Actress Lori Loughlin and her Guess designer husband Mossimo Giannulli have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in the college admissions scandal. For more than a year, they insisted on pleading not guilty, despite what legal observers said was in their best interest.
Loughlin, 55, and Giannulli, 56, were accused of paying $500K to get their daughters Olivia Jade and Bella into University of Southern California as fake crew recruits. They faced decades behind bars, but as part of their plea agreement, Loughlin agreed two months and Giannulli agreed to five months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. In addition, Giannulli has also agreed to plead guilty to honest services wire and mail fraud.
She also agreed to pay $150K, do100 hours of community service and undergo two years of supervised release; he agreed to a $250K fine, do 250 hours of service and undergo two years of supervised release. The agreement is subject to a court’s approval and the official plea will be filed at 11:30 am today (Friday).
“Under the plea agreements filed today, these defendants will serve prison terms reflecting their respective roles in a conspiracy to corrupt the college admissions process and which are consistent with prior sentences in this case,” said US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. “We will continue to pursue accountability for undermining the integrity of college admissions.”
A source told ET of Loughlin’s mindset: “She truly believes she was looking out for her children's best interest and giving back to the school. Pleading guilty was never part of the plan. Lori sees herself as a good person, so coming to terms with the huge mistakes she's made and the fact that she will do time, is crushing for her.”
More than 50 parents and college officials have been swept up in the scandal. Felicity Huffman also pleaded guilty to shelling out $15K to juice her daughter’s SAT scores and served 11 days behind bars.