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Lori Loughlin Sentenced to 2 Months in Prison for College Admissions Scandal, Judge Accepts Plea Deal
The wait is over. Lori Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison for her involvement in the nationwide college admissions scandal on Friday, August 21. The Fuller House actress’ hearing took place after her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, was sentenced to five months for his part.
Along with her two-month prison sentence, the judge accepted Loughlin’s plea deal, which requires she serve two years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service, and $150,000 fine.
One of Loughlin’s defense attorneys, BJ Trach, told the judge that the crimes she committed was “completely out of character.” He insisted Loughlin, 56, is “profoundly sorry for the role she played” in the case.
Loughlin echoed that sentiment as she shared a statement with the judge. “I made an awful decision,” she stated. “I went along will the plan … in doing so, I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass.”
Just hours earlier, Loughlin’s husband, Mossimo, stood before the judge to hear his sentencing. The clothing brand owner, 57, will serve two years of supervised release, 250 community hours and $250,000 fine. Following his sentencing, defense attorney Sean Berkowitz said the fashion guru is “humbled” and accepts responsibility.
Mossimo also expressed remorse as he gave a brief statement to the judge. “I deeply regret the harm that my actions have caused my daughters, my wife and others,” he said. “I take full responsibility of my conduct.”
After the judge reprimanded the dad of two for creating a “breathtaking fraud” that affected Loughlin and their daughters, he required Mossimo turn himself in by November 19. His attorney requested he be admitted to the Lompoc Camp in Central California, to which the judge said he would make a recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons.
Lori, 56, is widely known for portraying Aunt Becky on the sitcom Full House, and her fashion designer husband were due in court after federal prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton to “impose the agreed-upon dispositions” that were made when the duo entered their guilty pleas in May.
Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud at the time, while her spouse pleaded guilty to the same charge, as well as honest services wire and mail fraud.
The plea deals entailed “a term of imprisonment of five months, a $250,000 fine, and 250 hours of community service for Giannulli; and a term of imprisonment of two months, a $150,000 fine, and 100 hours of community service for Loughlin,” according to the sentencing memo obtained by Closer on August 17.
Loughlin and Giannulli previously owned up to paying $500,000 to get their daughters Isabella Giannulli, 21, and Olivia Jade Giannulli, 20, accepted into the University of Southern California [USC] as members of the crew team, although the girls never participated in the sport. The father of two was “the more active participant in the scheme,” prosecutors argued in the sentencing memo, while Loughlin “took a less active role, but was nonetheless fully complicit.”
After the couple secured plea deals for their involvement, their daughters finally had “peace of mind,” a source told In Touch in May. “They know that their parents had their best interests at heart when they did what they did, but it was wrong and they got caught,” the insider said at the time. “They should have admitted their guilt from the beginning, but now that they have, they can all move on.”
Amid the controversy, Loughlin and Giannulli voluntarily resigned from the elite Bel-Air Country Club after some board members voted to suspend their membership.
Loughlin and Giannulli were among 15 other parents arrested in March 2019, after being indicted on charges from the operation dubbed “Varsity Blues.”
