On Monday, April 8, 2019, actress Felicity Huffman and a dozen other parents agreed to plead guilty in a cheating scam to get their children into selective colleges. They agreed to “plead guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.” The scam involves 4 dozen people nationwide. Last month, the Justice Department charged 50 people in what one U.S. Attorney, Andrew E. Lelling in Boston, called the “largest college admissions scam prosecuted by the agency.” Court documents hold the information that detail how the actress and her husband, William H Macy, met with a cooperating witness at their home in Los Angeles where he told them he “controlled” a testing center and that he could have someone discreetly alter her (the daughter’s) test answers. According to investigators, the couple agreed to the plan. Last month, Huffman was arrested and released on a $250,000 bond and Macy was not charged.
It’s important that corruption such as this is addressed properly and not just swept under the rug. Plenty of hard-working, dedicated, and deserving students who would love to go to these selective schools, such as Yale, Harvard, and Stanford, are just looked over. Privileged students are getting into these schools because their parents cheated to get them there. No one understands right from wrong, or working hard to get what you have anymore.
What is your opinion on this? Were they let off the hook too easily? Why was Macy not charged?
I believe this goes on all the time and people cover it up every day. Aunt Becky from Full House is supposedly facing jail time. I think heavy fines are good enough. I can see this becoming a trend of people getting caught in admissions scandals.
ReplyDeleteThe irony of the situation is that this sort of conduct has gone on previously for many years but it was kept under wraps. Once mainstream media got a hold of it, the secret couldn't be contained. I could have assumed that many of them weren't going to receive harsh sentences due to their celebrity status. A $250,000 bail is nothing for multi- millionaire celebrity.
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