Felicity Huffman, facing possible prison time, to plead guilty Monday in college admissions scandal

BOSTON -- Actress Felicity Huffman is expected to face a judge and formally plead guilty Monday for her role in a college admissions scam that shocked the country.

Huffman, one of 33 parents caught up in the scandal, signed a plea deal back in April admitting to paying $15,000 to have an SAT proctor correct the answers on her daughter's exam, improving her score by 400 points.

Huffman expressed "deep regret and shame" in a statement, writing, "My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty."

MORE: Mother who paid $6.5M to college scammer says she was duped

Yusi Zhao's mother thought the $6.5 million she paid to get her daughter into Stanford would support academic staff salaries, scholarships, athletic programs and "helping those students who otherwise will not be able to afford to attend Stanford."

The "Desperate Housewives" actress faces four to ten months behind bars as well as a year of probation and a $20,000 fine.

"Because she is pleading guilty before a trial, she is facing less than a year in prison," Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Mari Henderson told ABC News. "But ultimately, the judge could find her to be a good candidate for probation, meaning she gets off without any prison time at all."

Fellow actress Lori Loughlin, though, is choosing to fight the charges, saying she is not guilty. The embattled star and her husband are accused of shelling out $500,000 to get daughters Isabella and Olivia Jade recruited to the University of Southern California crew team despite the fact that neither of them participates in the sport.

"I can't imagine any defense attorney in their right mind who wouldn't be convincing Lori Loughlin right now and trying to convince her to take the deal," Henderson added.

MORE: Lori Loughlin, husband 'didn't realize' actions were illegal, according to report

ABC News has the latest on Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, who are charged in the college admissions scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues.

Court documents previewed a trove of potential evidence, including emails and wiretapped calls between Loughlin, her husband and Rick Singer, the alleged mastermind of the scheme who has since become a cooperating witness.

"It is a huge gamble to take it to trial, but ultimately sometimes someone feels that if they're going to go down, they want to go down swinging," Henderson said.

Loughlin and other parents who have decided to fight the charges are due back in court in June.

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ABC News contributed to this report.