2019
- March 12: The Department of Justice names 50 people in a nationwide college admissions scandal. The individuals implicated included celebrities and high-profile figures such as Full House's Lori Loughlin and Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman. College bribery ringleader William Singer, who received $25 million from wealthy parents to place students into top-tier schools, pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice.
- March 25: Of the 50, 12 plead not guilty in Boston court. This number included six former athletic coaches from prominent colleges and two test administrators.
- April 3: Loughlin and Huffman appear in court for the first time. They did not enter pleas and were released on bail. Loughlin and her husband designer Mossimo Giannulli paid Singer $500,000 to designate their daughters as USC crew team recruits. Huffman, on the other hand, paid $15,000 to boost her daughter's SAT scores.
- April 9: Loughlin and 15 other parents face additional charges. Just a day before, Huffman and 13 other defendants pleaded guilty. To put pressure on the parents involved with the bribery scandal, federal prosecutors added charges, including a count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in addition to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
- Sept. 13: Felicity Huffman is sentenced. Her sentence mandated that she spent 14 days of prison, pay $30,000 in fines, undergo one year of supervised release, and serve 250 hours of community service.
- Oct. 15: Huffman serves her sentence. She spent 11 days at a low-security prison in Dublin, CA.
Image Source: Getty / Boston Globe