Lori Loughlin, Husband To Plead Not Guilty To New Bribery Charges
BOSTON (CBSLA/AP) — Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli will plead not guilty to the latest bribery charges brought against them in the college admissions scandal.
Lawyers for the 55-year-old Loughlin and the 56-year-old Mossimo Giannulli filed court documents Friday in Boston federal court saying the couple plans to plead not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. The couple also waived their right to appear at a Nov. 20 arraignment.
Last week, Loughlin and Giannulli were among 11 parents charged with paying bribes to USC officials in order to get their children admitted to the school as athletic recruits.
In total, 34 parents were charged in the scandal. Of those, 19 parents have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty, while 15 parents are fighting the charges. Among those who has already pleaded guilty was "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman, who served 11 days of a 14-day sentence last month.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into USC as members of the crew team, even though neither had ever rowed crew.
The two daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli, are no longer enrolled at the school.
When the scandal broke in March, Loughlin and Giannulli were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. In April, prosecutors added a count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each of those counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
On March 12, the FBI charged 51 people — including 34 parents and nine coaches — in a massive bribery scheme in which wealthy families paid millions to a Newport Beach businessman named Rick Singer to help their children cheat on standardized tests and bribe test administrators and college coaches to help get their kids into top universities like UCLA, USC, Yale, Stanford and Georgetown.
Parents charged in the alleged scheme are accused of paying Singer a total of $25 million between 2011 and February 2019 for the arrangement. Along with bribing test administrators and college coaches, Singer used some of that money to create fake athletic profiles to help get students admitted into athletic programs.
