Felicity Huffman ends probation, completing her college admissions scandal sentence

More than a year and a half after the college admissions scandal first broke, "Desperate Housewives" actress Felicity Huffman has completed her sentence.

Huffman pleaded guilty in April 2019 to participating in the admissions scam by paying $15,000 to have someone correct her daughter's SAT to boost her score on the test. She has now completed supervised release, the final portion of her sentence, which also included jail time and community service, a source close to the family who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed Sunday evening to USA TODAY.

During her sentencing in September 2019, Huffman teared up as she recalled driving her daughter to the Los Angeles testing center where the cheating occurred and described her "eternal shame" for not turning around. Her daughter's score improved to a 1420 as a result of the cheating, up 400 points from when she took the PSAT by herself the previous year.

The actress was one of nearly 50 parents – also among them: "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli – exposed on March 12, 2019, as participants in a scheme operated by Rick Singer and nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues, in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and insiders at college testing centers to help get their children into some of the most elite schools in the country.

Huffman, the first parent in the scandal to be sentenced, was handed 14 days in prison, a $30,000 fine, supervised release for one year and 250 hours of community service. She served her time in October 2019 in the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, a low-security prison near the San Francisco Bay area, that houses 1,227 female inmates.

Ahead of the end of her year-long probation, Huffman requested last week for her passport to be returned to her.

According to court documents filed Oct. 21 and obtained by USA TODAY, Huffman's passport was surrendered during her initial appearance and was being held by the United States Probation and Pre-Trial Services Department.

The documents stated Huffman would "shortly complete the period of supervised release the Court imposed" and has "already completed all other aspects of the sentence the Court imposed."

More: Lori Loughlin, husband Mossimo Giannulli sentenced to prison in college admissions scandal

Loughlin and Giannulli, two other high-profile names exposed in the scandal, were sentenced in August to brief terms in federal prison.

Loughlin, 56 was sentenced to two months in prison; Giannulli, 57, was sentenced to five months. Besides the prison term, Loughlin will pay a fine of $150,000, followed by two years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service. Giannulli will pay a fine of $250,000 followed by two years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service.

The judge said on Aug. 21 that Loughlin and Giannulli had 90 days to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving their sentences, which would make their deadline mid-November.

Contributing: Sara M. Moniuszko, Joey Garrison, Maria Puente, Cydney Henderson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Felicity Huffman off probation in college admissions scandal