Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli did not have to go to court yesterday. Their lawyers entered pleas on their behalf, which I guess was easy enough to do because Lori and Mossimo pleaded “not guilty” to every charge they’re now facing, including mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. TMZ now says that if they were found guilty, they would spend a minimum of 4 years, 9 months in prison, but all of the reporting last week was about how they could spend 10-20 years in prison. The point is that a substantial amount of time in prison is definitely part of anything on the table. TMZ also says that a plea bargain is miraculously still on the table too, but I guess Lori and Mossimo just refuse to take anything with a prison sentence. People Magazine has more on that part:
Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband pleaded not guilty Monday to two charges against them in the college admissions cheating scandal — and a legal source close to the couple tells PEOPLE that having rejected an offer for a deal from prosecutors, their plea was “the only choice they’ve got.”
“She probably should have taken the deal, but at the time, she didn’t really realize how serious the charges were,” the source tells PEOPLE.
“More than that, I think she and her lawyers underestimated how motivated the prosecution was. So she didn’t plead, and then they hit her with another charge. Now she’s willing to negotiate, but the prosecution says that the deal is off the table. So the only choice they’ve got is to plead not guilty. That’s all they can do.”
The source confirms to PEOPLE that Loughlin and husband J. Mossimo Giannulli pleaded not guilty to both charges they face: mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison for each charge.
Huh. TMZ’s article was rather insistent that the federal prosecutors still have a deal on the table, but it’s also clear that Lori and her camp have been leaking sh-t to People for weeks. So Lori’s version is that they were only offered one deal two weeks ago, and they refused to take the plea and now they’re facing 20 years. My guess is that if Lori and Mossimo had better lawyers, those lawyers would be speaking regularly to the prosecution and trying to work out something. But as of right now, Lori just wants people to think that these federal prosecutors are bullying a poor, affluent, faith-based white lady who is JUST LIKE US. Bish, please.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Lock her up, lock her up!
Yeah, it just shows her arrogance. How could she not know how serious this is? These are federal charges. In my opinion, she isn’t sorry and she still doesn’t get what she did was wrong. It seriously blows my mind. The entitilment.
How did she not understand the seriousness of the charges? Denial is strong in this one.
Yeah, the poor white snowflakes are trying the Trump route of being bullied and picked on by the Feds.
From what i’ve read the prosecution have made it clear from the beginning that they are going to make an example of everyone involved. She and her husband are only digging a very deep hole for themselves that they are not going to get out of.
“More than that, I think she and her lawyers underestimated how motivated the prosecution was”
Wow, she must be dumb then. Why she would even admit to being this dumb is also baffling to me. She must be super-supper dumb-dumb then. Geez, these people need to watch some Law and Order.
That’s why I feel a tad sorry for the daughters — it’s not their fault they inherited her genes. They had both nature and nurture against them. I’m half-kidding, half-serious.
I’ve heard the theory that some people get by COMPLETELY on their looks in life but I never really believe the theory until I saw Aunt Becky. She must have been given a free ride in life for 50 years. It might be too late to learn. (Most people, no matter how good-looking, get hit by some lessons in life by 35 at the latest. It’s fascinating to me that she’s been able to skate by so much in life unscathed, and I’m of course making this assumption based on how she’s acting. Felicity Huffman looks super-stressed so I figure she’s faced some difficulties in life to know how to behave when federal prosecutors come for you).
I totally get what you are saying by feeling bad for the daughters. The parents are raising them, they learn how to be adults from their clueless parents. It can be hard for a kid to learn the difference and get out from the influence of shitty parents
I agree with you both.
Unless it’s an 11C agreement to prison time that she accepts, it is NOT for sure that she’s going to prison. I wish journalists would check with actual federal criminal defense attorneys before they report on sentencing parameters. I feel like I repeat the same thing on every post because t just irritates me. Whatever! No more! Last comment on legal analysis of her case! LOL – hopefully.
Isn’t a eource from her camp talking to People magazine? That’s why I figure they’re reporting the prison time scenario — because it’s being leaked from her? Maybe she wants people to feel sorry for her though. I have no idea.
Jay – I asked this yesterday but it was late in the thread – is there a federal statute that makes it illegal to pay a private citizen some money to do something? I this this family is horrible, but I don’t get how that’s a federal crime. I understand that the fake test-taking is fraud, but not the other stuff. Thanks in advance for free legal opinions!
They knowingly paid a chunk of the money to a falsified charity and then deducted it from their taxes, which is where the more serious money laundering charge comes from. As for paying someone to do something, it’s a crime if that something is illegal (in this case, fraud.) And it’s a federal case because the repercussions crossed state lines, I believe.
Holy F, Candikat, I did not know they deducted this from their taxes. Jesus these people are stupid!
Hey, Jay – Genuine thanks from me for your clarifications!
I get how irritating it must be. People constantly refer to PVC garments as latex and it drives me nuts too, and it isn’t even really important!
I’m sure I’m not the only one who appreciates being informed.
I can see their lawyers telling them it was serious and these two ignoring the advice. They’re just that arrogant and privileged.
Yeah, I’m really not on board with criticizing her legal representation. If Lori and Mossimo refuse to play ball, there’s not really a ton the attorneys can do. She has to consent to any deal they negotiate and she’s made it clear she’s not agreeing to prison time. Their hands are tied.
I believe the story about Mossimo storming the high school when someone dared to question the crew team lie. And the way LL acted outside of court, waving and signing autographs…I fully believe these people thought they would skate.
She/they can plead guilty anytime up until a jury convicts them, and, if they go to trial, they WILL be convicted. They missed the boat, however, on getting the best deal the federal prosecutors will ever offer. The ante goes up the longer they drag it out. Their lawyers are either inept at negotiating with the prosecutors or at counseling their clients. Either way bodes ill for Aunt Becky and her partner in crime.
“Their lawyers are either inept at negotiating with the prosecutors or at counseling their clients.”
All the lawyers can do is counsel. The client has the right to say no, even if it’s a dumbshit move, which pretty much to anyone who is not Lori or Mossimo, is obviously a dumbshit move. As is hiring and paying a legal team as much as these two are (presumably) paying their lawyers for expert advice, which they then blow off. #myhypothesis #allopinionsaremyown
Yup. Agreed. Both can be true, however. In a loooong career as a lawyer, I witnessed many instances of overpaid, not-very-competent legal counsel. I have a problem with lawyers who, for whatever reason, allow clients to disregard advice that will land them in prison for longer than necessary or tank their lives (looking at you Depp) by starting frivolous litigation that exposes them to criminal liability. *sigh* #ihavesomeopinionstoo
Yes but if their clients are telling them, despite their legal advise, that they will not agree to any plea deal that involves prison time, there’s not much the attorneys can do absent getting off of the case. If you pressure someone into a deal that they don’t want to agree to, you’re exposing yourself to malpractice down the road.
I wonder if she thinks her D-list cable channel acting skills will convince a jury that she’s a poor little put upon victim?
This is also what’s fascinating to me. It’s like she’s overestimated her fame level. The way she perceives herself is a curious thing. She’s not Angelina Jolie! People don’t care about the stars from Full House. And if they do, I figure it’s Uncle Jesse who can persuade people to believe something against their better judgement (I have no idea why I think this, however. He does look slightly slimy to me sometimes. Nonetheless, despite my own aversion to him, I think he could have an effect on female jury members who want to sleep with him and male jury members who want to be him. And even then I still think he could be found guilty.) Did anyone even care about Aunt Becky’s existence before this scandal?
@Perplexed: I think you’re right about John Stamos. Exhibit A: He did an interview in which he bragged about tricking a woman into sleeping with his friend. He led the woman to believe she would be sleeping with him, then he dimmed the lights and had a friend take his place. He bragged about it. How any woman could find him appealing after that is beyond me. But very few people seem to hold that against him. Exhibit B: He drove drunk and it didn’t affect his popularity at all. In fact, his career was kind of reignited after that (by D list celebrity standards, of course.) No one seems to hold is against him that he could have killed someone with his reckless, illegal behavior.
Aunt Becky was a weak actor even on Full House. So this is likely to kill what remains of her career regardless.
She is obviously desperate to stay out of prison, which is understandable, but it would be smarter to see if there is any way she can cooperate to reduce the sentence. Instead, she is taking the unlikely route of just insisting she didn’t do anything wrong.
If she doesn’t plea… her daughters will absolutely be deposed and have to testify. I don’t think they’ll come out of that with favorable opinions, at all. They should take the plea. They must be uber delusional or have bad attorneys – probably both.
I’ surprised they won’t take a plea deal just to keep their daughters out of it.
Wolves, please come and pick up your new foster children.
An ET article says that LL and her husband feel ‘manipulated by those involved and had no bad intention. They thought they were breaking rules not laws, and are sure the judge will see it that way once he hears her story.’
The story is worth a laugh, assuming the deluded make you laugh.
I think they believe this.
Just like every other privileged person who has never had to face any real consequence for their actions before.
Wait, what do you mean we can’t talk/pay/handshake our way out of this? 🙄
Yes. I think they probably believe that this (bribery) was more like special counseling and private placement for their very deserving daughters.
Well, even breaking rules can be ethically wrong! These people are stupid! OMG.
“They thought they were breaking rules not laws…” Ha! As if that makes it all OK. Newsflash: if you’re knowingly and selfishly breaking rules that the rest of us follow, your intentions are bad.
I can believe this. “But no one told me it was illegal!” As if age 50-something adults need a little law fairy to guide them through daily life.
Their moral/ethical compass is clearly messed up.
How about that deduction they filed in their tax return? Yeah right sure.
there are pictures of them from sunday walking out of church wearing gucci slippers. both of them are wearing slippers. also read reports of $20 million “tell-all” book offers for them.
these people won’t be going to jail, will they.
Apparently, prosecutors are now going to start going after the children they believe were in on the scam. Lori’s daughters posed for photos to pretend they participated in rowing. They clearly knew they had never taken part in that sport and they both knew their grades weren’t good enough for USC. Their guidance counsellor even flagged their applications because of questionable claims made about extracurriculars. Their refusal to take a plea deal could land their entitled brats in a lot of hot water too.
I have been wondering if someone advised the daughters (especially the “influencer”, or the Marcia of the pair) to back away from the parents because of this possibility.
This PR game is interesting. It’s as if they (especially Aunt Becky & “Marcia”) think this case will be influenced by whatever they leak or send to the tabloids. This is not a modern day Brady Bunch episode where everything works itself out by the end of the show.
Also for this to become a federal case, the prosecutors have their ducks in a row. Federal cases are pretty much bullet proof. So good luck Aunt Becky.
I bought some floral patterned birks I have yet to wear and Lori is making me hate them.
If they look like what she has on her feet, I completely understand your hate of them.
Still don’t like the pressure to plead guilty and plea out or else scenario going on here. If federal prosecutors are given and wield that kind of power, all of us lose. Everyone has the right to plead not guilty and take their case to court where they should expect a fair trial. This you plead guilty and do what we want or we’ll bury you in jail is scary to me.
+1
And, I agree with all the comments re entitlement.
It’s a deterrent. So sorry if it’s scary maybe they shouldn’t do the crime. I don’t want to hear, “but they don’t know.” If you can read then yes you know something smells and you don’t go there.
No compassion from me.
From what I understand, it isn’t so much of a threat as a fact.
It sounds like they have a lot of “hard” evidence (emails, texts, documents, photos) that prove the crimes were committed knowingly and intentionally. Would prosecutors be doing them a favor to ignore how solid their case is?
I heard a theory about the reasoning behind not-guilty pleas for some of these parents: the hedge funds or VC firms or whatever institutions the bulk of their wealth is tied up in often have a clause that says they’ll lose their stake in the company if they admit guilt in a federal plea deal. They’d presumably lose it all if convicted by a jury too, but if they’re choosing between a 100% chance of losing the bulk of their fortune with a deal and a, say, 85% chance of losing it with a conviction, it’s worth it to gamble on the jury trial. Not sure how prevalent this is or if it even applies to the Loughlin-Giannullis, but I thought it was an interesting take.
Maybe Laughlin should hire brand-new legal ‘expert’ Kim Kardashian to get her off the hook.
haha, awesome!
You know what’s weird? I think Kim Kardashian might be a lot smarter than Aunt Becky. She found another way through the system that allows her to get the qualification she wants without having to pose for rowing photos or get other people to take the SATs for her. Odds enough, Kim found a legit way to get what she wants qualification-wise.
Kim K is DEFINITELY a LOT smarter than Aunt Becky! If she wants to, I fully believe she can pass the bar by studying. That’s what the guy from Catch Me If You Can did. He was actually legally licensed to practice law.
You do not have to have a law degree, you just have to pass the bar. (Which is why drunks don’t make good attorneys – they can’t pass a bar!)
“Knowingly and selfishly breaking all rules that the rest of us follow” is exactly how rich people get and stay rich. Remember Emile Zola’s quotation, “Behind every great fortune is a great crime.” Sound familiar, MAGATS? But the new twist is to ADMIRE that person, even though you are truly maggots to him (Trump, Trump, Trump). Stupid is forever.
Stupid never dies.
I dunno, the leaks to People do not portray them positively. If Lori and her husband are the ones leaking, I guess it’s possible they are so out of touch with reality that they think people will feel bad for them?
Just read now she’s trying to sell it as a “donation” to the school 😒 yes donating to the school includes having your children pose to pretend to be crew members…
Sometimes i think of all the good these vapid dull witted people could do with their money and yet never do…how non Christian of them
The thing is that her lawyer is actually really good, he used to work at the justice department and oversaw the Enron investigation. Apparently the money laundering charges are likely to be pretty flimsy. So there might be some method to her madness. That being said, I do think she is in denial. There’s just no way that her lawyer is advising her to run around looking cheerful, signing autographs and acting like court is a red carpet. Even if the strategy was to plead not guilty, I’m sure her lawyers would advise her to act serious given the gravity of the situation. She definitely losing in the court of public opinion, which is a bad plan if this does go to trial and there are jurors!
Oh for pete’s sake. A plea deal would always be on the table if she wants to talk. Cases in criminal court get settled all the time. As long as the indicted agrees to the terms.
I know there’s a lot of “what about the other people” who were indicted on this case. You can find a lot of news about the other “nobodies” by reading the local paper.
This one is from another dumb couple who are trying to get the case dismissed: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/College-admissions-scandal-Palo-Alto-parents-13769491.php
Totally laughable. His career is done. The med boards is reviewing his conduct and may terminate his license. Now, is this worth it?