Felicity Huffman Released on Bail After Bribery Hearing

Felicity Huffman was released from jail following her arrest for her involvement in a college admission cheating scandal.

The Desperate Housewives alum was released on a $250,000 bail and did not have to enter a plea Tuesday for her part in the bribery scheme for which she and 50 other people — including Fuller House star Lori Loughlin — were indicted for earlier in the day. Huffman did have to surrender her passport.

Huffman will next appear in Boston court on March 29 for a preliminary hearing.

According to Deadline, Huffman seemed withdrawn as she appeared before U.S Magistrate Judge Alexander F. MacKinnon along with about 10 other Los Angeles locals arrested in the sting Tuesday.

Huffman’s husband, Shameless star William H. Macy, was also in the courtroom, sitting among the families of the other defendants and keeping his head down. Huffman’s appearance in court came only a few hours after her arrest.

Loughlin also faces the same charges as Huffman but was not arrested Tuesday morning since she was out of the country and returned to Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon. She is expected to surrender to police. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, was arrested and also appeared in court Tuesday.

Giannulli also posted a $250,000 bail Tuesday with restrictions to travel only within the U.S. Loughlin, whose case was also mentioned during the hearing despite not being present, had her attorney, Mark Harris, ask for more lenient travel restrictions as she hopes to return to Vancouver to continue working as the case unfolds. For now, the magistrate conceded to the request but the petition will be addressed by another magistrate at a later date.

According to earlier reports, Huffman made a “charitable contribution” of $15,000 to participate in a college exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter. The actress also allegedly paid an undisclosed amount to an individual who “controlled” a Los Angeles SAT testing center to fix her daughter’s incorrect exam answers.

While working on another case, federal authorities were tipped off to a $25 million scam run by William Singer’s Key Worldwide Fondation. Parents seemingly gave donations to the organization in exchange for illegal activity, such as altering test scores and bribing coaches so children could gain admission as recruited athletes in sports they didn’t play, in order to secure admission to top colleges.

Singer and several coaches plead guilty earlier Tuesday. The outlet writes Huffman could spend up to five years behind bars if found guilty.