March 12, 2019
by John Larson
Two famous actresses—Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives,” “American Crime”) and Lori Loughlin (“Full House,” “Fuller House”)—are among the approximately 50 people being charged with felony fraud charges for a college admissions scam that the Justice Department calls the largest college admissions sting in U.S. history.
In a press conference held in Boston on March 12, officials for the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts said that the FBI investigation, which started in 2018, involved fraudulent activities dating back to 2011 by a wide-reaching network led by William “Rick” Singer. Law enforcement says that parents paid Singer fees ranging from $15,000 to $6 million to falsify admission applications for their children so the kids could get into elite universities such as Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southern California (USC). Singer operated the Edge College & Career Network, also known as The Key; he has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities.
The scams included falsification of SAT and ACT scores and lying about enrollment in sports programs in order to gain admission into these universities. According to the U.S. Attorney, the fraud included the willing participation of several university employees, such as athletic coaches, who have been arrested as part of the sting. The U.S. Attorney claims that Singer also set up a phony nonprofit charity named Key Worldwide Foundation (based in Newport Beach, California) to launder money that he received from the scams, which could lead to charges of tax fraud for many of those involved.
Loughlin and her second husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli (who is also being charged with the same crimes), have two daughters: Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli. Isabella began attending USC in 2016, while Olivia began attending USC in 2018. Loughlin and her husband are accused of paying up to $500,000 to falsify application documents that lied about Olivia and Isabella being involved in the the sport of crew rowing. Before Olivia started her USC enrollment, she said on her YouTube channel in a video posted on August 14, 2018: “I don’t know how much of school I’m going to attend. But I’m going to go in and talk to my deans and everyone, and hope that I can try and balance it all. But I do want the experience of, like, game days, partying…I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know.”
Huffman and her husband, William H. Macy (who has not been charged in the sting), are both Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated actors. They also have two daughters: Sophia Grace Macy and Georgia Grace Macy, who are currently students in high school. Sophia will graduate from Los Angeles High School of the Arts this year, and it has not been made public if she has been accepted into any colleges. Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 to give Sophia a cheating advantage in her SAT test.
Huffman attended the Putney School, a private boarding high school in Putney, Vermont, and is a 1981 graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. She also attended (but did not graduate from) New York University, Circle in the Square Theatre School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Loughlin’s formal education ended at Hauppauge High School in New York state, where she graduated in 1983.
Loughlin starred in several movies for Hallmark Channel, and it’s unlikely that she will be working with the network again because of this scandal. The most recent TV series she starred in was Netflix’s “Fuller House.” It was announced in February 2019 that the fifth season of “Fuller House” would be the show’s final season. It has not been announced yet when Netflix will begin streaming the last season of “Fuller House.”
Long before the scandal broke, Huffman had already completed filming her role as prosecutor Linda Fairstein in director Ava DuVernay’s 2019 Netflix miniseries “Central Park Five.” The miniseries, which premieres on May 31, is based on the true story of the five black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly convicted of the 1989 rape of a white woman in New York’s Central Park. Ironically, Huffman is now going to experience in real life what it’s like to be prosecuted for a serious crime.
March 15, 2019 UPDATE: Hallmark Channel and Netflix have cut ties with Loughlin. In addition, companies such as Sephora and TRESemmé have ended their relationship with Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade, who was paid to promote various companies on social media. USC has issued a statement that the university will decide the admission status of students involved in this scandal on a “case by case” basis.
April 8, 2019 UPDATE: Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty to the charges against her. She issued this statement: “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions,” the statement read. “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.”
April 15, 2019 UPDATE: Loughlin and her husband Massimo Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges, and they are reportedly going to be audited by the Internal Revenue Service. Depending on the outcome of the audit, the couple could also be facing addition charges related to tax fraud.
September 13, 2019 UPDATE: Huffman has been sentenced to 14 days in prison. More details are in this Associated Press report.
May 22, 2020 UPDATE: Loughlin has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, while Giannulli pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest-services wire and mail fraud. Loughlin’s plea agreement calls for her to serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service. Giannulli’s agreement requires that he serve five months in prison, pay a $250,000 fine and have two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service.
August 21, 2020 UPDATE: Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison. She will have to pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service. After she finishes serving her prison sentence, Loughlin will have supervised release for two years.