Felicity Huffman, 13 Others Admit To College Admissions Fraud

BOSTON – Thirteen parents charged in the college admissions scandal will plead guilty to using bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children’s admission to selective colleges and universities. One coach also agreed to plead guilty, according to United States Attorney Andrew Lelling's office.

“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 56-year-old Emmy Award-winning actress said in a statement. “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college.”

The parents were arrested last month and charged with conspiring with William “Rick” Singer, 58, of Newport Beach, California, and others, to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure the admission of students to colleges and universities.

The conspiracy, dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" by law enforcement involved bribing SAT and ACT exam administrators to allow a test taker to secretly take college entrance exams in place of students, or to correct the students’ answers after they had taken the exam, and bribing university athletic coaches and administrators to facilitate the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits.

The cheating scam has engulfed wealthy, prominent parents and athletic coaches at some of the nation's most selective, elite universities across the country, including Yale and Georgetown. Actress Lori Loughlin, of Full House fame was also charged.

It's the biggest college admissions scandal prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, putting a spotlight on the lengths to which status-seeking parents will go to secure their children a spot at elite universities.

The following were charged in an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and have agreed to plead guilty pursuant to plea agreements:

1. Gregory Abbott, 68, of New York, N.Y., together with his wife, Marcia, agreed to pay Singer $125,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their daughter;

2. Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York, N.Y.;

3. Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $50,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;

4. Gordon Caplan, 52, of Greenwich, Conn., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;

5. Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;

6. Felicity Huffman, 56, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer at least $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her oldest daughter;

7. Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $300,000 to participate in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter;

8. Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;

9. Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;

10. Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $400,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son; and

11. Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $250,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son.

In addition, Bruce Isackson, 61, and Davina Isackson, 55, of Hillsborough, California, were charged in a separate Information and have both agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

Bruce Isackson will also plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, according to the DOJ. The Isacksons agreed to pay Singer an amount, ultimately totaling $600,000, to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their younger daughter and the college recruitment scheme for both of their daughters. The Isacksons also underpaid their federal income taxes by deducting the bribe payments as purported charitable contributions.

Michael Center, 54, of Austin, Texas, the former head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, was charged in a third information and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

In 2015, Center accepted $60,000 in cash from Singer, as well as $40,000 directed to the University of Texas tennis program, in exchange for designating the child of one of Singer’s clients as a tennis recruit, thereby facilitating his admission to the University of Texas, according to the DOJ.

Center is one of several coaches who have been charged. Longtime tennis coach Gordon Ernst is accused of receiving $2.7 million in bribes to tap at least 12 applicants as recruits to Georgetown. Ernst, who was also the personal tennis coach for former first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, and a number of other coaches have pleaded not guilty, the Associated Press reported earlier.

Former Yale University women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith and Stanford's former sailing coach John Vandemoer also both previously pleaded guilty to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars with of contributions, according to the AP.

All of the defendants who improperly took tax deductions for the bribe payments have agreed to cooperate with the IRS to pay back taxes, according to authorities.

Plea hearings have not yet been scheduled by the Court. Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here.

The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

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-Some Associated Press material was used in this article.