Actresses Charged with Fraud, Embezzlement or Tax Evasion

Legal troubles have touched performers across eras and industries, and a few well-known actresses have faced charges related to fraud or tax offenses. Below is a clear, fact-focused look at several cases—alongside snapshots of their screen work, including plots, casts, and who made the projects happen.

Outcomes differ from person to person: some pleaded guilty, some were fined, and some were ultimately acquitted. For context, each entry also highlights notable titles from their filmographies—keeping to the facts about stories, collaborators, and roles.

Felicity Huffman

Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest-services mail fraud in the U.S. college admissions case and received a 14-day prison sentence, supervised release, community service, and a fine. In ‘Transamerica’, written and directed by Duncan Tucker, Huffman plays Bree on a cross-country trip with her newly discovered son, with key roles for Kevin Zegers and Fionnula Flanagan; the production credits include Stephen Kazmierski on cinematography and David Mansfield on music.

Huffman was also part of ‘Desperate Housewives’, created by Marc Cherry, which follows neighbors on Wisteria Lane and features an ensemble including Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, James Denton, and narrator Brenda Strong; Danny Elfman composed the theme and the show mixed domestic drama with ongoing mysteries.

Lori Loughlin

Lori Loughlin pleaded guilty in the same admissions case to conspiracy offenses tied to securing her daughters’ admission as athletic recruits and was sentenced to two months in prison, plus supervised release, a fine, and community service. She is widely known for ‘Full House’, created by Jeff Franklin, a sitcom about Danny Tanner raising three daughters with help from Jesse and Joey; cast members include John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Loughlin as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis.

Loughlin also starred in ‘When Calls the Heart’, a period drama developed for television that centers on a schoolteacher’s life in a Canadian frontier town; the series features Erin Krakow, Daniel Lissing, Jack Wagner, Pascale Hutton, and Loughlin as Abigail Stanton, and has continued with multiple seasons on cable.

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren served 17 days of a 30-day sentence in Italy on tax-evasion charges; years later, Italy’s Court of Cassation ruled in her favor in a separate dispute over how her taxable income should have been calculated for a past return. Her film work includes ‘Two Women’, directed by Vittorio De Sica, in which she portrays Cesira, a mother navigating wartime hardship alongside her daughter (played by Eleonora Brown); the production foregrounds De Sica’s neorealist approach and focuses on the pair’s struggle to reach safety.

Loren also starred in ‘Marriage Italian Style’, directed by De Sica and adapted from Eduardo De Filippo’s play ‘Filumena Marturano’, opposite Marcello Mastroianni; the plot follows Filumena and businessman Domenico through a long, complicated relationship, with credits listing Armando Trovajoli for music and Roberto Gerardi for cinematography.

Fan Bingbing

Chinese authorities fined Fan Bingbing for tax evasion and ordered payment of back taxes following an investigation that drew wide attention in the film industry. She headlined ‘I Am Not Madame Bovary’, directed by Feng Xiaogang and written by Liu Zhenyun from his own novel, playing Li Xuelian, whose story follows a long, bureaucratic quest after a sham divorce; credits include Luo Pan as cinematographer and William Chang as editor, with a supporting cast featuring Guo Tao and Da Peng.

Fan has credits in the ensemble ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ as Blink, a mutant who creates portals; the film brings together characters led by Professor X and Magneto amid a conflict with Sentinels, and lists Bryan Singer as director and principal cast that includes Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence.

Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti was convicted in Italy after a court found she used a fake medical note to miss a theater performance and attend a dinner; the case resulted in a suspended sentence and a fine reported by multiple outlets. On screen, she played Princess Aura in ‘Flash Gordon’, directed by Mike Hodges and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, with a cast that includes Sam J. Jones, Max von Sydow, Melody Anderson, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, and music by Queen; the plot follows Flash’s fight against Ming on the planet Mongo.

Muti also starred opposite Adriano Celentano in the Italian box-office hit ‘The Taming of the Scoundrel’ (‘Il bisbetico domato’), directed by the duo Castellano & Pipolo; the story pairs a city visitor with a cantankerous farmer, and credits list Alfio Contini as cinematographer and Detto Mariano as composer.

Ana Duato

Ana Duato was investigated and charged in Spain’s “Nummaria” case involving alleged tax fraud; Spain’s National Court later acquitted her of all tax crimes. Her signature role is in ‘Cuéntame cómo pasó’, a Televisión Española series following the Alcántara family through late-Franco Spain and the transition to democracy; the long-running ensemble includes Imanol Arias, María Galiana, and Pablo Rivero, with Duato as Mercedes Fernández.

Beyond that series, Duato appeared in ‘The Dog in the Manger’ (‘El perro del hortelano’), Pilar Miró’s adaptation of Lope de Vega’s play, as Marcela in a story centered on Diana, Countess of Belflor, and her secretary Teodoro; credits include Emma Suárez and Carmelo Gómez as leads and Javier Aguirresarobe as cinematographer.

If you’ve got other cases you think belong here—or different titles worth highlighting—share your thoughts in the comments!