Huffman pleads guilty in college admissions scandal

Actress Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges in a sweeping college admissions cheating scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 13, and prosecutors said they would recommend four months in prison.

Huffman, 56, was arrested in March along with dozens of prominent parents, athletic coaches, and others implicated in a college admissions bribery scandal involving top universities across the country. She was charged with paying $15,000 to have a proctor boost her older daughter’s SAT score. Huffman apologized in a statement last month and said she would accept the consequences. She said she “betrayed” her 18-year-old daughter, who was not aware of her plan. “This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life,” Huffman said. “My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”

The case is the largest college admissions scandal the U.S. Department of Justice has ever prosecuted. California businessman Devin Sloane also pleaded guilty Monday to paying $250,000 in bribes to get his son into the University of Southern California as a fake water polo recruit. Officials say he bought athletic gear and worked with a designer to create a bogus photo of his son playing the sport for the application.