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| Felicity Huffman Sentenced to 14 Days Behind Bars in College Admissions Scandal | Felicity Huffman Sentenced to 14 Days Behind Bars in College Admissions Scandal |
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| BOSTON — The actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison for paying a college consultant $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s SAT score, becoming the first parent given a punishment in a sweeping scheme in which nearly three dozen wealthy parents are accused of using lies and bribes to smooth their children’s way into prestigious colleges. | BOSTON — The actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison for paying a college consultant $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s SAT score, becoming the first parent given a punishment in a sweeping scheme in which nearly three dozen wealthy parents are accused of using lies and bribes to smooth their children’s way into prestigious colleges. |
| Ms. Huffman’s sentence, which included a $30,000 fine, supervised release for a year and 250 hours of community service, was being closely watched as an indication of how harshly parents in this case would be punished. And it suggested that the judge, Indira Talwani, agreed with prosecutors that a term of imprisonment — even a short one — was necessary to send a message that wealthy parents would not get away with trying to steal admissions slots from more deserving students. | Ms. Huffman’s sentence, which included a $30,000 fine, supervised release for a year and 250 hours of community service, was being closely watched as an indication of how harshly parents in this case would be punished. And it suggested that the judge, Indira Talwani, agreed with prosecutors that a term of imprisonment — even a short one — was necessary to send a message that wealthy parents would not get away with trying to steal admissions slots from more deserving students. |
| [A look back at other times manipulation of the admissions process caused a scandal] | |
| Ms. Huffman’s lawyers had argued for a sentence of probation. They said that prison was not needed as a deterrent in Ms. Huffman’s case because she had already suffered enough — being publicly shamed, seeing her acting career crater, and incurring the anger of her family. | Ms. Huffman’s lawyers had argued for a sentence of probation. They said that prison was not needed as a deterrent in Ms. Huffman’s case because she had already suffered enough — being publicly shamed, seeing her acting career crater, and incurring the anger of her family. |
| Even before the sentencing, questions were being raised about fairness and whether Ms. Huffman and the other defendants would receive lighter punishments than poor and nonwhite defendants convicted of similar crimes. | Even before the sentencing, questions were being raised about fairness and whether Ms. Huffman and the other defendants would receive lighter punishments than poor and nonwhite defendants convicted of similar crimes. |
| Ms. Huffman’s sentence was unlikely to silence those questions. Some observers had already dismissed one month of incarceration that prosecutors had requested as too short for what they viewed as a crime driven by greed and entitlement. | Ms. Huffman’s sentence was unlikely to silence those questions. Some observers had already dismissed one month of incarceration that prosecutors had requested as too short for what they viewed as a crime driven by greed and entitlement. |
| At the same time, lawyers for some black defendants who were given prison sentences for crimes involving educational fraud said that the solution to disparities in the justice system was not to send Ms. Huffman to prison for longer, but to send fewer black defendants there. | At the same time, lawyers for some black defendants who were given prison sentences for crimes involving educational fraud said that the solution to disparities in the justice system was not to send Ms. Huffman to prison for longer, but to send fewer black defendants there. |
| [Dozens of wealthy parents, according to court documents, paid millions of dollars in bribes to secure the admission of their children into elite universities.] | |
| Beyond Ms. Huffman’s case, the scheme included cheating on college entrance exams and bribing college coaches to designate students as recruits in sports that in most cases they did not play. | Beyond Ms. Huffman’s case, the scheme included cheating on college entrance exams and bribing college coaches to designate students as recruits in sports that in most cases they did not play. |
| In a letter Ms. Huffman submitted to the court ahead of her sentencing, she described being motivated to take part in the cheating scheme 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 a letter Ms. Huffman submitted to the court ahead of her sentencing, she described being motivated to take part in the cheating scheme 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. |
| [The Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin became the public faces of a sprawling college admissions bribery scheme.] | [The Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin became the public faces of a sprawling college admissions bribery scheme.] |
| “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 had argued that the parents involved needed to serve at least some time in prison, to show that wealthy people would 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. | Prosecutors had argued that the parents involved needed to serve at least some time in prison, to show that wealthy people would 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. |
| Prosecutors have charged 51 people in the expansive admissions case, including coaches and employees of Mr. Singer, and 15 of the 34 parents charged have pleaded guilty. In the cases of some other parents who have pleaded guilty in the case, prosecutors 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 charged 51 people in the expansive admissions case, including coaches and employees of Mr. Singer, and 15 of the 34 parents charged have pleaded guilty. In the cases of some other parents who have pleaded guilty in the case, prosecutors 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. |
| Other parents are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks, many of them by Judge Talwani. The likelihood that other defendants will get short sentences or probation increased slightly on Friday when Judge Talwani said, in a memorandum filed before Ms. Huffman’s sentencing, that the victims of the fraud — testing companies and the universities where coaches were bribed — had not suffered any financial harm that should affect the defendants’ sentencing guidelines. That means that all the parents before Judge Talwani will likely be facing sentencing guidelines of zero to six months, though she noted in her memorandum that she can issue a sentence outside the guidelines. | Other parents are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks, many of them by Judge Talwani. The likelihood that other defendants will get short sentences or probation increased slightly on Friday when Judge Talwani said, in a memorandum filed before Ms. Huffman’s sentencing, that the victims of the fraud — testing companies and the universities where coaches were bribed — had not suffered any financial harm that should affect the defendants’ sentencing guidelines. That means that all the parents before Judge Talwani will likely be facing sentencing guidelines of zero to six months, though she noted in her memorandum that she can issue a sentence outside the guidelines. |
| In arguing for at least a brief period of incarceration, prosecutors had pointed to examples of educational fraud that had 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, Kelley Williams-Bolar, 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 arguing for at least a brief period of incarceration, prosecutors had pointed to examples of educational fraud that had 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, Kelley Williams-Bolar, 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. |
| [Read how students of color responded to accusations that they were admitted solely because of racial preferences.] | [Read how students of color responded to accusations that they were admitted solely because of racial preferences.] |
| 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. |
| But some defense lawyers involved in those cases rejected suggestions that their clients’ cases should be used to argue that Ms. Huffman should be sent to prison. | But some defense lawyers involved in those cases rejected suggestions that their clients’ cases should be used to argue that Ms. Huffman should be sent to prison. |
| David Singleton, the executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, who represented Ms. Williams-Bolar in successfully seeking clemency in her case, said that there were indeed disparities in the justice system. | David Singleton, the executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, who represented Ms. Williams-Bolar in successfully seeking clemency in her case, said that there were indeed disparities in the justice system. |
| “When you are rich — and particularly if you’re rich and white in this country — there’s a different justice system,” he said. But, he added, “Sending Felicity Huffman to jail is not going to solve that problem.” | “When you are rich — and particularly if you’re rich and white in this country — there’s a different justice system,” he said. But, he added, “Sending Felicity Huffman to jail is not going to solve that problem.” |
| Similarly, lawyers who represented educators charged in the Atlanta test cheating scandal said that the sentences given to some of the defendants in that case were excessive. | Similarly, lawyers who represented educators charged in the Atlanta test cheating scandal said that the sentences given to some of the defendants in that case were excessive. |
| [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.] | [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.] |
| “Our educators in our cheating scandal in Atlanta were way over-prosecuted and way over-punished,” said Bob Rubin, who represents Dana Evans, a former principal, who was convicted of a racketeering charge and of making a false statement to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent. Ms. Evans was sentenced to one year in prison; her case is currently on appeal. | “Our educators in our cheating scandal in Atlanta were way over-prosecuted and way over-punished,” said Bob Rubin, who represents Dana Evans, a former principal, who was convicted of a racketeering charge and of making a false statement to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent. Ms. Evans was sentenced to one year in prison; her case is currently on appeal. |
| “My answer is not to give Felicity Huffman more, but to give our clients less,” Mr. Rubin said. | “My answer is not to give Felicity Huffman more, but to give our clients less,” Mr. Rubin said. |
| In fact, many of the 35 defendants charged in the Atlanta case pleaded guilty and received sentences of probation. | In fact, many of the 35 defendants charged in the Atlanta case pleaded guilty and received sentences of probation. |
| Sandy Wallack, who represented Dessa Curb, a special-education teacher who was found not guilty at trial, said Ms. Huffman’s case seemed more akin to the Atlanta defendants who had received probation, since Ms. Huffman pleaded guilty and expressed contrition. He said that probation was probably an appropriate sentence. | Sandy Wallack, who represented Dessa Curb, a special-education teacher who was found not guilty at trial, said Ms. Huffman’s case seemed more akin to the Atlanta defendants who had received probation, since Ms. Huffman pleaded guilty and expressed contrition. He said that probation was probably an appropriate sentence. |