
Felicity Huffman is making her first public comments regarding her involvement in the well-known college admissions scandal Operation Varsity Blues, which led to her serving an 11-day prison sentence after it was made public in 2019.
Huffman engaged in a plea deal for conspiring to commit mail fraud and honest service mail fraud after collaborating with Rick Singer, a college admissions consultant, to manipulate her daughter’s SAT scores. Singer had set up a bribery and fraud system to give wealthy parents an advantage over other applicants for their children’s college admissions. Singer’s actions resulted in a sentence of three and a half years in prison. Another well-known Hollywood actress, Lori Loughlin, was also detained and given a two-month prison sentence for her involvement.
According to Huffman, “I felt compelled to give my daughter a chance at a future,” in an ABC7 interview. “And so, I had to break the law because it was kind of like my daughter’s future.”
Huffman claimed that although Singer had come highly recommended to her, it took her some time to figure out whether or not his plans involved any illegal activity.
“Your daughter will not be able to get into any of the colleges that she wants to,” he began to say after a year, according to Huffman. “And I gave him my belief. Thus, it appears that—and I know this seems crazy at the time—that was my only option to give my daughter a future when he gradually began to present the criminal scheme. And even though I know that hindsight is always 20/20, I felt like a bad mother if I hadn’t done it. I thus completed it.
Following an investigation into the operation, the FBI charged 33 parents—including Huffman—federally for their roles in the scheme.
She said, “They broke into my house.” “They used a gun to rouse my daughters. Nothing new for the Black and Brown community, once again. I asked to be allowed to get dressed after they handcuffed me and put my hands behind my back. I believed it to be a scam. I asked, “Is this a joke?” to an FBI agent who was carrying a gun and a flak jacket.
Speaking up, Huffman hopes to raise awareness of A New Way of Life, a women’s nonprofit where she fulfilled her community service requirements as mandated by the court. Huffman joined the board of directors and carried on volunteering for the organization after the required period of time. According to their website, A New Way of Life provides “housing, legal services, workforce and education development, and advocacy” to women who are struggling after being incarcerated.
Founder Susan Burton stated, “I assumed we would bring her in, put her at a desk, and have her work in the office.” “No, I want to do real work,” she replied. She also just finished organizing all of our donations and closets. She designed fitness programs for the ladies while jogging along Central Avenue in South Los Angeles.
Watch the interview with Huffman below.