Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband are among the 16 parents who face charges for conspiracy in the infamous college admissions scandal. On Tuesday, the couple was indicted on charges of mail fraud and money laundering. If convicted, the pair will face up to 40 years in prison.
By Hadassah Kalatizadeh
As reported by Fox News, the indication of potential prison time is finally sinking in for Loughlin, and panic is setting in. The Queens-born 54-year-old star from “Full House”, “Fuller House” and “When Calls the Heart” was downplaying the consequences of the whole ordeal, but now is terrified of the possibility of spending time behind bars. “She has been in complete denial and thought maybe she could skate by,” a source told E! News. “She refused to accept any jail time and thought the DA was bluffing. She was adamant she wouldn’t do any jail time.” Critics, including the sketch artist at the court, have said that Loughlin appeared “arrogant” during the court hearing. “Lori is finally realizing just how serious this is,” the source continued. “She is seeing the light that she will do jail time and is freaking out.”
Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were arrested last month for allegedly bribing their daughters’ ways into the University of Southern California (USC) for $500,000 each. The posh couple allegedly mad payments to the ‘charity’ of scam mastermind, William “Rick” Singer, to get their daughters Isabella and Olivia Jade recruited to the USC crew team, even though neither of the girls is a rower. Isabella and Olivia’s statuses at USC are on hold while the school’s investigations into the individual cases is ongoing. Olivia has become a YouTube and Instagram celebrity, but has lost several of her main endorsements in the aftermath of the scandal.
Some of the other parents indicted in the scandal, including Felicity Huffman, the actress from “Desperate Housewives”, have accepted a plea deal earlier this week, and plead guilty to charges. Loughlin and Giannulli rejected the plea deal. “They are not ready to make a plea like Felicity (Huffman) and go down that road. They are hoping to just let this play out in the judicial system. They are innocent until proven guilty,” a source close to Loughlin told CNN. “They wish the media would just leave them alone. They feel like there is no story and don’t understand why the press keep hounding them and following Lori to yoga.”
“Their lives will never be the same,” an insider said of Loughlin’s family. “They are scared and they don’t know what’s coming next. It all feels like a terrible nightmare.”
