Boston - Felicity Huffman will spend 14 days in prison for her role in what authorities have called the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted.
The “Desperate Housewives” actress also will have to serve one year of probation, perform 250 hours of community service and pay a $30,000 fine as part of the sentence handed down in federal court in Boston.
Huffman — the first of more than 30 parents charged in the scheme to be sentenced — was accused of paying $15,000 to the scam’s mastermind to boost her daughter’s SAT scores.
She had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Her lawyers asked for no jail time, one year of probation, 250 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine.
With her husband and about a dozen other loved ones looking on, Huffman read from a piece of paper and apologized to the judge, her daughters and husband, actor William H. Macy.
“I am deeply ashamed of what I have done,” she told the judge. “At the end of the day I had a choice to make. I could have said, ‘no’.”