Lori Loughlin And Her Husband Plead Not Guilty In College Admissions Scam
Published on April 15, 2019.EPA/CJ GUNTHER
Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, have entered their pleas in the high-profile college admissions scam dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.
Loughlin and Giannulli have reportedly pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges against them.
According to the legal documents, the couple entered their plea on Monday, April 15 and have requested to waive their right to appear in court again to enter pleas for the money laundering charges that were brought against them only recently.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts made the announcement of the new charges against 16 parents last week, saying, “Sixteen parents involved in the college admissions scandal were charged today in Boston in a second superseding indictment with conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to use bribery to cheat on college entrance exams and to facilitate their children’s admission to selective colleges and universities as purported athletic recruits.”
Their not guilty plea comes only days after actress Felicity Huffman along with 13 other defendants opted to plead guilty in the case.
I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” Huffman shared. “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.”
“I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community,” she continued. “I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”
“My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”
n mid-March the case came to light when the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that it had charged 50 people in the scandal, which included actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. Loughlin and Giannulli reportedly paid $500,000 to the scam’s ringleader Rick Singer in order to get their two daughters into USC as rowing athletes, despite never having rowed in their lives.