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Lori Loughlin And Felicity Huffman Set To Appear Before Judge In College Bribery Case
Huffman and Loughlin are among 50 people who have been charged for allegedly taking part in a fraudulent scheme to get their kids into college.
Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday to face charges related to their alleged involvement in a college bribery scheme.
Both actresses, along with designer Mossimo Giannulli, Loughlin’s husband, have been accused of paying the owner of a college prep business, who in turn helped their children gain admittance to sought-after schools by either cheating on their SATs or having them present themselves as student athletes, even if they did not play any sports.
Huffman, Loughlin, and Giannulli will be appearing in Boston for a preliminary hearing; it is unclear if they are expected to enter a plea during that time, People reports. All three have all been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, and the trio will be appearing in court alongside 12 others implicated in the scheme, according to CNN.
Andrew Lelling, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, announced in a press conference last month that 50 people, many of whom are wealthy parents, had been charged for participating in the scheme — the culmination of an investigation that the FBI dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues.”
Investigators claim that Loughlin and Giannulli paid William Singer, the confessed mastermind behind the scheme, $500,000 in exchange for Singer helping their daughters get admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits for the rowing team, even though neither daughter is an athlete (and one has been lambasted before for suggesting that she doesn’t care about college and would prefer to focus on her career as a social media influencer.)
Similarly, Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, are alleged to have paid Singer a “charitable” donation of $15,000 in order to get their eldest daughter fraudulent help on her entrance exam, according to an affidavit. Macy has not been charged.
Singer, who investigators say helped bring his high-profile clients to justice by wearing a wire during their interactions, has already entered a guilty plea to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering, tax conspiracy, and obstruction of justice charges.
