BOSTON (WHDH) - Actress Felicity Huffman arrived at federal court in Boston Wednesday morning to face felony charges in connection with a wide-ranging college admissions cheating scam. RELATED: Loughlin, Huffman due in Boston federal court amid college admissions scandal Huffman is charged in a scheme in which authorities say parents paid an admissions consultant to bribe college coaches and rig test scores to get their children into elite universities. The “Desperate Housewives” star has not publicly commented on the allegations. Hollywood star Lori Loughlin has also been charged in the scheme. They both are slated to face a judge at 2:30 p.m.<doc-sep>UPDATE 1:10 PM PT -- According to reporters in the courtroom, Lori Loughlin shook the hands of prosecutors and gave them a smile when she walked into the hearing. She sat next to her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and also revealed that her passport was surrendered to authorities in California. Huffman appeared in court, without husband William H. Macy, and sat between her two lawyers. Both Loughlin and Huffman were advised of the terms of their release and allowed to leave after signing bail conditions. Felicity Huffman arrived to the courthouse Wednesday to face the judge on charges connected to the infamous college admissions scandal. The "Desperate Housewives" actress held an unknown man's hand as she walked into the Boston courthouse. Huffman will join Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli as they find out more details about the future of the case and the terms of their release. As we reported, prosecutors in Operation Varsity Blues are willing to cut plea deals with the parents accused of paying their children's way into college, but it all depends on who talks first. Loughlin and her husband arrived in Boston on Tuesday afternoon and was even signing autographs outside of Boston Logan International Airport. The stars are expected in court this afternoon. Backgrid<doc-sep>BOSTON (CBS) – Two well-known actresses are among 50 people charged in the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” the U.S. Attorney in Boston announced Tuesday. Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, of ABC’s “Full House,” are two of 33 parents charged in the scheme that included ACT and SAT exam administrators, an exam proctor, one college administrator and nine coaches at elite schools. Related: CBS Los Angeles Coverage Huffman was arrested without incident in Los Angeles early Tuesday. An arrest warrant was served at Loughlin’s home and her husband was taken into custody but she was not there, according to FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller. Huffman was set to be released on a $250,000 bond Tuesday evening. She has been ordered to appear in federal court in Boston on March 29. The central figure, 58-year-old William Singer, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Boston to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice. Singer was ordered released on $500,000 bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 19. Singer, of Newport Beach, California, ran a college counseling service called the Key Worldwide Foundation. Between 2011 and 2018 wealthy parents allegedly paid Singer about $25 million in total, according to, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, “to guarantee their children’s admissions into elite schools like Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, the University of South California, the University of Texas, UCLA and Wake Forest.” “It appears that the schools are not involved,” Lelling told reporters at a news conference in Boston announcing the charges in what investigators called “Operation Varsity Blues.” Read: Complete List Of Charges In College Fraud Case According to Lelling, parents would pay Singer between $15,000 and $75,000 to either have someone take a standardized college admissions test for their children or have someone correct the answers immediately after the test was taken. Prospective students were also falsely identified as exceptional athletes to boost their admissions chances. “The coaches were allotted slots for athletic recruitment. The coaches worked with Singer, meaning they accepted bribes. Singer gave the coaches sufficiently impressive fake athletic credentials. The coaches used those athletic profiles to convince everyone else internally that this was a good recruit for the team. The person was admitted and the coach pocketed the bribe,” Lelling said. According to prosecutors, a cooperating witness told Huffman he controlled a testing center and would arrange for a third party to proctor her daughter’s SAT and secretly correct her answers afterward. Huffman allegedly paid $15,000 for her oldest daughter and began the process for her second child but ultimately abandoned the plan because she was worried a fixed score would “set off alarm bells,” according to court documents. Prosecutors allegedly have a recorded phone call between Huffman and the cooperating witness planning for someone to take the test for her daughter. Loughlin’s husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is also charged. The couple allegedly agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 to have their daughters designated as recruits for the USC crew team, even though they did not participate in crew. Both of the couple’s daughters were accepted to USC. Though prosecutors say most emails were from Giannulli, Loughlin was included and commented on some of them. The criminal complaint alleges that the children of a cooperating witnesses’ clients submitted fraudulently obtained exam scores as part of their applications to universities around the country, which included Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern. Among the nine college coaches facing charges in the scheme is Rudy Meredith, who was the Yale women’s soccer coach for 24 years. Meredith is accused of receiving $400,000 to accept a recruit despite knowing she did not play competitive soccer. Once the student was accepted to the school, her family paid $1.2 million. Wake Forest University announced it has placed women’s volleyball coach Bill Ferguson on administrative leave. Ferguson is charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering in the case. John Vandemoer, the head sailing coach at Stanford, also pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Boston. He was charged with accepting $500,000 in bribes. Only one person from Massachusetts was among the 50 people charged Tuesday. John Wilson, 59, of Hyannis Port, is the founder and CEO of a private equity and real estate development firm. Like Huffman, he was ordered to appear in federal court in Boston on March 29. “There will not be a separate admissions system for the wealthy. And there will not be a separate criminal justice system either,” Lelling said. Watch: U.S. Attorney Announces Charges<doc-sep>
Felicity Huffman faces day in court amid college bribery charges (Picture: AP) Felicity Huffman has been spotted arriving at the federal court in Boston for the first time since she was charged over her alleged involvement in a college admissions bribery case. The 56-year-old could be seen smiling as she made her way towards the building. In the pictures, the star was holding hands with a man who is believed to be her attorney, while her husband William H Macy was seemingly absent. Felicity is also set to be joined by her fellow actress Lori Loughlin, who is also said to have participated in the scandal. The pair are among a number of parents who were alleged to have become embroiled in an admissions scam to get their children into elite universities. It’s said that they could spend time behind bars if they cut a plea deal on their fraud charges. She cracked a smile outside of court (Picture: AP) Sources close to the prosecution in Operation Varsity Blues told TMZ that it is ‘likely’ discussions for a plea bargain will begin. However, it’s has been alleged that the plea would come with ‘a recommendation by prosecutors that the actresses serve some time.’ One official told the publication: ‘You can’t have people being treated differently because they have money. ‘That’s how we got to this place. Every defendant will be treated the same.’ Lori’s husband Mossimo Giuannuli will also make an appearance in court and is said to be ‘stressed out’ about the whole situation. The star could face potential jail time (Picture: AP) Lori Loughlin will also be in court (Picture: FilmMagic) The indictment alleges that the couple, whose 19-year-old daughter Olivia Jade and 20-year-old daughter Isabella, attend USC, ‘agreed to pay bribes totalling $500,000 (£383,317) 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 –thus allowing them to be admitted to USC’. A source told People magazine: ‘They can’t wait for the court hearing next week to be done with. ‘It’s very hard for them to think about other things right now,’ adding, ‘they are both feeling very stressed out.’ The colleges themselves are not alleged to have been involved in this case and the indictment says that most of the children allegedly involved had no knowledge. Olivia is currently spending time with her boyfriend Jackson Guthry in Malibu, and the source said she was ‘definitely upset with her parents’. MORE : Inside Mark Labbett’s relationship with wife Katie – from their wedding to finding out they’re cousins MORE : Megan McKenna gets back to work as she flies to Nashville days before Mike Thalassitis’ funeral