Lori Loughlin’s husband, Mossimo Giannulli, will plead guilty to conspiracy charges in connection to his role in the college admissions scandal. As part of the plea deal, announced by the U.S. Department of Justice of Massachusetts Thursday, Giannulli will enter a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, honest services wire and mail fraud, and will serve five months in prison, pending court approval. The fashion designer will also pay a $250,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service.
Loughlin, meanwhile, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Pending the court’s approval, she will serve just two months in prison. She will also be required to pay a $15,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service. As the U.S. Department of Justice of Massachusetts notes, such charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The couple are scheduled to plead guilty on Friday, May 22 at 11:30 a.m.
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“Under the plea agreements filed today, these defendants will serve prison terms reflecting their respective roles in a conspiracy to corrupt the college admissions process and which are consistent with prior sentences in this case,” United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said of the plea deal. “We will continue to pursue accountability for undermining the integrity of college admissions.”
The news comes after months of Loughlin and Giannulli maintaining their innocence and makes them the 23rd and 24th parents to plead guilty in the college admissions case. Nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues, the investigation into the scandal, as well as the related charges, first went public in March of 2019 and have seen more than 50 people charged in connection to the case.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying William “Rick” Singer, a consultant at the heart of the widespread scandal, $500,000 to have their two daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Giannulli, admitted into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, despite neither of them having ever participated in the sport. After being charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and later one count each of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, the couple initially pleaded not guilty and turned down a plea deal.
