After serving eleven days of what was meant to be a fourteen day sentence, Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman has been released from correctional facility in Dublin, California. She was sentenced to jail time in September after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud as a part of the College Admissions Scandal. The early release comes as a consequence of a Bureau of Prisons policy that allows for sentences ending on a weekend or holiday to be cut short. The actress must now complete a year of supervised release in addition to 250 hours of community service. She was also required to pay a $30,000 fine.
Specifically, Huffman stood accused of paying $15,000 to unlawfully boost her daughter’s SAT scores. Under the guise of being a charitable donation, that money was paid to Rick Singer, who plead guilty to running an organization that helped the children of wealthy parents get into elite universities. Singer also confessed to working with the likes of Full House actress Lori Laughlin, who recently saw a new charge added to the many she is currently fighting in court. The indictment for her and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, now calls for a sentence of 45 years in prison.
Huffman has publicly expressed remorse for her actions, saying in statement, “I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period. I would like to apologize again to my daughter, my husband, my family and the educational community for my actions. And I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children.”
Huffman is married to Shameless actor William H. Macey, who has not been charged with a crime. All told, at least 51 people have been charged in the College Admissions Scandal.