Actress Felicity Huffman agrees to plead guilty in US university admissions scandal

Actress Felicity Huffman has pleaded guilty over a university admissions scam, with the actress saying she has “deep regret” over her actions.

Actress Felicity Huffman has pleaded guilty in the sweeping university admissions cheating scam that has ensnared wealthy parents and sports coaches at some of America’s most selective universities, federal authorities said this morning.

In a statement, Huffman said, “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done … My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her.”

The Desperate Housewives star and 12 other prominent parents will admit to charges in the scheme, which authorities say involved rigging standardised test scores and bribing coaches at such prestigious US schools as Yale and Georgetown.

Felicity Huffman, left, and Lori Loughlin are two of the high profile defendants caught up in the case. Picture: AP

Huffman was accused of paying a consultant, Rick Singer, $US15,000 ($A21,000) disguised as a charitable donation to boost her daughter’s uni entrance score. Authorities say the 56-year-old actress also discussed going through with the same plan for her younger daughter, but she ultimately decided not to.

Other parents charged in the scheme include prominent figures in law, finance, fashion, the food and beverage industry and other fields. It’s the biggest university admissions scandal ever prosecuted by the US Justice Department, embroiling elite universities across the country and laying bare the lengths to which status-seeking parents will go to secure their children a coveted spot.

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Fans of Lori Loughlin hold photo masks of the actress outside a Boston court where she appeared last week. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Singer met with Huffman and her husband, 69-year-old actor William H. Macy, at their Los Angeles home and explained to them he “controlled” a testing centre and could have somebody secretly change their daughter’s answers, authorities say. Mr Singer told investigators Huffman and her husband agreed to the plan. Macy was not charged; authorities have not said why.

Huffman will plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, according to court documents.

Michael Center, the former men’s tennis coach at the University of Texas at Austin, has also agreed to plead guilty in the scheme, prosecutors said. Mr Center was accused of accepting nearly $US100,000 ($A140,000) to help a non-tennis playing applicant get admitted as a recruit.

William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman with daughters Georgia and Sofia. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

California real estate developer Bruce Isackson and his wife, Davina Isackson, who are pleading guilty to participating in both the athletic recruitment and exam rigging schemes, are co-operating with prosecutors for a chance at a lighter sentence.

“We have worked cooperatively with the prosecutors and will continue to do so as we take full responsibility for our bad judgment,” they said in a statement.

Fellow actress Lori Loughlin, who played Aunt Becky on the sitcom Full House, and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are charged with paying $US500,000 ($A700,000) in bribes to get their two daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as rowing recruits, even though neither participated in the sport.

Loughlin and Giannulli are not among those who’ve agreed to plead guilty and haven’t publicly addressed the allegations.

Lori Loughlin with husband Mossimo Giannulli and daughters Isabella and Olivia. Picture: Instagram

Mr Singer, the consultant, pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering conspiracy on March 12, the same day the allegations against the parents and coaches were made public in the so-called Operations Varsity Blues investigation. Mr Singer secretly recorded his conversations with the parents, helping to build the case against them, after agreeing to work with investigators in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence.

Several coaches have also been charged, including longtime tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who’s accused of getting $US2.7 million ($A3.7 million) in bribes to designate at least 12 applicants as recruits to Georgetown. Mr Ernst, who was also the personal tennis coach for former first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, and a number of other coaches have pleaded not guilty.

Rick Singer ran a uni admissions scam that involved some of America’s high-flyers. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Former Yale University women’s soccer coach Rudy Meredith has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to help students get admitted and has been co-operating with authorities. Stanford’s former sailing coach John Vandemoer also pleaded guilty to accepting $US270,000 ($A380,000) in contributions to the program for agreeing to recommend two prospective students for admission.

Stanford University expelled a student who lied about her sailing credentials in her application, which was linked to the scandal. The university quietly announced it had rescinded the student’s admission in a short statement posted on its website on April 2 after determining “some of the material in the student’s application is false.” University officials previously said the student was admitted without the recommendation of Mr Vandemoer.