Lori Loughlin's two month prison sentence has been slammed as a 'joke' and a 'slap on the wrist' by critics who think ...
Lori Loughlin's two month prison sentence has been slammed as a 'joke' and a 'slap on the wrist' by critics who think the actress and her husband have switched their pleas to guilty after months of protests because they may be trying to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli had been facing 40 years behind bars each for paying Rick Singer, the scheme mastermind, $500,000 to pass their daughters off to officials at USC as rowing stars when neither had ever played the sport.
They were arrested in March 2019 along with 50 other parents including actress Felicity Huffman.
Lori and Mossimo pleaded not guilty immediately and have insisted for months that they thought they were giving money to charity but on Wednesday, the pair both signed plea agreements where they accepted they will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
As part of their plea deal, Lori will serve two months in prison and pay $150,000 and Mossimo will serve five months in prison. Both will plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
A judge still has to approve their sentences and a hearing date has not yet been set.
William Trach, a lawyer for the couple, declined to comment in their change of heart on Thursday morning after the plea deals were announced by the Justice Department.
Critics erupted on Twitter, calling the sentences proof of Hollywood privilege and suggesting the pair may be taking advantage of the growing number of inmates - particularly those guilty of white collar crimes - being released from prison amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli have changed their plea to guilty in the college bribery admission scandal
The pair signed plea agreements on Wednesday
The pair are the 23rd and 24th parents to plead guilty as part of the case.
The harshest sentence was handed to Douglas Hodge, who was given nine months for his role.
He paid bribes totaling $850,000 - from 2008 until 2012 - to get four of his children into the University of Southern California and Georgetown University as fake athletic recruits, prosecutors said.
Hodge is appealing his nine month sentence, which is the harshest punishment handed out so far in the case.
Others have ranged between just one day behind bars to a probation only sentences to sentences of a few weeks or months.
Felicity Huffman was one of the first. She served just 14 days in prison last year for paying $15,000 for a proctor to change her daughter Sophia's SAT score.
Lori and Mossimo listed their Bel Air mansion for sale earlier this year for $28million.
At the time, sources told TMZ it had nothing to do with their case or any mounting legal fees and that the couple wanted to move on for Mossimo to explore another architecture project.
Singer had an array of exam monitors and sports staff within the colleges on the payroll who facilitated it.
Loughlin and her husband paid half a million dollars to help their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella, get into USC by pretending they were sports stars.
More than 50 people were charged after months of investigation which involved Singer cooperating with the authorities and recording some of his phone calls with parents.
Lori and Mossimo denied it immediately and said they thought they were giving to charity.
Lori with the couple's daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose . She and her husband paid Rick Singer, the scheme's mastermind, to pass them off as crew stars when neither had played the sport
While Lori and her husband have stayed quiet, their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella returned to social media after a hiatus and are now sharing photos of the family's quarantine
Other parents, like Huffman who paid to have one of her daughter's test scores augmented to make it more impressive, admitted their roles and tearfully apologized in court.
She gave a tearful apology in court.
'I accept the court’s decision today without reservation. I have always been prepared to accept whatever punishment Judge Talwani imposed. I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period.
'I would like to apologize again to my daughter, my husband, my family and the educational community for my actions. And I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children,' she said.
Loughlin and Giannulli denied their guilt throughout in court and never released statements.
The only information about their attitude came from unnamed sources close to the pair who told various magazines and news outlets that Lori was 'terrified' at the prospect of prison.
Both their daughters left college and temporarily took breaks from their profit-driving social media platforms but they have since returned to them.
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