Prosecutors Turn The Heat Up On Lori Loughlin With New Charges Carrying 20-Year Maximum Sentence

The former Full House star is now in all kinds of legal trouble

You might remember that yesterday, we reported on the ongoing legal tribulations of Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli, who are bring accused of bribes to the tune of $500,000 in order to get their two daughters into a prestigious college.

Image: Cosmopolitan

They were offered the opportunity of a plea deal, but according to TMZ, have not yet done so, unlike fellow actress Felicity Huffman, who copped a plea on Monday.

Now, the U.S. Attorney has gone to a Federal Grand Jury to get an indictment, with the intention of adding charges of money laundering to Lori’s case. This now drastically increases the amount of time Lori and her husband would get as a minimum recommended sentence if found guilty.

Specifically, the U.S. Attorney says, Lori, her husband and 14 others will now be charged with the additional crime of “conspiring to launder the bribes and other payment in furtherance of the fraud by funneling them through [Rick] Singer’s purported charity and his for-profit corporation.”

Image: Irish Mirror

The money laundering charge alone carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although this depends upon severity, and it’s not clear how likely that would be in Lori’s case.

What is clear is that, if Lori and her husband now want to plea bargain their cases, instead of a minimum range of 2 to 2 and a half years in prison, prosecutors would recommend to the judge a minimum sentence of 4 years and 11 months to 5 years and 9 months.

There’s also a very technical rub. Theoretically by charging the couple with conspiracy to commit money laundering, the minimum sentence could go even higher – way higher.

Image: Flipboard

In other words, the prosecutors are really turning the hear up, and it seems like they are seeking to make an example out of the couple and their alleged actions.

Lori and her husband are in a way worse position than Felicity Huffman, due to the fact that Huffman is accused of a much lesser bribe, and has already entered a plea.

TMZ reports that all of the parents in the college cheating scandal have been offered plea deals, but that prosecutors will only accept pleas with prison time attached.

Actress Felicity Huffman arrives at federal court in Boston, to face charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal
College Admissions-Bribery, Boston, USA – 03 Apr 2019 – Photo by Charles Krupa/AP/Shutterstock

Felicity entered a plea deal on Monday, along with 12 other parents. The remaining 37 individuals charged – including Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli – have been offered plea deals, with varying recommendations for prison sentences, largely determined by the amount they paid in bribes and whether they accept responsibility for what they did.

Felicity’s plea would enable her to serve as little as 4 months in prison – partly due to her admitting to a much lesser bribe of $15,000.

It seems like Lori and her husband are now effectively faced with an ultimatum: enter a plea deal quickly, or else they will go to a Federal Grand Jury and add charges, including money laundering, which could result in an extensive prison sentence.

One thing’s for sure, I would not like to be in Lori’s shoes right now. AAx

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