Interview With Huffman's Husband Now Pretty Awkward

It's the biggest college admissions bribery case the DOJ has ever prosecuted, and it has snared some pretty big names: Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among those indicted for mail fraud Tuesday in an alleged bribery scam. The latest:

• A name fit for Hollywood: The investigation is called "Operation Varsity Blues," and CNN cites US Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling's description of most of those indicted: 33 parents; 9 coaches (from schools including Yale, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest, and Georgetown) in sports like soccer, water polo, tennis, and volleyball; one college administrator; two SAT/ACT administrators; and an exam proctor. The AP reports a former soccer coach at Yale pleaded guilty and helped prosecutors make their case.
• At the center of it all: ... is allegedly a man named William Singer. He ran a college-prep company called the Key and allegedly facilitated the scheme. Prosecutors claim he bribed college coaches to put individual students on a recruited athletes list, though CNN notes the coaches were aware the students weren't recruitable players. NPR reports that in the case of a Yale women's soccer recruit, the student didn't even play soccer. Per the indictment, parents in one case allegedly had fake photos taken of their child participating in sports. Charges against Singer include racketeering conspiracy.
• The timeline: Prosecutors say payments were made to Singer between 2011 and February 2019. Per NPR, parents typically allegedly paid $250,000 to $450,000, but one is said to have forked over $6.5 million. Singer's alleged total take: about $25 million.

• Words come back to haunt him: In a January interview with Parade magazine, Huffman's husband, William H. Macy, had this to say of their 18-year-old daughter: "She's going to go to college ... We're right now in the thick of college application time, which is so stressful. I am voting that once she gets accepted, she maybe takes a year off. God doesn't let you be 18 twice… But it's just my opinion, and we’ll see what she wants to do, what Felicity thinks and how the chips fall."
• The allegations against Huffman: People reports the feds say they taped calls between the 56-year-old actress and a cooperating witness about an alleged SAT scam. A chosen proctor was reportedly sent to West Hollywood and allegedly allowed the teen to have extra time and changed her incorrect answers.
• The allegations against Loughlin: She allegedly paid $500,000 to get her daughter "recruited" for a rowing team. Her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, was also charged.
• Other parents: The AP lists executives among those indicted: Law firm co-chair Gordon Caplan of Greenwich, Connecticut; marketing company CEO Jane Buckingham of LA; packaging company founder Gregory Abbott of New York; and finance CEO Manuel Henriquez of Palo Alto.
• Who hasn't been charged: Authorities say the schools aren't targets, and no students were charged, with many unaware of what was even going on. Macy was not charged; prosecutors did not say why.
• Initial fallout: The AP reports Wake Forest University has suspended head volleyball coach Bill Ferguson, who is "accused of accepting $100,000 to recruit a student who had been on Wake Forest's wait list."

(More Felicity Huffman stories.)