Lori Loughlin and Husband Mossimo Giannulli Officially Plead Guilty in College Admissions Scandal
It’s official. Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection to the nationwide college admissions scandal via video conference on Friday, May 22. The court hearing for Loughlin and Giannulli was held online due to the coronavirus outbreak, and the pair sat with their lawyers while the prosecutor read the evidence that would have been presented had their case gone to trial.
The sentencing hearing for the pair is set to take place on Friday, August 21 at 11 a.m. for Giannulli and 2:30 p.m. for Loughlin. Giannulli’s attorney, William Trach, requested his clients be sentenced sooner because they would like “finality of this process,” but the judge denied the request for the time being, a source tells In Touch.
The Full House alum, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, while the fashion designer, 56, pleaded guilty to the same charge, as well as honest services wire and mail fraud.
Loughlin and Giannulli first got into hot water after being accused of “paying bribes totaling $500,000” in exchange for having their two daughters, 20-year-old Olivia Jade and 21-year-old Isabella Giannulli, placed on the University of Southern California’s crew team, despite the girls never playing the sport. On April 8, photos of Bella and Olivia posing on rowing equipment for their college applications were released by federal prosecutors.
The former Hallmark star is set to spend two months behind bars and pay a $150,000 fine, in addition to getting two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service. Giannulli agreed to five months in prison, a $250,000 fine and two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service.
Giannulli and Loughlin were indicted and arrested in March 2019. The following month, they pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and did the same again in October 2019 when they were hit with additional charges.
The duo’s decision to accept a plea deal “didn’t come easy,” a source exclusively told In Touch, revealing the mother of two “was done fighting.”
“She and Mossimo were so adamant about their innocence, but the pressures of the trial and the thought of spending years behind bars finally wore them down,” the insider revealed about why the couple agreed to plead guilty after more than a year of denial.
After everything that’s transpired, “Lori is relieved, embarrassed and frightened,” the source continued. “Most of their friends are relieved, they can’t believe it took them this long to come to their senses and cop a plea. Others will never forgive them or get over the arrogance and privilege they showed.”
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