Lori Loughlin Waits for Judge to Decide on Guilty Pleas

After more than a year of denials, couple drops claims of innocence in admissions scam
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2020 4:34 PM CDT
Lori Loughlin's Fate in Hands of Judge Now
Lori Loughlin departs federal court in Boston last August.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, became the 24th and 25th parents to plead guilty in the college admissions scandal on Friday, but their pleas aren't official yet. A judge in Massachusetts told the actress and the fashion designer that he can't accept their pleas until he's read their presentencing reports from the state's probation service. The couple turned down a plea deal in the fraud case a year ago, but in a video conference hearing Friday, Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Giannulli entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud, People reports. This deal calls for two months in prison for Loughlin and five months for Giannulli.

Friday's pleas were change of course for the couple, who had stuck to their claims of innocence for more than a year while prosecutors added charges. They've now admitted to plotting with admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer to promote their two daughters as rowing recruits to get them into the University of Southern California, per the Los Angeles Times. Loughlin and Giannulli had to listen Friday as a prosecutor told the court that they paid Singer $500,000, took staged photographs of their daughters on rowing equipment to submit, and lied to USC and high school officials who'd grown suspicious. Loughlin rocked from side to side during the hearing, per People, often looking out the window. (Fake resume described a "highly talented" coxswain.)

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