On Tuesday, Felicity Huffman was arrested after being indicted as part of a nationwide college admissions scam, appearing in court before being released on a $250,000 bond.
In the courtroom, Huffman sat for a bond hearing along with the other defendants, all of whom were guarded by federal marshals, Vulture reports. After her lawyer attempted to argue that she was not a flight risk and should be released without bond, though the judge disagreed and posted a $250,000 bond, which was signed for by Huffman’s husband, William H. Macy.
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The actress was later seen leaving the courthouse wearing a navy sweater, black pants and glasses with her hair in a ponytail.
Huffman had been arrested that morning at her home before she was taken to a federal building where she was processed by federal marshals. She spent several hours in custody before the hearing.
Huffman was ordered to surrender her passport and was ordered to not have any contact with any of the other co-defendants in the case, though she is allowed to discuss the case with Macy.
The Desperate Housewives star was charged with felony conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, and her next court appearance is scheduled for March 29 at the federal courthouse in Boston.
A total of 50 people were indicted in the scam, which facilitated cheating on college entrance exams and involved college coaches claiming students were recruits to athletic teams to better their chances of acceptance.
Huffman allegedly paid $15,000 to a non-profit called Key Worldwide Foundation, which was the front for the scam. Iin actuality, Huffman intended “to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her oldest daughter,” according to the indictment.
Phone calls between Huffman and a cooperating witness were recorded during which the actress allegedly agreed to pay the sum to increase the SAT scores of her older daughter, Sofia. Huffman also reportedly considered using the scam again for her younger daughter, but decided against it.
The indictment also includes an email from Huffman after a counselor from her daughter’s high school told her she would be proctoring Sofia’s exam, instead of the teen taking the test at one of the specialized testing centers arranged by Key Worldwide.
“Huffman forwarded the e-mail to CW-1 with the note, ‘Ruh Ro! Looks like [my daughter’s high school] wants to provide own proctor,’” the indictment states (CW-1 refers to Cooperating Witness 1).
Along with parents, the indictment names exam proctors and athletic coaches from schools including Georgetown, Stanford, the University of Southern California, Wake Forest and Yale.
Photo Credit: Getty / Amanda Edwards
