Felicity Huffman will be the first parent sentenced for the college admissions scandal known as “Operation Varsity Blues.”
More than 50 people — parents, coaches, test administrator and conspirators — were charged in the scandal, in which prosecutors claim mastermind William “Rick” Singer either facilitated cheating on standardized tests or bribed college coaches to give students an advantage in the admissions process.
The parties: Of those charged, more than 30 are parents accused of conspiring with Singer. More than a dozen of those parents, including Huffman, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Fellow actress Lori Loughlin was also among the most high-profile parents to be caught up in the admissions scandal.
The sentences: So far, only one person has been sentenced: Former Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer, who served no jail time.
About Huffman: She has written that before she paid $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT test, she worked with Singer’s college counseling and preparation business legitimately for a year to try to improve her eldest daughter’s math SAT scores.
But the scores didn’t improve, and Singer warned her that none of the colleges her daughter was interested in would consider her auditions to their acting programs, Huffman wrote to the judge.
Huffman wrote that Singer eventually offered to have a proctor boost the daughter’s scores after she took the test, without the daughter ever knowing. Huffman struggled with the offer for weeks before relenting, she wrote.
