Oct. 25 (UPI) — Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Huffman secured early release from a California prison Friday stemming from the nationwide college admission cheating scandal.
Huffman was sentenced to serve 14 days, but officials allowed her to leave after 11. She reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., on Oct. 15. Policy allows for the facility to release a prisoner early if their scheduled date falls on a weekend. Her official release date was Sunday.
As part of her sentence, she also was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and serve 250 hours of community service. Outside of custody, Huffman will remain under supervised release for a year.
Huffman, 56, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and fraud charges, for paying $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s college aptitude test.
“My hope now is that my family, my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions,” Huffman said at her sentencing.
Fifty-one people have been charged in the scandal so far, including actress Lori Loughlin, who is fighting her charges. The defendants are accused of collectively paying more than $25 million for deceptive means to admit their children to various U.S. colleges. Nearly two dozen have pleaded guilty in the case, called “Operation Varsity Blues” by the Justice Department.
