Lori Loughlin Sentenced To Prison For College Admissions Scandal
Lori Loughlin will serve two months in prison for her involvement in the college admissions scandal. Last year, headlines surged across the nation reading that Fuller House’s Loughlin and Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman had been indicted in the nation’s largest college admissions scam. Orchestrated by William Rick Singer, the college admissions scheme allowed for parents to pay large sums of money to bribe college officials and alter test scores to admit their children into prestigious universities.
Coined Operation Varsity Blues, the scandal broke open to reveal over 50 elite individuals were involved. Loughlin and Huffman were the two most shocking names to be disclosed. Reportedly, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, forked over half a million dollars to USC to ensure their two daughters' admittance. Since the news of the scandal, the careers of the actresses have been permanently altered. Huffman pleaded guilty to her charges and served a prison term of 11 days. Following her termination from Fuller House and the Hallmark Channel, Loughlin pleaded not guilty to mail fraud and money laundering. In May, Loughlin opted to agree to plead guilty to conspiracy charges. Now, Loughlin’s fate has been revealed.
Per CNN, Judge Nathaniel Gorton has sentenced Loughlin to two months in prison. Upon Loughlin’s release, she is required to log in 100 hours of community service and pay a fine of $150,000. Loughlin is expected to report to a federal prison in November. At the time of this writing, the prison where Loughlin will be serving her two months remains unknown. At the sentencing hearing, Loughlin expressed remorse and stated:
I made an awful decision. I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process, and in doing so, I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass. I have great faith in God, and I believe in redemption, and I will do everything in my power to redeem myself and use this experience as a catalyst to do good.
Earlier today, Loughlin’s husband Giannulli was also sentenced to time behind bars and is slated to serve five months in prison. Both are expected to receive two years of supervised release. Reportedly, Loughlin is serving a lighter sentence than her husband due to the claims that Giannulli made direct contact with Singer while Loughlin played a less active role in the orchestration of the scandal.
As it stands, Loughlin could have faced up to 40 years in prison on the original charges. After cooperating with the plea deal and opting to plead guilty, Loughlin's sentence was reduced significantly and will spare the actress from going through the process of a lengthy court trial. While it remains to be seen if Loughlin can rebuild her career following her release from prison, Loughlin appears to have expressed remorse over her involvement in the scandal. Serving as a cautionary tale to the nation, the college admissions scandal has permanently altered the lives of those involved.
Source: CNN