Former Desperate Housewives and American Crime Story star Felicity Huffman has been released on bail following her arrest as part of an investigation into an alleged college cheating scam in the US.
The alleged scheme involved helping students cheat on entrance exams, as well as getting non-athletic students admitted on athletic scholarships. Over 40 people have been charged as part of the investigation.
Elite schools such as Yale, Stanford, and Georgetown were among those targeted, but there's no suggestion that the schools were involved in wrongdoing.
Huffman was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Another actress, Lori Loughlin, best known for starring in sitcom Full House, was also indicted.
The documents set out in detail the various elements of the alleged scheme run by a firm called Edge College & Career Network.
According to authorities, parents including Ms Huffman and Ms Loughlin paid between $200,000 and $6.5m to Edge for its services.
The firm reportedly instructed parents to claim their child had a disability which required extra time for exams.
The FBI said parents were then told to invent an excuse so students could sit the entrance exams at facilities where staff had been bribed to turn a blind eye to cheating.
The firm also allegedly created detailed fake athletic profiles for students - including photo-shopping the faces of potential students on to pictures of athletes found online - allowing students to be recruited on athletic scholarships.
Federal prosecutors in Boston charged 58-year-old William 'Rick' Singer with running the scheme through Edge College & Career Network. He has pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
Andrew Lelling, the US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, explained the scheme at a press conference:
"We are not talking about donating a building that will make it more likely for your child to get accepted, we're talking about deception and fraud," he said.
