“Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli were sentenced on Friday to respective prison terms of two months and five months for participating in a vast U.S. college admissions fraud scheme.
Loughlin, 56, choked up as she apologized to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston for the “awful decision” she made to help her daughters gain an “unfair advantage” in the college admissions process and get into their preferred school.
She and her husband were sentenced after they pleaded guilty in May to engaging in a fraud scheme aimed at securing spots for their daughters at the University of Southern California as fake athletic recruits.
They did so through what Gorton called a “blatant” scheme that involved wealthy parents, including the couple, conspiring with a California college admissions consultant to use bribery and fraud to secure their children’s admissions to top schools.
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| Felicity Huffman |
“I am truly, profoundly and deeply sorry, and I need to face the consequences and make amends,” she said during a hearing held via videoconference because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gorton also ordered Loughlin and Giannulli to pay respective fines of $150,000 and $250,000 and complete 100 and 250 hours of community service. He said he was “dumbfounded” by how Loughlin could aid the corruption of the higher education system.
Loughlin and Giannulli are among 56 people charged in a scheme masterminded by consultant William “Rick” Singer, who has admitted to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and using bribery to secure the admission of children to schools under the guise of being sought-after athletes.
The parents include actress Felicity Huffman, who received a 14-day prison sentence for paying to rig her daughter’s college entrance exam. An insurance and private equity executive, Mark Hauser, on Friday became the latest parent to cut a plea deal.
The couple is due to report to prison on Nov. 19.
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