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| Facing Sentencing, Felicity Huffman Says She Wanted ‘Fair Shot’ for Daughter | Facing Sentencing, Felicity Huffman Says She Wanted ‘Fair Shot’ for Daughter |
| (44 minutes later) | |
| BOSTON — The popular television actress exuded confidence in front of the camera, but as a mother, she said, she was insecure. | BOSTON — The popular television actress exuded confidence in front of the camera, but as a mother, she said, she was insecure. |
| Felicity Huffman, the actress who is expected to be sentenced on Friday in the nation’s largest college admissions cheating case, said she was always searching for “the right book or the right piece of advice” that would keep her from making a catastrophic mistake as she raised her children. | Felicity Huffman, the actress who is expected to be sentenced on Friday in the nation’s largest college admissions cheating case, said she was always searching for “the right book or the right piece of advice” that would keep her from making a catastrophic mistake as she raised her children. |
| So when a college counselor warned her that her elder daughter’s SAT score would be too low to be considered by top performing arts schools, she listened to what he suggested next: She should pay him $15,000 to cheat on the test. | So when a college counselor warned her that her elder daughter’s SAT score would be too low to be considered by top performing arts schools, she listened to what he suggested next: She should pay him $15,000 to cheat on the test. |
| [Dozens of wealthy parents, according to court documents, paid millions of dollars in bribes to secure the admission of their children into elite universities.] | |
| “In my desperation to be a good mother I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot,” Ms. Huffman wrote in a letter to the judge who will decide her punishment. In her letter, Ms. Huffman added that she saw “the irony in that statement now.” | “In my desperation to be a good mother I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot,” Ms. Huffman wrote in a letter to the judge who will decide her punishment. In her letter, Ms. Huffman added that she saw “the irony in that statement now.” |
| A federal judge will decide Ms. Huffman’s penalty for her role in what prosecutors describe as a broad conspiracy to cheat on exams and bribe coaches to designate students as recruits in sports they often did not play. Ms. Huffman, who pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, is the first of the nearly three dozen wealthy parents charged in the scheme to be sentenced, and her sentence is being closely watched as an early sign of whether the penalties will be significant. | A federal judge will decide Ms. Huffman’s penalty for her role in what prosecutors describe as a broad conspiracy to cheat on exams and bribe coaches to designate students as recruits in sports they often did not play. Ms. Huffman, who pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, is the first of the nearly three dozen wealthy parents charged in the scheme to be sentenced, and her sentence is being closely watched as an early sign of whether the penalties will be significant. |
| [Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin have found themselves as the twin public faces of a sprawling college admissions bribery scheme.] | |
| Prosecutors have asked that Ms. Huffman be sentenced to one month of incarceration, while her lawyers say she should get no jail time but a year of probation. The two sides have sparred about how to best compare Ms. Huffman’s offense — a felony which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years — with past examples of educational fraud. And questions have been raised about whether Ms. Huffman and the other parents will receive lighter punishments than poor and nonwhite defendants convicted of similar crimes. | Prosecutors have asked that Ms. Huffman be sentenced to one month of incarceration, while her lawyers say she should get no jail time but a year of probation. The two sides have sparred about how to best compare Ms. Huffman’s offense — a felony which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years — with past examples of educational fraud. And questions have been raised about whether Ms. Huffman and the other parents will receive lighter punishments than poor and nonwhite defendants convicted of similar crimes. |
| In the letter she submitted ahead of her sentencing, Ms. Huffman described being motivated by a mix of maternal devotion and fear. She wrote that her insecurity as a parent, which she said was amplified by having a daughter with learning disabilities, made her trust the college counselor she had hired and rely on his advice against her better judgment. The counselor, William Singer, whom prosecutors have described as the mastermind of the admissions scheme, has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges; he has not yet been sentenced. | In the letter she submitted ahead of her sentencing, Ms. Huffman described being motivated by a mix of maternal devotion and fear. She wrote that her insecurity as a parent, which she said was amplified by having a daughter with learning disabilities, made her trust the college counselor she had hired and rely on his advice against her better judgment. The counselor, William Singer, whom prosecutors have described as the mastermind of the admissions scheme, has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges; he has not yet been sentenced. |
| After he had counseled Ms. Huffman’s daughter for nearly a year, Mr. Singer told Ms. Huffman that, unless her daughter’s SAT math score rose sharply, the performing arts schools she was aiming for would not even consider her, Ms. Huffman told the judge. | After he had counseled Ms. Huffman’s daughter for nearly a year, Mr. Singer told Ms. Huffman that, unless her daughter’s SAT math score rose sharply, the performing arts schools she was aiming for would not even consider her, Ms. Huffman told the judge. |
| “I honestly didn’t and don’t care about my daughter going to a prestigious college,” Ms. Huffman wrote. “I just wanted to give her a shot at being considered for a program where her acting talent would be the deciding factor. This sounds hollow now, but, in my mind, I knew that her success or failure in theater or film wouldn’t depend on her math skills. I didn’t want my daughter to be prevented from getting a shot at auditioning and doing what she loves because she can’t do math.” | “I honestly didn’t and don’t care about my daughter going to a prestigious college,” Ms. Huffman wrote. “I just wanted to give her a shot at being considered for a program where her acting talent would be the deciding factor. This sounds hollow now, but, in my mind, I knew that her success or failure in theater or film wouldn’t depend on her math skills. I didn’t want my daughter to be prevented from getting a shot at auditioning and doing what she loves because she can’t do math.” |
| Prosecutors have argued that the parents involved must serve at least some time in prison, to show that wealthy people will not get away with corrupting the admissions system. At one point the prosecutors had indicated they would ask that Ms. Huffman face four months behind bars, but they lowered their request last week. In the cases of some other parents who have pleaded guilty in the case, they are seeking as much as 15 months of incarceration. They asked for a comparatively lighter sentence for Ms. Huffman in part, they said, because she paid less than many of the other parents and because she chose not to include her younger daughter in the scheme. | Prosecutors have argued that the parents involved must serve at least some time in prison, to show that wealthy people will not get away with corrupting the admissions system. At one point the prosecutors had indicated they would ask that Ms. Huffman face four months behind bars, but they lowered their request last week. In the cases of some other parents who have pleaded guilty in the case, they are seeking as much as 15 months of incarceration. They asked for a comparatively lighter sentence for Ms. Huffman in part, they said, because she paid less than many of the other parents and because she chose not to include her younger daughter in the scheme. |
| In seeking at least a brief period of incarceration, prosecutors have pointed to examples of educational fraud that have been punished with prison terms — in some cases, long ones. In court papers, they cited a case in which Atlanta public schoolteachers, principals and administrators were convicted in a conspiracy to cheat on state tests, and some were sentenced to as much as three years in prison; all of the defendants were black. In another case, an African-American mother in Ohio was sentenced to five years in prison — a sentence later suspended to 10 days in jail, three years of probation and community service — for using her father’s address to get her children into a nearby suburban school district. | In seeking at least a brief period of incarceration, prosecutors have pointed to examples of educational fraud that have been punished with prison terms — in some cases, long ones. In court papers, they cited a case in which Atlanta public schoolteachers, principals and administrators were convicted in a conspiracy to cheat on state tests, and some were sentenced to as much as three years in prison; all of the defendants were black. In another case, an African-American mother in Ohio was sentenced to five years in prison — a sentence later suspended to 10 days in jail, three years of probation and community service — for using her father’s address to get her children into a nearby suburban school district. |
| [U.S.C. has fought to attract low-income students. Now, the campus has become a vivid microcosm of the economic disparities in Los Angeles.] | |
| In light of examples like these, the prosecutors suggested, sentencing parents in this case to probation would invite accusations of unfairness and racial bias. | In light of examples like these, the prosecutors suggested, sentencing parents in this case to probation would invite accusations of unfairness and racial bias. |
| The cases “most analogous to this one — involving organized schemes and multiple co-conspirators — have typically resulted in the imposition of meaningful terms of incarceration,” they wrote. “Frequently, those cases involved defendants who are members of racial and ethnic minorities and/or from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. A different result in this case, particularly given the history and characteristics of these defendants, would not be appropriate.” | The cases “most analogous to this one — involving organized schemes and multiple co-conspirators — have typically resulted in the imposition of meaningful terms of incarceration,” they wrote. “Frequently, those cases involved defendants who are members of racial and ethnic minorities and/or from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. A different result in this case, particularly given the history and characteristics of these defendants, would not be appropriate.” |
| In calling for probation for Ms. Huffman, her lawyers cited examples of testing fraud in which defendants got no jail time, including a case in which 15 Chinese nationals were charged with cheating on college entrance exams in a scheme involving fake passports and paid test takers. In that 2015 case, most of the defendants received probation, and although the records of two defendants are sealed, Ms. Huffman’s lawyers say there is no record of any of the defendants being sent to prison. | In calling for probation for Ms. Huffman, her lawyers cited examples of testing fraud in which defendants got no jail time, including a case in which 15 Chinese nationals were charged with cheating on college entrance exams in a scheme involving fake passports and paid test takers. In that 2015 case, most of the defendants received probation, and although the records of two defendants are sealed, Ms. Huffman’s lawyers say there is no record of any of the defendants being sent to prison. |
| [Read how students of color responded to accusations that they were admitted solely due to racial preferences.] | [Read how students of color responded to accusations that they were admitted solely due to racial preferences.] |
| Prosecutors have charged 51 people in the admissions case, including coaches and employees of Mr. Singer, and 15 of the 34 parents charged have pleaded guilty. Most of those parents are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks, most by the same judge, Indira Talwani. | Prosecutors have charged 51 people in the admissions case, including coaches and employees of Mr. Singer, and 15 of the 34 parents charged have pleaded guilty. Most of those parents are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks, most by the same judge, Indira Talwani. |
| In addition to one month of incarceration for Ms. Huffman, prosecutors have asked for a year of supervised release and a fine of $20,000. Ms. Huffman’s lawyers have argued for a year of probation, the fine and 250 hours of community service. | In addition to one month of incarceration for Ms. Huffman, prosecutors have asked for a year of supervised release and a fine of $20,000. Ms. Huffman’s lawyers have argued for a year of probation, the fine and 250 hours of community service. |
| Prosecutors have framed the college admissions scheme as a conspiracy whose victims were the testing companies and universities where coaches accepted bribes to recruit students who were mostly not real athletes. But one question hanging over the case is how judges will view the role of universities that have been tied to the scandal, and how that may affect their decisions about punishments. | Prosecutors have framed the college admissions scheme as a conspiracy whose victims were the testing companies and universities where coaches accepted bribes to recruit students who were mostly not real athletes. But one question hanging over the case is how judges will view the role of universities that have been tied to the scandal, and how that may affect their decisions about punishments. |
| In a recent court filing, federal probation officials, who advise judges on sentencing guidelines, said they questioned “what degree of responsibility lies with the schools and testing agencies for failing to properly oversee the admissions and testing processes to ensure that they were fair for all students.” | In a recent court filing, federal probation officials, who advise judges on sentencing guidelines, said they questioned “what degree of responsibility lies with the schools and testing agencies for failing to properly oversee the admissions and testing processes to ensure that they were fair for all students.” |