header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
December 19
1970 - Snow day in Santa Clarita Valley [photos]
Saugus train station


| Tuesday, Mar 12, 2019
This combination photo shows actress Lori Loughlin on Feb. 27, 2018, left, and actress Felicity Huffman on Sept. 17, 2018. Loughlin and Huffman are among 50 defendants charged in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal. Both were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud in indictments unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Boston. (AP Photo)

 

By Zack Huffman
BOSTON (CN) – Federal prosecutors unsealed sweeping charges Tuesday to accuse top college coaches, multiple corporate CEOs and even two famous actresses of participating in $25 million admissions-bribery scheme.

Felicity Huffman of “Desperate Housewives” and Lori Loughlin of “Full House” are among the 33 parents accused of flouting the law to get their children into top-flight schools like Yale, Stanford, Wake Forest, Georgetown, the University of California – Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, the University of San Diego and the University of Texas.

Prosecutors say the Edge College & Career Network offered ambitious parents two options: one involved fake learning disabilities to get the students more time when taking the SAT and ACT college-entrance exams, and another where college coaches were bribed to designate the students as athletes, so that they would face a lower academic threshold for admission.

The federal indictment was filed Tuesday alongside a 204-page affidavit and a complaint in Boston.

The Edge, which is also known as The Key, was founded in 2007 by William Rick Singer and incorporated in 2012. Prosecutors say Singer also created a charitable nonprofit called the Key Worldwide Foundation that was used to funnel the bribes,

“Parents generally paid Singer between $15,000 and $75,000 per test, typically structuring the payments as purported donations to KWF that they wired or deposited into one of the KWF charitable accounts,” the indictment states.

Prosecutors say Singer used bribes to pay the administrators of two private schools that were approved as SAT or ACT test sites – one in Los Angeles, California, and one in Houston, Texas.

To have their children classified as learning disabled. parents were allegedly encouraged to use false medical records and then concoct a basis to have their children take the SATs or ACTs at one of the two schools in California and Texas where Singer allegedly had bribed officials.

Prosecutors say Singer had another resource: an individual named Mark Riddell whom he paid to take ACT and SAT exams on behalf of students or to correct their exams before they had to be submitted.

The FBI said Felicity Huffman was one of 13 defendants taken into custody in the Los Angeles area. Loughlin was not taken into custody, but her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, was arrested at their home.

Prosecutors have not divulged why the papers do not name Huffman’s husband, actor William H. Macy.

Broken up into four sections, the affidavit says Huffman made a $15,000 charitable contribution as part of the SAT/ACT scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter and arranged to do it again “for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so.”

Prosecutors say Loughlin and her husband meanwhile shelled out “$500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC.”

Nine coaches at elite schools are among those charged. Wake Forest University in North Carolina said it has suspended its head volleyball coach, Bill Ferguson, as it begins an investigation.

William McGlashan, who is CEO of a private equity firm he founded, and Jane Buckingham, CEO of a boutique marketing firm in Los Angeles, are among the other defendants.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Applications Are Open for the Summer 2026 Lifeguard Season
Do you have a passion for swimming and a desire to make an impact in your community? The city of Santa Clarita is seeking individuals with strong customer service skills and a commitment to community engagement to join its lifeguard team.
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Dec. 19: No Burn Day Alert Issued for SCV, South Coast Air Basin
Santa Clarita Valley residents need to put down the yule log and refrain from all residental wood burning fires on Friday, Dec. 19.
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Whitesides Announces 2025 Congressional App Challenge SCV Winners
U.S. Rep. George Whitesides (D-Aqua Dulce), announced the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 27th Congressional District: the “MathViz” team led by local Academy of the Canyons student, Gautham Korrapati.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1970 - Snow day in Santa Clarita Valley [photos]
Saugus train station
Do you have a passion for swimming and a desire to make an impact in your community? The city of Santa Clarita is seeking individuals with strong customer service skills and a commitment to community engagement to join its lifeguard team.
Applications Are Open for the Summer 2026 Lifeguard Season
Santa Clarita Valley residents need to put down the yule log and refrain from all residental wood burning fires on Friday, Dec. 19.
Dec. 19: No Burn Day Alert Issued for SCV, South Coast Air Basin
U.S. Rep. George Whitesides (D-Aqua Dulce), announced the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 27th Congressional District: the “MathViz” team led by local Academy of the Canyons student, Gautham Korrapati.
Whitesides Announces 2025 Congressional App Challenge SCV Winners
The Mardi Gras Madness 1K/5K/10K, set for March 1, in Santa Clarita, is more than a race, it’s a celebration of health, community and giving back. Now through Wednesday, Dec. 24, take $10 OFF race registration with promo code WINTER10 at checkout.
March 1: JCI Santa Clarita Holds Mardi Gras Madness 1K/5K/10K Runs
Theatre Extempore will present the all time classic musical The Fantasticks, 8-10 p.m. Jan. 9-11. 15-18 at The MAIN.
Jan. 9: Premiere of ‘The Fantasticks’ Presented by Theatre Extempore
West Ranch High School senior Braulio Castillo (17) never did any long-distance running before high school, but what he has accomplished in that demanding discipline since taking it up is impressive. And, so far his senior year, it is phenomenal.
West Ranch Runner Going the Distance
Powerlab Studio will hold its grand opening and ribbon cutting 4:30-5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 at 28110 Newhall Ranch Road, Valencia, CA 91355.
Jan 8: Powerlab Studio Grand Opening, Ribbon Cutting
B2 Entertainment will have a Cookies With Santa event, 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 at 21516 Golden Triangle Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.
Dec. 21: Cookies With Santa at MB2 Entertainment
The College of the Canyons soccer programs will be hosting 'Friday Night Footy,' small-sided pick-up games, running on Friday evenings Jan. 2 through June 26 at the COC Soccer Facility.
Jan. 2-June 26: Cougars Soccer Programs to Host ‘Friday Night Footy’
College of the Canyons sophomore pitcher Nichole Muro will continue her academic and athletic career at Cumberland University after signing with the Phoenix softball program.
Muro Signs with Cumberland University Softball Program
College of the Canyons men's basketball won its fourth straight contest in an 80-72 affair at Napa Valley College on Monday afternoon, Dec. 15 as freshman Julius Washington led all scorers with 20 points.
Cougars Win Fourth Straight 80-72 at Napa Valley
Canyons women's basketball snapped a five-game losing streak with a 60-44 win over Diablo Valley College during the final day of action at the Napa Valley Storm Surge tournament on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Canyons Finishes Tourney Weekend with 60-44 Win Over Diablo Valley
1929 - Swift justice: Thomas Vernon sentenced to life in prison for Saugus train derailment & robbery 1 month earlier [story]
Tom Vernon
The Newhall School District Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, Dec. 16 for its annual organiational meeting.
Newhall School Board Elects Rachelle Haddoak 2026 Board President
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department  Forensic In-Patient Step Down program’s success has led to an annual graduation that not only celebrates the participants for the progress they have made in the program but also acknowledges the department’s commitment to excellence in custody operations. 
LASD Custody Division Honors Inmates on the Path of Recovery and Success
The study of bones from the largest collection of Neandertal remains in Northern Europe has revealed evidence of selective cannibalism targeting Neandertal females and children between 41,000 and 45,000 years ago.
Research by CSUN Prof Finds Neandertal Selective Cannibalism 45,000 Years Ago
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that registration is open for the second annual School Leadership to End Hate Winter Institute, co-hosted by the California Department of Education and the California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education.
State Education Dept. to Address Rising Antisemitism, Hate
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was awarded a $134,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety
LASD Crime Lab Awarded Grant to Bolster Testing for DUI Cases
Southern California’s iconic Joshua trees are in bloom, and California State University, Northridge’s environmental biologists are asking the public’s help in figuring out why and what it means for the trees’ future.
CSUN Researchers Call for Public’s Help in Documenting Joshua Trees’ Surprise Out-of-Season Bloom
The California Department of Motor Vehicles today issued its decision in the Tesla administrative case, adopting the administrative law judge’s proposed decision
DMV Finds Tesla Violated California State Law With ‘Autopilot’ Terms
Starting January 1, 2026, Santa Clarita Transit is launching Fare Capping, meaning once riders hit the daily or weekly cap, the rest of their local rides are free.
Santa Clarita Transit Launches Fare Capping Beginning January 2026
The University Library at California State University, Northridge has completed the processing and cataloging of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation Community Relations Committee (CRC) Archives, spanning from 1921 to 2000, providing researchers and the public access to one of the most comprehensive archives documenting the Jewish community’s role in combating antisemitism, fascism and discrimination in Southern California and beyond.
CSUN University Library Announces Completion of Jewish Community Archives Processing (1921–2000)
1839 - Judge John F. Powell born in Galway, Ireland [story]
John F. Powell
SCVNews.com