NEW YORK - Seven Federal Bureau of Investigation agents turned up at actress Felicity Huffman's Hollywood home at 6am on Tuesday (March 12), with guns drawn.

They ordered her to come out and surrender.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Desperate Housewives actress was handcuffed and spent hours in a detention centre before she was taken to a courthouse.

Her actor-husband William H. Macy later posted US$250,000 (S$339,000) bail.

She is expected to appear in a Boston court on March 29 for a preliminary hearing.

The Emmy winner, 56, was among 46 wealthy folk whom the authorities said had resorted to fraud, bribes and lies to get their children admitted to elite colleges.

According to court records, the parents paid William Rick Singer, owner of a college admissions company, to help their children get a place in schools such as Stanford, Yale and Georgetown.

In Huffman's case, her elder daughter reportedly received higher marks in an admissions test in 2017. The actress paid US$15,000 via a "contribution" to a foundation linked to Singer.