It has been 16 months since the college admissions scandal case began, and Lori Loughlin has finally committed to a guilty plea, which she will serve jail time for.
This update follows several wealthy parents of college age children, including, “Full House” star, Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer, Mossimo Giannulli, taking illegal steps to insure their child’s admission into the school of their choice. Allegedly Loughlin and Giannulli paid $500,000 to make it appear that their two daughters Isabella and, Instagram and Youtube influencer, Olivia Jade, were rowing team recruits for the University of Southern California. Their charges included conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering, and bribery.
Loughlin and Giannulli, filed a guilty plea agreement in federal court, and according to CNN Loughlin will face a sentence of two months in prison, and Giannulli will be sentenced to five months. Loughlin will also face a $150,000 fine, two years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service while her husband will face a $250,000 fine, two years of supervised release, and 250 hours of community service.
The couple originally fought the case, believing they could get it dismissed, with Loughlin holding the firm belief that she did nothing wrong, explaining that Rick Singer, leader of the college admissions scam, whom she had worked with, “misrepresented himself and, because she thought he’d acted on behalf of the school, she feels she is innocent.”
However Giannulli reportedly did not want to take the case to trial, fearing their children’s lives would be affected, as well as the fear of spending decades behind bars if found guilty, therefore they made the decision to take the plea rather than risk a harsher sentence.
Loughlin is also asking to delay her surrender date for three months after her guilty plea is entered. A surrender date being the day she will be officially taken into custody, which due to COVID-19 may be a possible to postpone.
Regarding how the family is coping, a source told Us Weekly, “Olivia and Bella were devastated when Lori and Mossimo told them they were pleading guilty. The girls have been spending a lot of time at their parents’ house recently, and they are becoming much more of a tight-knit family.” The source continued, “the girls have been on so many ups and downs that they were happy it was going to be over, but (they) fear for their mom going to jail.”
Photo Source: LA Times
