iStock/Marilyn Nieves(LOS ANGELES) — In court documents filed Friday, federal prosecutors demanded that actress Felicity Huffman serve prison time for her role in the Varsity Blues college admissions cheating scandal. However, lawyers for the Desperate Housewives alum are asking for probation.
“The court should sentence Huffman to a term of one month of incarceration, followed by 12 months of supervised release and a fine of $20,000,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo, filed Friday.
“Huffman’s conduct was deliberate and manifestly criminal: it was wrong, she knew it was wrong, and she actively participated in manipulating her daughter’s guidance counselor, the testing services and the schools to which her daughter applied,” prosecutors wrote.
Huffman’s attorneys think the punishment is excessive, insisting, “She is remorseful — indeed, deeply ashamed — about what she did. She now respectfully requests that the Court punish her for her crime by imposing a one-year term of probation; 250 hours of community service as a special condition of probation; and the $20,000 fine”
The document also includes an emotional letter from Huffman, along with a letter of support from husband William H Macy, who wrote in part, “every good thing in my life is because of Felicity Huffman.”
A separate letter from fellow Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria states, “I know I would not have survived those 10 years if it wasn’t for the friendship of Felicity.”
In April, Huffman was among 14 defendants to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in connection with a $15,000 payment she made to have her daughter’s SAT corrected so she could gain admission to college.
Huffman faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of probation and a $250,000 fine. She’s scheduled to be sentenced Friday, and will be the first parent charged in the scam to be sentenced.
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