Felicity Huffman's $15,000 College Testing Scheme: A Legal Quandary

The recent scandal involving Felicity Huffman has caught the attention of the media and the public alike. Allegedly, she spent $15,000 on a college testing scheme that has led to a significant law enforcement crackdown. This scheme has generated countless headlines, especially due to Huffman's involvement alongside fellow celebrity Lori Loughlin. An intriguing aspect of Huffman's guilty plea reveals that her "offense level" is two points higher than it would have been had she spent just $14,999.99 instead of $15,000.

As noted in a recent article from TooFab.com, Huffman's legal team attempted to negotiate the amount she spent to fall between $6,500 and $15,000. This adjustment could have potentially reduced her offense level due to the tier-based structure of sentencing laws. The breakdown of these levels shows that the base level of her crime is rated at 7, which increases by 4 points based on the money involved, making it 11. After acknowledging her guilt, 2 points are subtracted, but if the financial amount had been less than $15,000, the added points would have only been 2 instead of 4.

Huffman's mail fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, plus a fine of $250,000. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence at the low end of the spectrum, suggesting incarceration for a period ranging from four to ten months. However, if the court agrees with Huffman's reported figures, her sentence could be reduced to a mere 0 to six months. This situation serves as a cautionary tale: if one is contemplating committing mail fraud or a similar crime, keeping expenditures under $15,000 could drastically affect the outcome in court.