Lori Loughlin faces new bribery charge in college admissions scandal
Lori Loughlin has just been hit with a brand new charge in the college admissions scandal.
The Full House actress and 10 other parents were charged by a grand jury Tuesday for having allegedly "conspired to commit federal program bribery by bribing employees of the University of Southern California (USC) to facilitate their children's admission," ABC News and CNN report.
Loughlin had previously been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud after being arrested in March for her role in what the Department of Justice has said is the largest college admissions scandal it has ever prosecuted. Prosecutors say Loughlin paid $500,000 to have her daughters falsely admitted to the University of Southern California as rowing recruits despite not being rowers.
She's one of the two most high-profile parents charged in the scandal, with the other being Felicity Huffman, who pleaded guilty and is currently serving two weeks in prison. Unlike Huffman, Loughlin has pleaded not guilty. When Huffman received her 14-day sentence, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig described this as "very bad news" for Loughlin, since this sentence would likely be the "absolute floor." TMZ reported Tuesday, though, that prosecutors are "open to plea discussions" with Loughlin.
In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said, "Our goal from the beginning has been to hold the defendants fully accountable for corrupting the college admissions process through cheating, bribery and fraud. The superseding indictments will further that effort."
