Huffman (of ‘Desperate Housewives’ fame) and Loughlin (Aunt Becky from ‘Full House’) were among the 33 parents indicted on Tuesday by the Department of Justice in what was dubbed ‘Operation Varsity Blues.’ It is the largest college cheating scheme ever prosecuted by the DOJ.

The ringleader of the scheme was named as William Singer, owner of Key Worldwide Foundation and a company called Edge College & Career Network. Singer and several other employees of his outfits accepted some $25 million dollars in bribes from parents between 2011 and 2018 “to guarantee their children's admission to elite schools,” said US Attorney Andrew Lelling. Nine coaches, two ACT and SAT exam administrators, one proctor, and a college administrator were also charged.

“This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth combined with fraud,” Lelling said Tuesday.

These parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege.

Huffman and her husband – actor William H Macy, who is not named in the lawsuit – are accused of paying $15,000 to a California-based outfit to have their older daughter take her Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) at a testing center that would “secretly correct her answers afterwards” by over 400 points. The payment was allegedly disguised as a donation that would allow the charity to “move forward with our plans to provide educational and self-enrichment programs to disadvantaged youth.”