At a hearing before a judge Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles, Huffman answered \"yes\" to questions from the judge and acknowledged she understood the charges against her. Macy watched silently from the front row of the courtroom.

Huffman was released from custody Tuesday night after the judge approved a $250,000 bond for the actress.

\"PHOTO:
Beth J. Harpaz/AP, FILE
PHOTO: Harkness Tower sits on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Sept. 9, 2016.
>

\"The parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege,\" Lelling said. \"They include, for example, the CEOs of private and public companies, successful securities and real estate investors, two well-known actresses, a famous fashion designer and the co-chairman of a global law firm.\"

Federal Indictment College ... by on Scribd

Also named as defendants in the indictment are Robert Zangrillo, 52, of Miami, founder and CEO of the private investment firm Dragon Global; Bill McGlashan, 55, of Mill Valley, California, a businessman and international private equity investor; Gordon Caplan, a New York attorney; and Gregory Abbott, 68, founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corp., a New York food and beverage packaging company, and his wife, Marcia Abbott, 59.

Fake athletic credentials

Lelling said in many of the cases, Singer allegedly bribed the coaches, who \"agreed to pretend that certain applicants were recruited competitive athletes when, in fact, the applicants were not.\"

The coaches allegedly \"knew the students' athletic credentials had been fabricated,\" according to Lelling.

He said Singer allegedly worked with the parents to \"fabricate profiles for their kids, including fake athletic credential and honors, or fake participation in elite club teams.\"

Singer, 58, allegedly even had parents stage photos or Photoshopped pictures of their children participating in sports.

\"PHOTO:
Steven Senne/AP
PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announces indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal, during a news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in Boston.
>

In one case highlighted by federal prosecutors, the former head women’s soccer coach at Yale University, Rudolph \"Rudy\" Meredith, 51, was paid $400,000 to accept a student even though the applicant did not play soccer. The parents of that student had paid Singer $1.2 million.

Other elite schools named in the scam were the University of Texas, UCLA and Wake Forest.

Joe Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Office, said 300 special agents fanned out across the country early Tuesday and arrested 38 people. He said seven other suspects were working to surrender to authorities and one is being actively pursued.

Huffman was arrested at her home in Los Angeles, while Loughlin, who is in Canada, has yet to be taken into custody, sources told ABC News.

School officials react

USC President Wanda M. Austin addressed the scandal in a letter to the university community.

\"The federal government has alleged that USC is a victim in a scheme perpetrated against the university by a long-time Athletics Department employee, one current coach and three former coaching staff, who were allegedly involved in a college admissions scheme and have been charged by the government on multiple charges,\" Austin wrote.

Austin vowed to take \"appropriate employment action\" against school employees involved in the scam and will review admissions decisions. On Tuesday afternoon, USC officials announced that Jovan Vanvic, 57, the university's water polo coach, and Donna Heinel, 57, USC's senior associate athletic director, were terminated from their jobs.

\"It is immensely disappointing that individuals would abuse their position at the university in this way,\" Austin said in the letter. \"We will continue to cooperate fully with all law enforcement regulatory investigations.\"

Wake Forest officials also released a statement saying the North Carolina school's head volleyball coach, William Ferguson, 48, was one of the defendants indicted.

\"The university has retained outside legal counsel to look into this matter,\" school officials said. \"Wake Forest has placed Ferguson on administrative leave.\"

The nationwide scheme was prosecuted in Boston partly because it was uncovered by FBI agents working there on an unrelated case, officials said. Fake test scores were submitted to Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern University, officials said, but none of those schools were named in the indictment.

In most cases the students did not know their admission was contingent on a bribe, officials said.

According to the charging papers, Huffman \"made a purported charitable contribution of $15,000 ... to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter.\"

Bribes disguised as charitable contributions

\"Huffman later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so,\" the documents allege.

Federal agents secretly recorded telephone calls with Huffman and a cooperating witness, according to the court papers.

The documents say Loughlin -- best known for her role as Aunt Becky on the ABC sitcom \"Full House\" -- and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, \"agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 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 -- thereby facilitating their admission to USC.\"

\"PHOTO:
ABC News
PHOTO: Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the Boston Field Office speaks at a press conference on March 12, 2019.
>

Federal agents obtained emails from Loughlin implicating her in the scam, according to the documents.

Federal authorities ultimately had three cooperating witnesses to help them build their case.

\"Today's arrests should be a warning to others: You can't pay to play, you can't cheat to get ahead because you will get caught,\" Bonavolonta said.

Others charged in the case are:
John Vandemoer, 41, the head sailing coach at Stanford University
Gordon Ernst, 52, former head coach of men and women's tennis at Georgetown University
Ali Khoroshahin, 49, the former head coach of women's soccer at USC
Laura Janke, 36, former assistant coach of women's soccer at USC
Jorge Salcedo, 46, the former head coach of men's soccer at UCLA
Michael Center, 54, the head coach of men's tennis at the University of Texas at Austin
Martin Fox, 62, president of a private tennis academy in Houston
Gamal Abdelaziz, 62, of Las Vegas
Diane Blake, 55, and Todd Blake, 53, of San Francisco
Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills
I-Hin \"Joey\" Chen, 64, of Newport Beach
Amy Colburn, 59, and Gregory Colburn, 61, of Palo Alto, California
Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, California
Elizabeth Henriquez, 56, and Manuel Henriquez, 55, of Atherton, California
Douglas Hodges, 61, of Laguna Beach, California
Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco
Bruce Isackson, 61, and Davina Isackson, 55, of Hillsborough, California
Michelle Janavs, 48, of Newport Coast, California
Elisabeth Kimmel, 54, of Las Vegas
Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlow Park, California
Toby MacFarlane; 56; of Del Mar, California
Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles
John Wilson, 59, of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
Homayoun Zadeh, 57, of Calabasas, California
Marci Palatella, 63, of Healdburg, California
Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, California
Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles.

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