are full of crimes like this kind of stuff. I guess not if they are jailing people for stuff like this. No wonder the jails are full. I say a huge fine and kicked out of school. The fine should go to pay tuition of those who cannot afford it.
Well, the bribes she and hundreds of other cheating parents paid resulted in hundreds of deserving students who should have received acceptance letters to colleges getting rejections instead–which I’m sure had them crying. Not fake, actress-tears, but real grief for lost hopes. This scandal has robbed untold numbers of kids, and it makes me very angry.
She’s made the right move to accept responsibility and consequences quickly and completely. Of course she benefits from all the class advantages she can afford, but she’ll be done her sentence and will move on. No impact on her career I think and a quicker bounce back for her family. Owning yourself is good for the soul.
Aunt Becky’s approach will keep her negatively in the news for ages to come. She’ll postpone some consequences running out time with legal $$$$ but the end result will negative over all for everyone including her showbiz legacy.
I don’t know where anyone in America would get the idea that you could just buy your way to getting whatever you want. Who ever heard of such a thing? It’s crazy.
She appears appropriately contrite.
[*As she should be.*]
She’s following all the right steps. She’ll be done with her sentence and back to her life before Lori even starts her trial. No one will be talking about her by this summer since there will prob be a ton of media coverage on Lori’s trial and by the time that’s done, no one will remember that Felicity went to jail. #smart
How awful for those kids to know that their parents don’t think they are capable, driven or smart enough to get into colleges on their own. I’m glad she is at least owning up to it…unlike Lori.