People in South Carolina might have heard about the college admissions scandal that involved wealthy, famous people accused of buying their children’s way into elite schools. Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were two of the last holdouts in the case. The pair has now agreed to plead guilty to some of the charges against them.
Loughlin agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. In exchange for her guilty plea, the other charges against her will be dropped. The plea agreement calls for Loughlin to serve a sentence of two months in prison. Giannulli agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services fraud. In exchange for his guilty plea, the other charges against him will be dropped. The agreement calls for Gianulli to serve five months in prison. Both will also have to serve two years of post-release supervision, perform community service and pay substantial fines.
Loughlin is reportedly hoping that the judge will allow her and Gianulli to serve their sentences at different times so that their daughters will have at least one parent at home. The couple reportedly paid $500,000 to a fake charity to get their daughters into the University of Southern California. They also allegedly took pictures of their older daughter on a rowing machine to get her recruited as a rower at USC even though she had never competed in the sport.
White-collar crimes, including RICO, embezzlement and health care fraud, can result in long prison sentences and substantial fines. People who are facing these types of charges might benefit from retaining experienced criminal defense attorneys as early as possible. A lawyer may be able to negotiate with the prosecutor to secure a more favorable plea agreement for the client.