Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Actor Lori Loughlin Reports to Prison in College Scam
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
October 30, 2020

Share

BOSTON — “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin has reported to a federal prison in California to begin serving her two-month sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scandal, authorities said Friday.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston said Loughlin was being processed at the federal lockup in Dublin, California.

“The parties recently agreed that the defendant can report to prison on October 30, 2020, instead of on November 19, 2020. The defendant has further agreed that, during her two month sentence, she will not seek an early release from prison on COVID-related grounds,” prosecutors said in a statement.

Under the Bureau of Prisons’ coronavirus protocols, Loughlin will be screened and tested for COVID-19 and will be placed in quarantine for 14 days.

The low-security prison in Northern California houses 874 inmates and had two positive coronavirus cases among inmates, as of Friday morning, federal statistics show.

In August, Loughlin was sentenced to two months and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, got five months for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as rowing recruits.

Prosecutors said Giannulli didn’t report to prison with Loughlin on Friday.

Plea deals worked out with the celebrity couple call for Loughlin to pay a $150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service, and Giannulli to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service.

The famous couple’s sentencing came three months after they reversed course and admitted to participating in the college admissions cheating scheme that has laid bare the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their kids into elite universities.

They are among nearly 30 prominent parents to plead guilty in the case, which federal prosecutors dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues.” It uncovered hefty bribes to get undeserving kids into college with rigged test scores or fake athletic credentials.

Loughlin and Giannulli had insisted for more than a year that they believed their payments were “legitimate donations” and accused prosecutors of hiding crucial evidence that could prove the couple’s innocence because it would undermine their case.

The Couple Funneled Money Through a Sham Charity Operated by Rick Singer

The case shattered the clean image of Loughlin, who gained fame for her role as the wholesome Aunt Becky in the sitcom “Full House” that ran from the late 1980s to mid-1990s, and later became queen of the Hallmark channel with her holiday movies and the series “When Calls the Heart.”

Prosecutors said Giannulli deserved a tougher sentence because he was “the more active participant in the scheme,” while Loughlin “took a less active role, but was nonetheless fully complicit.”

The couple funneled money through a sham charity operated by Rick Singer — the admissions consultant at the center of the scheme — to get their two daughters into USC as crew recruits, even though neither was a rower, authorities said. Singer, who has also pleaded guilty, was expected to testify against them if they had gone to trial.

Investigators had recorded phone calls and emails showing the couple worked with Singer to get their daughters into USC with fake athletic profiles depicting them as star rowers. In one email, Singer told Loughlin and Giannulli he needed a picture of their older daughter on a rowing machine in workout clothes “like a real athlete.”

Prosecutors said the couple allowed the girls “to become complicit in crime,” instructing them to pose on rowing machines for photos and warning their younger daughter not too say too much to her high school counselor to avoid getting caught.

Among the other high-profile parents who have been sent to prison for participating in the scam is “Desperate Housewives” actor Felicity Huffman. She served nearly two weeks behind bars late last year in the same California prison after she admitted to paying $15,000 to have someone correct her daughter’s entrance exam answers.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

DON'T MISS

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

DON'T MISS

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

DON'T MISS

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

DON'T MISS

Opening Ceremony Floats Down Seine as Paris Investigates Rail Sabotage

UP NEXT

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Will Meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mending a Yearslong Rift

UP NEXT

Watch: Breaking Down Netanyahu’s Speech in Congress

UP NEXT

Recall of Boar’s Head Deli Meats Announced During Investigation of Listeria Outbreak

UP NEXT

Uvalde, Texas, School Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Failing to Protect Kids During Attack

UP NEXT

Spicy Dispute Over the Origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Winds up in Court

UP NEXT

Harris Tells Netanyahu ‘It Is Time’ to Get Hostage Deal Done and End Gaza War

UP NEXT

Biden and Netanyahu Meet With a Show of Amiable Relations Despite Tensions

UP NEXT

Fresno County Sheriff Thanks Community for Their Help in Finding Relatives of Deceased Man

UP NEXT

Police Seek Tips on Sunday Shooting Death in Southwest Fresno

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

1 hour ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

1 hour ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

2 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

2 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

2 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

2 hours ago

Opening Ceremony Floats Down Seine as Paris Investigates Rail Sabotage

3 hours ago

Council Rejects Luxury NW Fresno Apartment Project. What’s Next?

3 hours ago

27 Facts About JD Vance, Trump’s Pick for VP

4 hours ago

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash Workers Remain Contractors Due to California Supreme Court Ruling

4 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener, who starred at Fresno State, has more to deal with than just practice and competing for the back...

17 mins ago

17 mins ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

39 mins ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

44 mins ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

1 hour ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

1 hour ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

2 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

2 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

2 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend