Actress Lori Loughlin reports to California prison to begin sentence for college admissions scam
- Under the Bureau of Prisons’ coronavirus protocols, Loughlin will be screened and tested for Covid-19 and placed in quarantine for 14 days
- Loughlin and her husband are among nearly 30 prominent parents to plead guilty in the case dubbed ‘Operation Varsity Blues’
Authorities say Full House actress Lori Loughlin has reported to a federal prison in California to begin serving her two-month sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scandal.
The US Attorney’s office in Boston said on Friday that Loughlin was being processed at the federal prison in Dublin, California.
“The parties recently agreed that the defendant can report to prison on October 30, 2020, instead of on November 19, 2020. The defendant has further agreed that, during her two month sentence, she will not seek an early release from prison on Covid-related grounds,” he prosecutor said in a statement.
In August, Loughlin was sentenced to two months and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, got a five-month sentence for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as rowing recruits.
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‘Hard work’ (and US$6.5 million) gets you into Stanford
Under the Bureau of Prisons’ coronavirus protocols, Loughlin will be screened and tested for coronavirus and will be placed in quarantine for 14 days.
Prosecutors said Giannulli did not report to prison with Loughlin on Friday.
Plea deals worked out with the celebrity couple call for Loughlin to pay a US$150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service, and Giannulli to pay a US$250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service.
The famous couple’s sentencing came three months after they reversed course and admitted to taking part in the college admissions cheating scheme that has laid bare the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universities.
They are among nearly 30 prominent parents to plead guilty in the case, which federal prosecutors dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues”. It uncovered hefty bribes to get undeserving students into college with rigged test scores or fake athletic credentials.
Loughlin and Giannulli had insisted for more than a year that they believed their payments were “legitimate donations” and accused prosecutors of hiding crucial evidence that could prove the couple’s innocence because it would undermine their case.
The case shattered the clean image of Loughlin, who gained fame for her role as the wholesome Aunt Becky in the sitcom Full House that ran from the late 1980s to mid-1990s, and later became queen of the Hallmark channel with her holiday movies and the series When Calls the Heart.
