Soon after the FBI and DOJ announced some of the prominent names involved in Operation Varsity Blues, there was a low-key conversation about which actresses would play Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman in the eventual movie about this mess. I’m still thinking about that, because I do think that there will be a movie – perhaps a TV movie – about all of this. I think Nicole Kidman as Felicity Huffman, and I see Jennifer Garner as Lori Loughlin. Anyway, Felicity is clearly taking a plea deal and hoping to avoid prison altogether, or possibly trying to avoid spending more than a few months in prison. Felicity’s crimes – while terrible – were on the lower end of the spectrum. She paid less than $20K to have a SAT proctor change her daughter’s answers, basically. Lori Loughlin’s crimes were much bigger and more involved. And so of course Lori is facing more time in prison:
Lori Loughlin and her husband are in a way worse position than Felicity Huffman … because the huge amount they allegedly paid in bribes to get their daughters into USC could land them in prison for 2 YEARS MINIMUM … TMZ has learned.
Sources connected to the case tell us … all of the parents in the college cheating scandal have been offered plea deals, but prosecutors will only accept pleas with prison time attached.
As we reported, Felicity copped a plea 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. The problem for Lori and Mossimo is that they paid $500,000 to allegedly bribe the crew coach, and the amount raises the MINIMUM PRISON SENTENCE IN A PLEA DEAL TO A RANGE OF 2 TO 2 1/2 YEARS.
Our sources say prosecutors have given all defendants an ultimatum … reach a plea deal QUICKLY or else they will go to a Federal Grand Jury and add charges, including money laundering, which significantly raises the low end of prison time.
Someone said that white folks are going to riot if Felicity and Lori end up serving real prison sentences all while Jussie Smollett is free as a bird. But what struck me about this is… obviously, no one wants to f–k with the federal justice system, but how is Lori Loughlin basically facing a similar prison sentence as someone like Paul Manafort?? Trump and his associates were doing crimes involving money laundering, fraud on a massive scale, treason and more. And here’s Lori Loughlin… getting the same kind of jail time?
Photos courtesy of Getty and Backgrid.
Apparently rich white men get better treatment than rich white women in the courts.
I think that’s the answer: because she’s a woman. Pretty much in the pecking order it’s: white male, white female and then brown people. Poor Lori doesn’t have a penis so no matter how white she is (c’mon Becky), she’s still not a man.
Lori’s husband is a rich, white man and he’s being treated the same as her. Lori just gets more attention, because she’s famous. There have also been several other men who have been charged in this case- fathers, coaches, administrators. Their sentences haven’t been announced yet, so we can’t compare them, but I imagine their sentences will reflect the amount they paid/accepted.
So while I agree that our criminal justice system is massively unfair, and there have been people who have gotten away with worse crimes, I don’t think sexism is a big factor in this particular case.
Not disagreeing…but isn’t her husband facing the exact same charges? Do you think he will not receive the same sentence?
Yep, I thought of Manafort et al immediately. TREASON against your own country is apparently on par with this stuff.
More charges just dropped on the parents who didn’t cop a plea, and it includes Mossimo and Lori. They are really stupid, or maybe they think that they have an “in” somehow, like Singer, only it’s through their Trump connections.
It’s because Manafort had information to trade in order to push his time down. He’s a monster and I’m not saying that’s fair, but that’s the difference.
I just can’t believe she’ll actually serve time for this… esp considering prisons are overflowing. a sentence of no international travel, no pricey vacation spas and wearing an ankle bracelet for two years would be more impactful for someone like her.. esp the ankle bracelet.
just an offnote … she looks so much like nicolle wallace…
Also, like… is that really justice? Does it benefit society? It costs taxpayers money to jail them, and a lot of it.
I think a better punishment would be making them start a scholarship fund for low-income kids, and make it an amount that will hurt. Like, make a $5 million scholarship fund OR go to prison.
That’s a great idea. Each guilty party should have to fully fund 10 low income students’ college rides to the universities of their choice.
Agreed. A massive financial penalty that benefits low-income students would be a really good alternative.
That is not punishment for her crimes for committing a federal crime. You basically want her to do the same thing she’s facing jail time for which is a paying her way out of it. Instead of her daughters working hard to try to get in these schools or finding a new path she paid her way into those schools That’s what you’re suggesting she do now that’s not punishment that’s just what the lot of rich people do is throw money at their problems.
Exact right, @Raven.
I think it is more about deterrence. Yes, fines need to be paid, as well as community service. But a fine is just money thrown at a problem, and that is what got them all in trouble in the first place. It is an easy way out. But jail, even a month in jail, is enough to make anyone thinking of doing this again stop, and think. Is it worth it?
Then, their community service should be in the financial aid department of USC.
I would be shocked if she served any lengthy amount of time. She might go in for one day and get released for over-crowding.
Not true–she’s being charged in federal court, so that means Club Fed for her, a la Martha Stewart. She ought to cop the plea–it’s really the only way to resurrect her career. It didn’t hurt Martha Stewart, after all.
She’s not Lindsay Lohan serving time at a county jail for a DUI, these are federal crimes. She’ll serve whatever she’s sentenced or a significant portion of it.
I think there was a general consensus that the prosecutor in the Martha Stewart case was over zealous. Her broker called and told her to sell some stock and she did. Yes, it was insider trading, but it was a single trade, not an active scheme to game the market.
Lori actively sought to bribe university employees to get her daughters accepted to a highly ranked school in order to feed her own ego. I’m not sure there is any coming back from that.
She will absolutely serve time in jail for this.
The prosecutor in Martha Stewart’s case was James Comey. Lori is going to jail for a while now that money laundering has been added. I have little sympathy. She should have taken the deal.
She also looks like Candace Cameron Burre, who has a similar squeaky clean image and could play her in a made-for-TV movie.
Another bible thumper!
Federal prisons are not overflowing … “camp fed” is actually a far preferable place to ‘do time.’
What is really appalling to me is that she faces only 24 to 30 months in prison for this massive fraud. Plenty of non-famous people serve much more time in the federal system for crimes involving a lot less money.
True. But plenty of really rich white men, who commit far more serious white collar crimes, are sitting in their 3rd home in Europe right now.
The whole system is f**ked.
If we launch into “what about-ism” regarding our criminal justice system, it will be a long and painful discussion. Very little is actually just about our justice system, Manafort included. (My main outrage is a privatized prison system that disproportionately locks up brown and black people FOR PROFIT.) Still… that doesn’t mean Loughlin doesn’t deserve a prison sentence for what she did.
I wish people would stop comparing operation variety blues and Jussie Smollett, honestly. They are not equivalent and they have nothing to do with each other outside of entering public consciousness during roughly the same timeframe.
Well damn.
I had read Lori Loughlin might face more jail time because something about claiming the bribery on their taxes as charity but I’m not sure how true it was.
oh yeah.. the irs doesn’t take kindly to tax cheats… unless you’re dotard.
In white collar federal crimes it’s all based on loss amounts. The table used is found in 2B1 of the US Sentencing Guidelines. And depending on the type of plea it is (anything but an 11C plea) she may not do prison time. I’ve had clients agree to a plea deal that said 2 years jail and was able to convinced the judge to give them probation. It’s all up to the judge.
“Felicity’s crimes – while terrible – were on the lower end of the spectrum.“
I think what may have also helped her is it doesn’t appear her daughter had actually been accepted at any universities (and she’s certainly not going to be!). By her daughter’s age and the timing I think they were going through that process when this all crashed down. So her crime was “just” the SAT fixing. Aunt Becky went the full way with two kids actually admitted so I imagine she has several more counts on her indictment. They’re both gross people don’t get me wrong, but from a practical standpoint they have more on Aunt Becky.
Jail time is more than justified – Loughlin and Giannulli paid to falsify both of her daughters academic and athletic records, was more than ok with pretending they were on the crew team, and frankly have shown zero remorse.
I don’t think that having an ankle bracelet and not getting to travel internationally while living in a mansion with a chef, trainer and other luxuries will ever get any kind of message across (not that jail time will), but it’s a start.
My first thought as well… I think Lorri deserves 2 years. However, it shows how absurdly low and laughable Paul’s less than 4 year sentence was. Still disgusted about this.
Shouldn’t the kids be charged too?
I am against incarceration for any and all non violent crime, including drug possession and property crimes. But as long as poor people and people of color are getting jail time for minor offenses she needs to be treated the same. And she should forced to sponsor a real crew team scholarship for the next 10 years.
Aunt Becky wore glasses and still walked out of the house in that outfit.
Bail should have been recanted just for that alone.
Dying.
I’m shocked that she’ll actually have to serve time. I agree with the other posters that it really doesn’t seem like the appropriate or most beneficial punishment.
I think Hollywood should wait until they’re both out of jail and have them star in the movie about this (their pay donated to charity of course).
Why so they can play the victims.
I find it funny that Jussie Smollett made a fake police report about a hate crime and all the people on this site are saying go he needs to go to jail. Yet these two committed a federal crime and so many people on here are like oh they don’t need to go to jail let them pay their way out of it.
Raven, it’s more predictable than funny. People protect their own. People are harsher to black people and always point to “well, I’m not a racist, I have a black friend at work.” it’s why Paul Manafort’s judge said he “lived a good life” even though he’s a big criminal and why that same judge gave him a few years while he gave a black political facing similar charges 14 years. This bias is implicit and even when judges are made aware of it they continue to charge black people with longer sentences.
@SARA6 when Loughlin was fired from Hallmark so many were like oh she shouldn’t have been fired, but when the charges were dropped against Jussie Smollett people felt that he needed to be fired. I’ve read Loughlin and Giannulli shouldn’t have to go to jail because of R Kelly yet people on here said Jussie Smollett should face jail time and suddenly it doesn’t matter that R Kelly is not in jail yet. Another example people were pissed because they feel Jussie Smollett paid his way out of going to jail and yet there are people above saying that these ladies should not go to jail but pay.
@ LUCY2
I agree with your assessment on the two cases and Jussie should have to volunteer at organizations that deal with people who have faced hate crimes.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I look a lot more like Aunt Becky than Jussie, and I think she and the others in this scheme deserve jail, whereas with Jussie I felt like community service and fines were more appropriate.
The roller-coaster of the Smollett case is crazy, so, all I can say is this; based on what I have seen in the past, there have been times when people have been forced to pay back the city when false claims were made, and times when they weren’t. I don’t remember anyone going to jail. There are times when mental health evaluations make much more sense.
On a shallow note, I’m beginning to like that outfit. It’s growing on me. And I just realized we have the same glasses, but she has better cheekbones to pull them off.
Why does Lori look like she’s putting on an “act”. Does she normally wear glasses? Why is she smiling so much when she’s walking in to court for God’s sake. It’s like it’s a joke to her. If she’s trying to come off as “likable”, she’s doing the opposite.
These people are absolute trash. Tanya McDowell received a 5 year prison sentence for enrolling her child in a neighboring school district. I just know these sentences and plea deals are going to be one huge joke.
Honestly I don’t think any of these people should serve jail time. An extremely long assignment of community service (hell, make it a lifetime) and a huge fine would be sufficient, for me anyway. I’ve always thought jail/prison was meant for violent criminals or white-collar criminals who have committed financial crimes on a mass scale (Manafort, Roger Stone). These were financial crimes done by parents of now adult children who aren’t going to attempt this again because how could they now that the scheme has been outed? Some hardcore community service would be better both as a punishment and to serve the communities they have hurt with their actions.
This was on a mass scale these two ladies aren’t the only one facing jail time the other ones just aren’t celebrities so they are not public sized. Not to mention the school boards, who give the SATs Etc and you don’t think the feds aren’t looking into other schools.
I’m aware they weren’t the only people involved and that this is a big scam with lots of layers, still don’t think jail time is an appropriate/effective punishment. We all will have to chip in for their punishment via taxes and I’d rather see them being put to work for their crimes vs sitting in a cell.
@Ann. I totally agree with you. It’s bar far a better punishment; the problem with it is, like Chris Brown and ol Lohan, it’s easy enough to fake it, or pick a ‘soft’ area to do your service in. Prosecutors can ASK for prison time, but that’s all they can do; the judge will hand down the sentence, and you can bet the defense lawyers will be top guys who will argue a very good case against prison. as i said before, i don’t see either of these ladies (Lori or Felicity) doing actual time.
One of the reasons Lori is up the creek is her performance outside the courthouse at her arraignment. The autographs, the entrance. My friend is a white collar defense attorney in Boston and she knows Lori’s counsel. He was PISSED. That is NOT how you appear contrite and accountable for your actions. Felicity, OTOH, arrived hours early to avoid the press and sat in the courthouse cafeteria and waited for the hearing. I don’t know who thinks Lori is making the right moves here – from both a PR and a legal standpoint, she’s making an ass of herself. Maybe she thinks she’ll get to play HERSELF in the movie and wants it to be a juicier role?
Interesting!
Yep everything you said here
lol I have no sympathy for her.
Two things: 1) Because she’s a woman and 2) If they had simply given the college an endowment (like Jared Kushner’s father, who endowed Harvard(?) with two million dollars the year before his son applied and was admitted to that prestigious school) there would be no problem because you did it the “right” way. However, if you stiff the school, and pay money to side channels you have a big effing problem and you will be hella wrong. The school gets its money first, you guys. I also recall our stable genius president’s dad endowed Wharton(?) b4 dufus got in. Get it? The “right” way.
Well, the Feds were not kidding. She was just charged with conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering.
I think Lori and her husband are delusional. They really think they are going to walk free. Why else would they not go for a plea deal?
Not kidding is right. I guess treating her court appearance like a fan event and trying to schmooze the prosecutors backfired on her.
Glad it backfired. The chutzpah with this one.
When several executives and board members (including lawyers) in my area were charged by the feds, we thought they would get zero prison time. Every single person served a year or more. Only one (a female exec) opted to not plead and go to trial. She received more time than the others.
I knew Lori was making a mistake by not taking a plea deal. Oh well…
I think the parents should do jail time. I have no sympathy.