Felicity Huffman officially pleaded guilty for her part in a massive college admissions scandal during her court appearance in Boston.
Felicity Huffman formally pleaded guilty for her part in a massive college admissions scam during her court appearance in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, ET can confirm.
Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13 at 2:30 p.m. According to the The Los Angeles Times, prosecutors will recommend a sentence at the low end of guidelines that call for four to 10 months in prison based on Huffman's plea deal and federal sentencing guidelines, but Huffman's attorneys have a right to argue for an even lower sentence. It is possible that Huffman will get electronic monitoring and not actual prison time.
According to the lengthy indictment ET obtained in March, Huffman allegedly paid $15,000 to help get her and husband William H. Macy's eldest daughter, 18-year-old Sofia, into an elite college by cheating on the SAT. A source tells ET that Huffman appeared to fight back tears when she spoke to the judge on Monday, noting that her daughter always required extra time on her tests since her daughter was 11 years old. The actress also made it very clear to the judge that she accepts her wrongdoing.
Huffman was solemn as she entered the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse on Monday, wearing a black blazer and a pleated gray dress.
A source tells ET that Huffman is definitely trying to atone for her actions.
“Felicity worries non-stop because she knows she has made the worst mistake of her life," the source says. "Her hope is that after she is able to complete her deal that she will be able to rebuild her family life."
“Felicity and William are doing their very best to stand a united front," the source continues. "This experience has been humbling for Felicity. She is completely aware of her mistake and wants nothing more than to get past this time. She knew the moment she was charged she wanted to do whatever it would take to fix this and face her mistake head on. ... She just wants to make things right."
Last month, Huffman broke her silence and said she felt "shame" for her part in the college admissions scam.
"I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions," she said in a statement. "I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly."
"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her," the statement continued. "This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty."
ET recently spoke to Martha Stewart, who gave her candid thoughts on Huffman as well as actress Lori Loughlin after all the fallout they've received stemming from the college admissions scandal. The legendary lifestyle guru, of course, had her own legal drama in the past, when she served a five-month sentence in a federal corrections facility from 2004 to 2005 after being convicted of multiple felony charges.
Watch the video below for more:
-- Reporting by Brendon Geoffrion
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