Back in May, Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli pleaded guilty in the college admissions scandal. They undoubtedly did so to avoid prison time even though the deal left the possibility open that some prison time was on the table. And of course, they were hoping for a judge to go easy on them despite agreeing to charges involving wire and mail fraud, which are federal crimes. The deal involved hefty fines and community service, along with anywhere between 2-5 months behind bars.
The exact sentence, of course, was left up the court, which will make a declaration on Friday, August 21, and if prosecutors get their way, prison time is almost certainly in the cards. According to Variety, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked the judge to make good on giving Loughlin and Giannulli two and five months in prison, respectively speaking, due to their participation in a scheme to admit their two daughters into the University of Southern California while as faux recruits to the crew team. Here’s more from the prosecutor’s memo:
“The crime Giannulli and Loughlin committed was serious. Over the course of two years, they engaged twice in [a] fraudulent scheme. They involved both their daughters in the fraud, directing them to pose in staged photographs for use in fake athletic profiles and instructing one daughter how to conceal the scheme from her high school counselor.”
Have mercy? The prosecutors do concede that Loughlin was “less active” in the scheme than her husband but still participated in coaching her daughter to make certain statements to school officials, and of course, there were faked photos involved to convincingly apply for the crew team. It’s not looking good, and the prosecutors want to make an example of the seriousness of these fraud-based crimes. We’ll see how strict or lenient the judge is feeling this Friday.
(Via Variety)