Lori Loughlin and husband hit with new charge in college admissions bribery case
Actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and 14 other parents were indicted on Tuesday on money laundering and mail fraud charges, the latest development in the sweeping college admissions bribery scheme.
The scandal involves 33 wealthy parents accused of participating in a scheme that involved rigging college entrance exams and bribing coaches at elite universities to secure places for their children.
Loughlin and her husband were initially arrested last month on a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Tuesday's indictment adds a charge of money laundering conspiracy against the couple and 14 other parents.
Amy and Gregory Colburn, a California couple accused of paying $25,000 (£19,000) to cheat on their son's SAT, were indicted on the money laundering and mail fraud conspiracy charges last month.
The parents are accused of paying an admissions consultant, Rick Singer, to cheat on their children's college entrance exams and get their children admitted as athletic recruits at such elite schools as Georgetown and Yale.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 (£383,000) in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as rowing recruits, even though neither of them normally did the sport.
The additional charges against the couple carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
They appeared in Boston federal court briefly last week and were not asked to enter a plea. They have not publicly addressed the allegations against them.
Other parents indicted on the new charge on Tuesday include Michelle Janavs, whose family developed the microwave snack line Hot Pockets before selling their company, and William McGlashan, who co-founded an investment fund with U2's Bono in 2017.
Huffman, the 56-year-old Emmy-winner who stared in the TV series Desperate Housewives, was accused of paying $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to have an invigilator correct the answers on her daughter's SAT.
She and the 12 other parents agreed to plead guilty on Monday to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Prosecutors say they will seek a prison sentence that's on the low end of between four and 10 months for Huffman.
In her first public comments since her arrest, Huffman took responsibility for her actions and said she would accept the consequences.
"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty," she said after her plea deal was announced.
