Here's why Lori Loughlin is facing up to 40 years in prison in the college-admissions scandal while Felicity Huffman, who pleaded guilty, is facing less than a year
- The actress Felicity Huffman agreed to plead guilty in the college-admissions scandal and is facing less than a year in prison.
- Lori Loughlin, who pleaded not guilty, is facing a sentence of up to 40 years.
- Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 to the scheme's ringleader, Rick Singer, to have someone cheat on a college entrance exam for her eldest daughter.
- Loughlin is accused of paying Singer $500,000 to guarantee her daughters admission to the University of Southern California.
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The actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among the 50 people indicted in March as part of the college-admissions scandal, in which parents are accused of paying up to $6 million to guarantee their children spots at elite universities.
But a month later, they're looking at very different futures.
Huffman is facing less than a year in prison, while Loughlin is facing up to a 40-year sentence.
The difference comes down to their plea decisions: Huffman pleaded guilty, while Loughlin pleaded not guilty.
The actresses are also accused of investing vastly different amounts of money in the scheme: $15,000 for Huffman and $500,000 for Loughlin.
Huffman is accused of paying the scheme's ringleader, Rick Singer, to have her eldest daughter's SAT score falsified so she could get into top colleges.
An affidavit said that Huffman arranged for her daughter to take the SAT at the West Hollywood Test Center, where her answers were later corrected, and that Huffman disguised the $15,000 as a charitable donation for disadvantaged young people.
The court document said Huffman had also arranged for her youngest daughter to be part of the scheme but later decided against it.
Huffman agreed to plead guilty in April, and is appearing in court on Monday to formally give her plea to a judge. She was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in March.
She was among 14 defendants who pleaded guilty in the scheme at the time.
"I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues, and the educational community," Huffman said in a statement in April. "I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly."
A plea agreement indicated that Huffman's sentence recommendation included a $20,000 fine and a year of supervised release. Prosecutors plan to seek a sentence of four to 10 months, a law-enforcement source told CNN. Huffman is set to appear in court on May 21 for a sentencing hearing.
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying Singer $500,000 to guarantee their daughters, Isabella and Olivia, admission to the University of Southern California.
The affidavit said Giannulli and Loughlin used bribes to facilitate Isabella's admission to USC by having her pose as a recruited crew coxswain, though she had never participated in the sport. As part of the scheme, Giannulli sent Singer a photo of Isabella on a rowing machine, the court document said.
Giannulli and Loughlin repeated the scheme for Olivia, the court document said.
Loughlin and Giannulli were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest-services mail fraud, and they were among several parents later charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded not guilty earlier this week and now face up to 20 years in prison for each charge, for a maximum sentence of 40 years.
While Loughlin has not publicly addressed the allegations against her and her husband, insiders close to the "Fuller House" actress have told multiple news agencies that she did not take the charges seriously at first.
- Read more:
- Prosecutors reportedly plan to seek a 10-month jail sentence for Felicity Huffman for her role in the college-admissions scandal
- Lori Loughlin and her husband have pleaded not guilty in the college-admissions scandal
- Lori Loughlin believes she did what any mother would have done in the college-admissions scandal, report says
- Lori Loughlin and her husband are among 16 parents facing new charges of money laundering in the college-admissions scandal
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