Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy and Eva Longoria’s Letters to College Admissions Case Judge: See the Highlights

William H. Macy, Eva Longoria and more of Felicity Huffman’s famous friends sent letters to the judge in the college admissions case to argue for why the When They See Us star should receive no more than the government’s recommended sentence of one month in jail, followed by 12 months of supervised release and a fine of $20,000. 

The Transamerica actress entered an official guilty plea on May 13 to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. Huffman, who was arrested for the crimes in March, made “a purported charitable contribution of $15,000 … to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter," according to court documents.

Huffman and Macy, who married in September 1997, share daughters Sophia, 19, and Georgia, 17. The recommended sentence came on their 22nd wedding anniversary.  

Amid the charges, 27 of Huffman’s family and friends sent letters, which were obtained by Us Weekly, to District of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani in support of the actress. Huffman’s official sentencing will be Friday, September 13. 

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Among the 27 are Huffman’s sisters Betsey, Jessie and Grace and her brother Moore. 

“While I do not know completely what led up to this current situation, I consider it totally out of character and every day I am very aware of the profound suffering and regret my sister is experiencing,” Betsey wrote in her letter. “[Felicity] is aware, thoughtful, loyal, intense, smart, funny and magnetic. I love her deeply and as is true of everyone — we are all so much more than our misdeeds.” 

In April, the Georgia Rule actress agreed to plead guilty to the crimes in an emotional statement. 

“I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” she said at the time. “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.” 

Scroll to read more letters sent to the college admissions case judge. 

In her own letter, Huffman explained how she came across the college admissions scam by accident. 

“The factual story is that I didn’t go shopping for a college counselor to find out how to rig a SAT score. I didn’t even know such a scheme existed,” she wrote. “I hired a counselor for guidance and expertise on how to apply to colleges as successfully as possible for my daughter, Sophia.”  

She explained that Rick Singer, the college consultant who is charged with leading the scandal, was recommended to her by Sophia’s high school. It wasn’t until after a year of tutoring Sophia that Singer recommended illegal activities to boost the teenager’s test scores. 

“He told me, ‘We will make sure she gets the scores she needs,’ by having a proctor bump up her scores after she takes the test,” Huffman wrote. “Sophia would never know and then she could, ‘Concentrate on what really matters: her grades and her auditions.’”

She continued, “I was shocked that such a thing existed and after he made the initial suggestion, it remained on the table.”

The actress said that it took her six weeks of going back and forth with the offer until she decided to take it. 

“To my utter shame, I finally agreed to cheating on Sophia’s SAT scores, and also considered doing the same for Georgia. But the decision haunted me terribly; I knew it was not right.” 

She ended her letter, “As painful as this has been, I am truly grateful for the lessons I have learned and the opportunity to change and live more honestly. I am now focusing on repairing my relationship with my daughter, my family and making amends to my community.”

In his letter, Macy explained that he and his wife didn’t raise their daughters with a Hollywood lifestyle. 

“Felicity worried about raising our girls in Hollywood with working actors for parents, so we decided to keep them as far away from our business as possible,” he wrote. “We rarely took them to any sort of Hollywood event and tried to avoid them being photographed by the press.” 

The Shameless star also opened up about how the ordeal has affected his family, specifically his daughters. He revealed that Sophia’s admission to her dream college, which didn’t require SAT scores, was rescinded after her mother’s arrest made the news.  

“[Sophia] still doesn’t like to sleep alone and has nightmares from FBI agents waking her that morning with guns drawn,” he wrote.  

He said that Georgia, the couple’s younger daughter, has also been emotionally affected by the case.  

“After watching the six FBI agents put her handcuffed Mom into a car and drive her away, she cried,” Macy said of Georgia. “The next day she said she wanted to go to school, but as the news of the case became a firestorm she had to come home.”

Macy ended his letter by explaining to the judge how much his wife means to him.

“If I may I’d like to tell you one more thing: every good thing in my life is because of Felicity Huffman,” he wrote.

Longoria, who starred on Desperate Housewives for eight seasons with Huffman, wrote about how her costar took her “under her wing” when the Texas native was still new to Hollywood.

“When I began the TV show, I was very new to the business and industry as a whole. Felicity was the first one to take me under her wing,” she wrote. “From the first table read of the script, she noticed me sitting alone, scared and unsure of where to go and what to do. Her gentle character and kind heart immediately opened up to me. She approached me, introduced herself and said, ‘Don’t be scared, we will get through this together.’” 

The Dora and the Lost City of Gold actress also recalled the time Huffman stood up to an on-set bully for her. 

“There was a time when I was being bullied at work by a co-worker. I dreaded the days I had to work with that person because it was pure torture,” Longoria wrote. “Until one day, Felicity told the bully ‘enough’ and it all stopped. Felicity could feel that I was riddled with anxiety even though I never complained or mention the abuse to anyone.”

She continued, “I know I would not have survived those 10 years if it wasn’t for the friendship of Felicity.”

Cherry, who is the creator of Desperate Housewives, recalled a time Huffman helped a much older actress, who guest-starred as her character’s elderly neighbor, remember her lines. 

“The next day I saw the dailies and it moved me to tears — this formerly great performer was struggling with practically every word,” Cherry wrote. “But Felicity Huffman was right next to her, treating her with so much kindness. … Felicity remained patient supportive and helped this old woman through the day, turning what could have been a very tense situation into a master class on human compassion.”

The producer also wrote about Huffman was one of the kindest Desperate Housewives cast members to a “problematic” actress on the show. 

“She was a big star with some big behavioral problems. Everyone tried their darndest to get along with this woman over the course of the show. It was impossible. And things went from bad to worse,” he wrote. “Felicity still insisted on saying, ‘Good morning’ to this actress, even though she knew she wouldn’t get a response. I found out about this and asked Felicity about it. She smiled and said, ‘Just because that woman’s determined to be rude, doesn’t mean she can keep me from being polite.’”  

Cherry ended his letter with a plea to the judge. 

“Any mercy you can show this woman will not be wasted,” he wrote.