Joey Garrison and Maria Puente

USA TODAY

BOSTON – Famous actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin, colleges coaches and others have been charged in the largest-ever admissions bribery case unsealed in federal court.

The racketeering conspiracy charges unveiled Tuesday were brought against the coaches at schools including Wake Forest University, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.

In all, 50 defendants are targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in an alleged long-running scheme of parents cheating to get their kids into college.

Authorities say the coaches accepted bribes in exchange for admitting students as athletes, regardless of their ability.

Prosecutors say parents paid an admissions consultant $25 million from 2011 through Feb. 2019 to bribe coaches and administrators to label their children as recruited athletes to boost their chances of getting into schools.

Prosecutors allege that fake athletic profiles were also created to make students look like strong high school athletes when they actually weren’t.

Authorities say the consulting company also bribed administrators of college entrance exams to allow a Florida man to take the tests on behalf of students or replace their answers with his.

According court documents, "Desperate Housewives" actress Huffman and "Full House" star Loughlin are among dozens of people charged in the college exam scheme. They are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

In addition, Loughlin's husband, Mossimo Giannulli, also is on the list. Huffman's husband, actor William H. Macy, is not.

Elizabeth Much, a representative for Loughlin, said she would have no comment.

USA TODAY has reached out to a rep for Huffman for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.