Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in jail for the charge against her in the nationwide college admissions cheating case.
The sentence was handed down Friday afternoon by Judge Indira Talwani in a Boston federal court. Federal prosecutors had recommended a one-month sentence last week. Huffman must report to the Bureau of Prison on Oct. 25. After her two weeks, she is sentenced to one year of probation and must pay a $30,000 fine.
“I accept the court’s decision today without reservation,” Huffman said in a statement. “I have always been prepared to accept whatever punishment Judge Talwani imposed. I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period.”
In May, Huffman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. At that time, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of four months.
Huffman’s statement continued: “I would like to apologize again to my daughter, my husband, my family and the educational community for my actions. And I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children. I have learned a lot over the last six months about my flaws as a person. My goal now is to serve the sentence that the court has given me. I look forward to doing my community service hours and making a positive impact on my community. I also plan to continue making contributions wherever I can well after those service hours are completed. I can promise you that in the months and years to come that I will try and live a more honest life, serve as a better role model for my daughters and family and continue to contribute my time and energies wherever I am needed. My hope now is that my family, my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions.”
Huffman and her spouse — “Shameless” star William H. Macy, who was not charged — made a charitable donation of $15,000 to participate in a college entrance exam cheating scheme led by Rick Singer, on behalf of her oldest daughter. Huffman had initially planned to do the same thing for her youngest daughter, before backing out.
Huffman, along with actress Lori Loughlin, was arrested in March as part of a nationwide college admissions cheating case. In total, the people arrested were charged with paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into top universities like Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and USC in what authorities described as the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.”
Huffman was the first parent that was arrested to be sentenced.
Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have pleaded not guilty to the two charges against them. Loughlin and Giannulli are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Their next court date is a status conference on Oct. 2, though neither are required to attend.