
Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin's husband Mossimo Giannulli have been released from custody after they were charged in a massive college admissions scandal.

Huffman and Giannulli are among 50 people, including Loughlin, who have been accused of paying bribes to get their children into America's top colleges.

The Desperate Housewives star was released on $250,000 bond on Tuesday.

Huffman allegedly paid $15,000, which she disguised as a charitable donation, to arrange for someone to change her daughter's answers during the SAT exams.

Charging documents state that both Huffman and her husband, actor William H Macy, agreed to the plan to help daughters Sofia, 18. They allegedly discussed using it again for their daughter Georgia, 16, but decided against it.

The scheme worked in several ways. First, parents would pay obtain a medical document which said their child needed extra time to complete either their SAT or ACT test. Once they got it, they would take the test in one of two centers that was controlled by the scheme's 'mastermind' Rick Singer. One was in Hollywood and one was in Texas.

Singer paid off Mark Riddell, a 'really smart' Florida college prep teacher who would fly to the test locations when a child was due to take it and either sit it for them or correct their answers once they had finished. The doctored tests were then sent on to be graded.

The second part of the scheme involved creating fake athlete profiles for kids to get them athletic scholarships to schools they would not have gotten into on their grades alone.

Singer allegedly had several sports coaches from various colleges around the US on his pay roll to facilitate this part of the scheme. Once the child got into their desired college based on the lie, the paid-off coaches then made excuses for why they were not showing up to practices including that they had become injured.

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Felicity Huffman (pictured leaving court on Tuesday) has been released on $250,000 bond after she was charged in a massive college admissions bribery scandal

Huffman looked distraught as she waited for her hearing at the Los Angeles Federal Court of Justice on Tuesday

The Desperate Housewives star is among 50 people, including Lori Loughlin, who have been accused of paying bribes to get their children into America's top colleges

Lori Loughlin's husband Mossimo Giannulli was also seen leaving the courthouse on Tuesday

Huffman was dressed casually and kept her head down as she left the federal courthouse on Tuesday night

Macy, who was not charged, was in court on Tuesday to support his wife and sat in the front row. Authorities have not disclosed why he was not implicated in the scandal.

Huffman has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. A magistrate judge ordered the actress to restrict her travel to the continental US and she surrendered her passport to the court.

Seven FBI agents showed up to Huffman's Hollywood Hills home at 6am on Tuesday, drew their weapons, and ordered the actress to come out and surrender.

Huffman, Macy, and their two daughters were asleep inside the home when the agents arrived.

Seven FBI agents showed up to Huffman's home in Hollywood Hills at 6am on Tuesday, drew their weapons, and ordered the actress to come out and surrender. She is pictured here leaving court on Tuesday

Huffman had to surrender her passport to the court on Tuesday. Her next court date is set for March 29 in Boston

Huffman was among a slew of defendants, including Loughlin's husband, who appeared at the US federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Huffman is seen here being escorted by courthouse security officers into an elevator after being released on $250,000 bond

Hoffman is pictured here waiting towards the door to exit the lobby of the courthouse after she was released Tuesday night

Giannulli's bond was set at $1million, forcing him to put the family's primary residence up as collateral to guarantee bond

Giannulli is seen here leaving the federal courthouse with others after being released on $1million bond Tuesday night

Like Huffman, Giannulli (pictured leaving the courthouse) was forced to surrender his passport to the court. He must also appear in court in Boston on March 29

Giannulli was arrested by FBI agents early on Tuesday morning. His wife was supposed to be taken into custody as well, but was in Vancouver for filming at the time

Giannulli's only son Gianni was seen arriving at his home after he posted bail on Tuesday

Another family member was seen trying to cover her face as she arrived at Giannulli and Loughlin's home on Tuesday night

One FBI source said that the guns were drawn as a precaution. Huffman was then taken to a federal building and processed by federal marshals.

Loughlin flew to Los Angeles from Canada on Tuesday afternoon and will surrender to authorities on Wednesday morning.

She has likewise been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly paid $500,000 to get their daughters Olivia Jade, 19, and Isabella, 20, into the University of Southern California.

Lori Loughlin (pictured with her daughters) has also been implicated in the bribery scandal

Huffman is pictured here with her daughters Sofia and Georgia and husband William H Macy

Sources said that FBI agents arrived at Loughlin's home on Tuesday morning, only to find out she was in Vancouver. They took Giannulli in custody.

Giannulli's bond was set at $1million, forcing him to put the family's primary residence up as collateral to guarantee the bond.

The designer also had to surrender his passport to the court.

Loughlin later turned herself in to investigators. She was released from custody after she posted $1million bail on Wednesday.

Like Huffman, his travel has been restricted to the continental US and both must appear at court in Boston on March 29.

Loughlin's attorney has requested that she be allowed to travel to Vancouver, where she films for the Hallmark Channel, after she is arraigned.

The judge said the request sounded reasonable but would decided at a later date.

Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly paid the half-million dollar sum to get their daughters into USC, which Giannulli graduated from in 1987, as fake rowing recruits. Neither daughter participated in crew.

The scheme was uncovered by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Boston, who discovered that dozens of parents had paid a total of $6million in bribes to get their children into elite schools including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, and UCLA.

Macy was in Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday to support his wife. Authorities have not disclosed why he was not implicated in the scandal

Charging documents state that both Huffman and Macy (pictured walking into court) agreed to a plan to pay $15,000 to help get their daughter's answers secretly changed on the SAT

Huffman has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. A magistrate judge ordered the actress to restrict her travel to the continental US

Macy is pictured walking into the federal courthouse on Tuesday

In many instances the children were unaware that their parents had paid these bribes, according to federal documents.

Most of those charged either paid to get higher SAT scores or faked an athletic resume that, with the participation of a bribed college coach, helped the children get accepted to a college as a team's recruit.

Prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that some students also lied about their ethnicity on applications to take advantage of affirmative action.

William Rick Singer, the founder of Key Worldwide Foundation, had been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the scandal.

The documents claim that since 2011, Singer has received $25million from parents which was used to payoff or bribe individuals who could 'designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories'.

Huffman and Macy allegedly gave a $15,000 donation to a group that later paid a man who proctored the SAT to her daughter (above)

A recorded phone conversation makes it evident that Huffman is aware that her daughter will be assisted in the test (above)

In one call from last year, Huffman revealed she planned to use the same system for her younger daughter (above) after it worked for her older daughter

In his biography on the website for the Newport Beach-based Key Foundation, Singer is heralded for his ability to get children into the college of their choice.

Singer is also praised for 'helping students discover their life passion, and guiding them along with their families through the complex college admissions maze'.

Huffman paid a $15,000 'charitable contribution to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter,' according to the complaint.

She also 'later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so'.

The charging documents state that Huffman had the site where her daughter took the SATs moved from her own high school to a test center in West Hollywood.

Her test was then administered by a proctor who had flown in from Tampa and told investigators that he 'facilitated cheating, either by correcting the student's answers after the test or by actively assisting the student during the exam'.

In this case, Huffman's daughter scored a 1420 out of 1600 in December 2017, which was a 400 point improvement from her PSAT results just one year prior.

Soon after the proctor was paid $40,000 by Key Worldwide Foundation, the same organization that Huffman would later give a $15,000 donation to, according to the documents.

The documents also include the transcript of a phone call between Huffman and the individual who facilitated the test in which she admits that her older daughter had assistance and expresses her desire for her younger daughter to get similar help.

In a follow-up call just this past December, Huffman and Macy - who is only referred to as 'spouse' in the complaint - spoke about their younger daughter wanting to get into Georgetown.

It was then decided that the young girl would take the exam twice, once on her own and once with help, to ensure she got the score necessary to get into the prestigious DC university, it is claimed.

Then, at the last second, the couple decided not to have their daughter take the test with assistance.

Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters' college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to make sure the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU.

Emails obtained by investigators revealed it was soon decided that bribes would be paid to have the girls recruited onto the crew team.

A short time after that, photos were taken of older daughter Isabella on a rowing machine.

Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Giannulli allegedly paid $500,000 to get daughters Olivia Jade, 19, (pictured) and Isabella, 20, into the University of Southern California

Olivia Jade has cashed in on being student during her brief time at USC. She posted sponsored content for Amazon Prime on her Instagram account (above) in September that featured an image of her inside her USC dorm room

While Loughlin has deleted all her social media accounts, her teen daughter's Instagram became flooded with critics slamming her over the scandal

Dr Donna Heinel, the senior associate athletic director at USC, presented Isabella as a potential athletic recruit a month later and she was approved for conditional admission.

It was then asked that a check be sent to Heinel for $50,000 from Giannulli, who a short time later asked if he could mention the story to the athletic director at USC when the two men were at Augusta, likely playing at the famed golf club.

Singer stated that this was not a good idea because when he discussed the possibility of Isabella's admission with him the year prior, he thought the family 'would be good for a million plus.'

Isabella received her admission letter the following March, which was followed by another note requesting a donation of $200,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation.

After the amount was wired to the organization, a note was returned that stated no good or services had been exchanged for the money - which according to the documents is false.

This same exact process was then repeated with younger daughter Olivia, it is claimed.

William Rick Singer (pictured at federal court on Tuesday), the founder of Key Worldwide Foundation, had been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the scandal

Problems arose however when Olivia's guidance counselor became curious as to how she managed to receive admission based on her involvement in crew since she did not row.

An example of a student whose face was photoshopped onto another that was included in court documents

At the same time, Loughlin complained that her daughter was having difficulty filling out her other college applications, prompting Singer to ask an employee to take care of the task.

This was done so as not to draw attention to the fact that it was already confirmed Olivia had received conditional admission to USC.

At some point, there was a very heated and public altercation between Giannulli and the counselor, which elicited an email from Heinel asking that it not happen again in the future so as to avoid detection.

Everything began to fall apart in October 2018 when the IRS audited Key Worldwide and began to look into donations made by parents whose children were then admitted to USC.

Loughlin and Giannulli were told by Singer to say they had given the $500,000 to the foundation to help 'underserved kids.'

'They worried their daughters are as stupid as their mothers.' Kellyanne Conway launches astonishing attack on Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin over admissions bribery charges

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin on Twitter on Tuesday

'They worried their daughters are as stupid as their mothers,' Conway tweeted

The two actresses were implicated in a massive cheating scandal to get their children into elite universities

Conway criticized the other 48 parents and coaches charged in the plot

'YOU FAILED THESE KIDS,' she wrote

In many instances, the children were unaware their parents paid bribes to get them into their unversities

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin on Twitter on Tuesday

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, who were implicated in a massive cheating scandal to get their children into elite universities.

'They worried their daughters are as stupid as their mothers,' Conway, a mother of four, tweeted Tuesday evening.

She also criticized the other 48 people - which included coaches and parents - charged in a plot to get their children into schools including Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, University of San Diego, USC, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale.

'2 actresses get most attention for college admissions cheating scandal. Yet 48 others were charged, too. Coaches, athletic directors took millions. CEOs Author of ironically titled, “The Modern Girls Guide to Life” Willkie Farr law firm partner YOU FAILED THESE KIDS,' she wrote.

The scheme was uncovered by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Boston, and involved parents paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into these elite schools.

Also charged were 'The Modern Girls Guide to Life' author Jane Buckingham; and Gordon Caplan, a lawyer and a co-chairman of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.'

In many instances, the children were unaware that their parents had paid these bribes, according to federal documents.

Most of those charged either paid to get higher SAT scores or faked an athletic resume that, with the participation of a bribed college coach, helped the children get accepted to a college as a team's recruit.

Prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that some students also lied about their ethnicity on applications to take advantage of affirmative action.

Huffman has two daughters with husband William H. Macy including Sofia, who is 18, and 16-year old Georgia.

Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli also have two daughters: Olivia, 19, and Isabella, 20.

Macy was not charged but Giannulli was named alongside his wife in the papers.

Huffman, Loughlin and Giannulli are all charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud.

'Beginning in or about 2011, and continuing through the present, the defendants - principally individuals whose high-school age children were applying to college - conspired with others to use bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children's admission to colleges and universities in the District of Massachusetts and elsewhere, including Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and the University of Southern California - Los Angeles,' stated the 200 page document that was filed on Tuesday.

'This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth, combined with fraud,' US Attorney Andrew Lelling said on Tuesday in a press conference.

'There can be no separate college admission for wealthy, and I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.'

William Rick Singer, the founder of Key Worldwide Foundation, had been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the scandalThe documents claim that since 2011, Singer has received $25 million from parents which was then used to payoff or bribe individuals who could 'designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories.'

Huffman paid a $15,000 'charitable contribution 'to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter,' states the complaint.

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

USC fires athletic director who 'accepted $50,000 from Lori Loughlin' as well as water polo coach involved in college admissions bribery scandal

Director Donna Heinel and coach Jovan Vanic were both fired on Tuesday

Heinel allegedly helped Loughlin's two daughters get into USC as crew recruits

Vavic allegedly accepted a $250,000 bribe to designate two students as recruits for his water polo team to help them get into the university

Fifty parents and coaches, including Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, have been charged in a plot to get their children into some of America's top schools

Other coaches involved in the scandal come from Stanford, Yale, Georgetown

USC water polo coach Jovan Vavic was fired on Tuesday after he was implicated in the major college admissions bribery scandal

The University of Southern California has fired two employees who were implicated in a massive college admissions bribery scandal this week.

Senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel and water polo coach Jovan Vavic were both fired on Tuesday.

Heinel allegedly accepted a $50,000 bribe from Full House star Lori Loughlin and her husband to get their two daughters into USC as crew recruits.

Vavic has been accused of accepting a $250,000 bribe to designate two students as recruits for his water polo team to help get them into the university.

The coach was taken into custody on Tuesday in Honolulu.

Most of those who were charged either paid to get their children higher SAT scores or faked an athletic resume that, with the participation of a bribed college coach, helped the children get accepted to a college as a team's recruit.

Heinel allegedly presented Lori Loughlin's daughter Isabella as a potential athletic recruit and she was approved for conditional admission.

It was then asked that a check be sent to Heinel for $50,000 from Giannulli, who a short time later asked if he could mention the story to the athletic director at USC when the two men were at Augusta - likely playing at the famed golf club.

Singer stated that this was not a good idea because when he discussed the possibility of Isabella's admission with him the year prior, he thought the family 'would be good for a million plus.'

The couple emailed William Rick Singer Singer, the alleged mastermind behind the scandal, in 2016 about their daughters college prospects. They stated that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that their daughter got into USC as opposed to ASU

This same exact process was then repeated with their young daughter, Olivia, in 2017

At the same time, Loughlin complained that her daughter was having difficulty filling out her other college applications, prompting Singer to ask an employee to take care of that task

Then, at some point, there was a very heated and public altercation between Giannulli and the counselor, which elicited an email from Heinel

Gordie Ernst, the tennis coach at Georgetown who famously gave Michelle Obama and her daughter lessons, received $2.7million according to prosecutors

Everything began to fall apart in October 2018 when the IRS audited Key Worldwide and began to look into donations made by parents whose children were then admitted to USC.

Ali Khosroshahin, the former women's soccer coach at USC, and Laura Janke, the former assistant women's soccer coach, are also charged in the case alongside Heinel and Vavic.

'We are aware of the ongoing wide-ranging criminal investigation involving universities nationwide, including USC. USC has not been accused of any wrongdoing and will continue to cooperate fully with the government’s investigation,' USC said in a statement on Tuesday.

'USC is in the process of identifying any funds received by the university in connection with this alleged scheme. Additionally, the university is reviewing its admissions processes broadly to ensure that such actions do not occur going forward.'

And USC was not the only school where employees were taking bribes.

Gordie Ernst, the tennis coach at Georgetown who famously gave Michelle Obama and her daughter lessons, received $2.7million according to prosecutors, while Yale soccer coach Rudy Meredith pocketed $400,000 for allowing a recruit who had never once played the sport onto the team.

Stanford University has fired sailing coach John Vandemoer after he was charged with accepting $270,000 in contributions to the school's sailing program for agreeing to recommend two prospective students for admission.

The school said on Tuesday that neither student came to Stanford but that 'the alleged behavior runs completely counter to Stanford's values.'

Vandemoer pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He was released on his own recognizance pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for June 12.

REVEALED: FBI uncovered the massive, nationwide college fraud scheme by ACCIDENT while working an unrelated undercover operation

The Washington Post reported the FBI received a tip about the scheme last year

That tip then sparked a sprawling, nationwide corruption probe dubbed Operation Varsity Blues

Fifty parents and coaches have already been charged in connection with the plot, according to an indictment filed in federal court on Thursday

The scheme involved parents paying bribes of up to $6million to get their children into elite schools between 2011 and 2018

Among those charged were actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin

The FBI reportedly uncovered a bombshell college admissions bribery scandal by accident when they received a tip about it while working an unrelated undercover operation, officials say. That tip then led to a sprawling, nationwide probe in which 50 parents and coaches have been charged. Boston's US attorney Andrew Lelling (center) warned that the investigation is ongoing and others could be charged during a press conference on Tuesday

The FBI reportedly uncovered the bombshell college admissions bribery scandal by accident while working on an unrelated undercover operation.

Officials say the sprawling, nationwide corruption probe dubbed Operation Varsity Blues was sparked when someone being interviewed for an unrelated case tipped authorities off.

The affidavit states: 'Beginning in or about 2011, and continuing through the present, the defendants - principally individuals whose high-school age children were applying to college - conspired with others to use bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children's admission to colleges and universities in the District of Massachusetts and elsewhere, including Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and the University of Southern California - Los Angeles.'

'This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth, combined with fraud,' US Attorney Lelling said at a press conference after the affidavit was filed.

'There can be no separate college admission for wealthy, and I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.'

Officials say Operation Varsity Blues is only about a year old, but the case authorities were working on when the initial tip about the scheme came out is unknown.

Three cooperating witnesses were identified in the 200-page affidavit filed on Tuesday.

The first to cooperate in the probe, beginning in April 2018, has been identified as Rudy Meredith, head coach of women's soccer at Yale.

Meredith, referred to in the affidavit as Cooperating Witness 3, allegedly pocketed $400,000 for allowing a recruit who had never once played the sport onto the team.

A second cooperating witness joined the probe in September 2018, and is referred to as Cooperating Witness 1 (CW-1) and was identified as William Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the entire scandal.

Prosecutors say Singer, founder of the college consulting business Edge College & Career Network, also known as The Key, in Newport Beach, California, collected $25million from parents since 2011.

He then used that money to payoff or bribe individuals who could 'designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories.'

A third cooperating witness who began working with prosecutors in February 2019 was identified as Mark Riddell, the director of college entrance exam preparation at a private college preparatory school and sports academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Riddell would allegedly take college entrance exams for students or correct their answers afterward, according to the affidavit.

'My families want a guarantee': The mastermind who bragged about getting 800 rich kids into colleges and ran a nationwide admissions bribery scheme before pleading guilty, cooperating and putting his California mansion up for sale

William 'Rick' Singer, 58, pleaded guilty in Boston federal court on Tuesday to charges including racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice

He admitted to be the mastermind behind the million dollar college admissions bribery scheme

Singer bragged about getting 800 rich kids into colleges and guaranteed that he could get them locked in before their senior year

Just weeks before the scheme came crashing down, Singer put his six-bedroom mansion in Newport Beach on the market for $2.6 million

William 'Rick' Singer, 58, (above leaving court) pleaded guilty in Boston federal court on Tuesday to charges including racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice

The man who has pleaded guilty to being the mastermind behind the college admissions bribery scheme bragged about getting 800 rich kids into colleges and guaranteed that he could get them locked in before their senior year.

William 'Rick' Singer, 58, pleaded guilty in Boston federal court on Tuesday to charges including racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

'I'm absolutely responsible for it,' Singer said in court. 'I put everything in place.'

Singer was charged with running the largest college admissions fraud scam in U.S. history through his small college preparation company in Newport Beach, California.

The scheme relied on bribes, phony test takers and even doctored photos depicting non-athletic applicants as elite competitors to land college slots for the offspring of rich parents, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

Just weeks before the scheme came crashing down, Singer put his six-bedroom mansion in Newport Beach on the market for $2.6 million.

He also owns a property in Sacramento, according to online records.

In a June 2018 call with a wealthy parent, Singer described how his scheme worked, saying: 'What we do is we help the wealthiest families in the U.S. get their kids into school'.

'My families want a guarantee. They want this thing done. They don't want to be messing around with this thing. They want in at certain schools.

'So I did 761 what I would call 'side doors'.

'So if you said to me 'here's our grades, here's our scores, here's our ability, and we want to go to X school' and you give me one or two schools, and then I'll go to those schools and try to get a guarantee done.'

Singer said he aimed to have the students locked into colleges during or before their senior year of high school.

'Before her senior year, hopefully we can have this thing done, so that in the fall, before December 15th, you already know she's in. Done,' he said, according to the court documents.

Singer, who is the founder of the Edge College & Career Network and Key Worldwide Foundation, bragged about his 'side door' scheme and boasted of getting almost 800 children into colleges, according to court documents related to the case

Just weeks before the alleged scheme came crashing down, Singer put his six-bedroom mansion in Newport Beach (above) on the market for $2.6 million

He ran the scheme through his Edge College & Career Network company in Newport Beach.

Between 2011 to 2018, Singer would charge from $100,000 to as much as $2.5 million per child for the services, which were masked as contributions to a scam charity - Key Worldwide Foundation - that he ran.

Those charitable donations were then funneled to the coaches and administrators at various colleges.

'I was essentially buying or bribing the coaches for a spot,' Singer said as he pleaded guilty to charges on Tuesday. 'And that occurred very frequently.'

Prosecutors have so far named 33 parents, 13 coaches, and associates of Singer's business as being involved in the scheme.

Nine coaches are accused, including former Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith; UCLA soccer coach Jorge Salcedo, Wake Forest volleyball coach Bill Ferguson and Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer.

More than 30 parents are accused of paying bribes, including well-known actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.

Singer, above as CW-1, bragged about his 'side door' scheme and boasted of getting almost 800 children into colleges, according to court documents related to the case

They are accused of conspiring with Springer to beat the system and ensure the students were admitted or had a better chance to be admitted to certain colleges or universities, including Yale, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, USC, Wake Forest and others.

In many cases, the students were not aware that their parents had arranged for the cheating, prosecutors said, although in other cases they knowingly took part. None of the children were charged on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Springer orchestrated several methods, including bribing those administering college entrance exams to provide answers, change answers or allow someone other than the student to take the exam.

He also bribed college coaches or athletic administrators to make it appear the students were athletes being recruited to the school, including creating fake athletic credentials like Photoshopped images.