Felicity Huffman & Lori Loughlin Charged in College Exam Cheating Scandal

Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among a group of people who have been indicted for allegedly being involved in a college exam cheating scheme, NBC News reported on Tuesday (March 12).

The 56-year-old Desperate Housewives star and the 54-year-old Fuller House star are part of a group of “at least 40 people” charged in an entrance exam cheating scheme according to court documents unsealed in Boston, Mass.

According to the report, the scheme focused on getting students into colleges including Georgetown University, Stanford University, UCLA, the University of San Diego, USC, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale as recruited athletes regardless of their athletic abilities, and helping students cheat on their college exams.

The actresses were charged with “conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud.”

The FBI reportedly recorded phone calls involving the celebrities and a cooperating witness. 44 people have been charged so far, according to the report.

The scheme was reportedly carried out by William Rick Singer, founder of a for-profit college preparation business. Parents paid between $15,000 and $75,000 per test for someone else to take the SAT or ACT exams in place of their college-aged sons or daughters, according to the documents.

He also bribed administrators with cash and advised children to “extended time on the exams, including by having their children purport to have learning disabilities in order to obtain medical documentation.”

He was reportedly paid roughly $10,000 per test via money that was “often funneled through a charity account.”

Parents also reportedly paid Singer roughly $25 million to bribe coaches and university administrators to “designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories,” and in some cases, he created fake athletic “profiles” by making them appear to be highly successful high school athletes.

This story is still developing as the court documents continue to be reviewed.