More Trouble! Lori Loughlin Hit With New Charge In College Admissions Scandal
Oct. 22 2019, Updated 5:54 p.m. ET
Federal prosecutors brought new bribery charges against Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli in the college admissions scandal, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
The U.S. Attorney filed a Federal Program Bribery charge against the couple after prosecutors had warned parents last week they could face a bribery charge if they didn’t plead guilty by Monday to the charges they already faced.
Loughlin, 55, and Giannulli, 56, who were indicted in March, previously pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.
Unlike Felicity Huffman, who pled guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge in the wake of the college admissions bribery scandal and is currently serving her 14-day prison sentence, Loughlin continues to maintain her innocence, and wait for her day in court.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, the former Full House star allegedly gave $500,000 to have her daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, designated as crew team recruits for USC, even though they had never participated in the sport, according to the March indictment.
While Huffman, 56, almost immediately admitted to her crimes, Loughlin demands she’s not guilty of a crime, and continues to enjoy her freedom.
But in an interview with WCVB Channel 5 Boston, Andrew Lelling, the U.S Attorney for of Massachusetts, said that may not be in her best interest.
“We will probably ask for a higher sentence for Loughlin than we did for Felicity Huffman,” Lelling revealed. “I can’t tell you what that would be… it’s tough to tell at this point.”
Lelling went on to note how Huffman and Loughlin’s cases are very different, before praising Huffman for handling her situation in “a very classy way.”
“It just happened to be that Ms. Huffman was probably the least culpable of the defendants who we’ve charged in that case,” Lelling said. “She took responsibility almost immediately, she was contrite, did not try to minimize her conduct. I think she handled it in a very classy way.”