Lori Loughlin pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with her role in the college admissions scandal Friday.
Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli appeared at a video conference hearing before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton to formally enter their respective pleas, Deadline reported, before Gorton told them he would now review the plea agreement and make a decision.
Due to courts being under stress with the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the couple will now be sentenced on August 21 at 2:30 p.m. and 11 a.m. ET respectively.
The pair’s lawyers asked for the sentencing to be moved up to July 30, but the judge said they’d be sticking to the August date for now given the current situation, but added the date could change.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts reported Thursday that Loughlin and Giannulli would “plead guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton on a date to be specified by the Court.”
The docs added, “Loughlin will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, while Giannulli will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.”
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Loughlin and Giannulli had been accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower.
The reports confirmed, “Under the terms of Loughlin’s plea agreement, the parties have agreed to a sentence, subject to the Court’s approval, of two months in prison, a $150,000 fine and two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service.
“Under the terms of Giannulli’s plea agreement, the parties have agreed to a sentence, subject to the Court’s approval, of five months in prison, a $250,000 fine and two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service.”
“Under the plea agreements filed today, these defendants will serve prison terms reflecting their respective roles in a conspiracy to corrupt the college admissions process and which are consistent with prior sentences in this case. We will continue to pursue accountability for undermining the integrity of college admissions,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling.
Loughlin and her husband were among 50 people charged last year in the much-talked-about scandal. Authorities said wealthy parents paid huge sums to secure their admissions at elite schools as fake athletic recruits or have someone cheat on their entrance exams.
The pair are the 23rd and 24th parents to have pleaded guilty in the case, including “Desperate Housewives” actress Felicity Huffman. She served nearly two weeks in prison after she admitted to paying $15,000 to have someone correct her daughter’s entrance exam answers.
