Actresses Due In Court In Collage Scam

Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman

A media circus is expected in federal court in Boston on Wednesday when the two most high-profile defendants in the college admissions scandal — Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin — appear in court.

The preliminary hearing at which they face charges against them for the first time will mark a key moment for the actresses, according to The L-A Times.

They are among dozens of people swept up in the scandal. The scheme centered on William “Rick” Singer, the owner of a for-profit Newport Beach college admissions company, which wealthy parents are accused of paying to help their children cheat on college entrance exams and which allegedly falsified athletic records of students to enable them to secure admission to elite schools — including UCLA, USC, Stanford, Yale and Georgetown — according to court records.

Some of the parents charged have already come out swinging, poking holes in the government’s case and strongly denying they did anything illegal.

So far, Loughlin and Huffman have been silent. Prosecutors have been pressuring some of the defendants to cooperate or face more charges. The deadline for a grand jury to hand down additional charges is April 11, and legal experts say that is creating a time crunch.

“The clock is now ticking and if actors don't make a deal, as sure as the sun rises they will be indicted by a federal grand jury," said Manny Medrano, a former federal prosecutor.