On Friday, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli appeared in a Boston federal courthouse virtually for their sentencing. Both had agreed to plea deals in May, with Mossimo agreeing to a deal which would have him spending five months in prison, and Lori agreeing to two months in prison. The sentencing hearing on Friday was just for the judge to agree to the deal worked out by federal prosecutors, and that’s just what the judge did. As we discussed Friday, Mossimo and Lori apparently did not submit any letters of support nor did they offer written apologies for their part in the fraudulent scheme to get their daughters accepted (under false pretense) into USC. Lori did offer an apology “in court” though:
A contrite Lori Loughlin addressed the court on Friday as she was sentenced to two months in federal prison for her role in the high-profile college admissions cheating scandal.
“I made an awful decision,” she told the judge after she was sentenced. “I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process. In doing so, I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass. I thought I was acting out of love for my children, but in reality it only undermined and diminished my daughters’ abilities and accomplishments.”
Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were charged in 2019 with one count each of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, in addition to charges of money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services mail and wire fraud. On May 22, Loughlin, 55, confessed to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, while Giannulli, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of honest services wire and mail fraud. In addition to her jail time, she will serve 2 years of probation, pay a $150,000 fine and complete 150 hours of community service.
As she addressed the court, Loughlin acknowledged that her already-privileged children received additional help that was not available to other applicants.
“More broadly and more importantly, I now understand that my decision helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society, generally, and the higher education system, more specifically. That realization weighs heavily on me and while I wish I could go back and do things differently, I can only take responsibility and move forward. I have great faith in God and I believe in redemption. And I will do everything in my power to redeem myself and use this experience as a catalyst to do good and give back for the rest of my life. Your Honor, I’m truly, deeply and profoundly sorry and I’m ready to accept the consequences and make amends,” she concluded. “Thank you for your time.”
I mean, we were going to nitpick anything she said, just as we did with Felicity Huffman’s statement to the court when she was being sentenced. Felicity’s statement was kind of reprehensible, do you remember that? She went on and on about how her daughters have learning disabilities, like that somehow justified lying and cheating and scamming the system. In comparison, Lori avoided making it sound like she had to do what she did because of her poor vapid daughters. Instead, Lori actually makes herself sound so passive – “I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage…” Lying B.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
the US justice system is really great when ONE HAS MONEY..that’s all there is to say here
She didn’t go along with a plan; she MADE a plan.
I know, right? Are we and the judge supposed to believe that someone else brought this to her, fully hatched including the requirement that her daughters pose as rowers, and she just couldn’t say no?
JFC I am angry and her and Felicity all over again. As the parent of a college student who is on the autism spectrum and who has fought with everything he has to stay afloat every day in a cookie cutter system since he was three, I am livid at the people who think they can buy their way into something like an elite college admission. And Felicty’s lack of faith in her daughter is appalling. “Helping” her like this does her no favors. How did she think she would do once she was in college and possibly in over her head? Gah, I could go on and on.
She did not just go along with a plan as some innocent bystander dragged into this.
She planned, orchestrated and executed it.
Exactly. This took lots of planning and was a purely selfish act. Those parents knew exactly what they were doing.
“I went along with a plan”…..trying to shift blame onto someone else for the decision and choice she made. I wonder how much time she’ll actually serve.
2 months in jail. And yet women of color have been sentenced to years in jail for trying to get their child in better school districts.
No she didn’t
The woman you are talking about got caught selling crack to cop ( 3 times in the space of a week ) on a public street and telling the cop she had 2 girls she was also willing to pimp out
The larceny thing was added into sentencing .As I was she was looking at 12 years in total for the 58 cases of drug dealing she plead guilty to
Kellye Bolar got 10 days for the same thing (less than Huffman and Lori)
Bolar got 2 concurrent 5 year sentences suspended down to 10 days.
If you don’t think people of color have been given harsher sentences for doing way less than these assholes, I can’t help you. You may have one example to prove your point but you come across as defending white privilege. Good job.
I think Edna is talking about the Williams-Bolar case. If so, then you are wrong. Williams-Bolar was not a drug dealer nor was she looking at 12 years.
Green Desert.
You are 100% right, and I love your statement “I can’t help you”. When someone sees something a certain way, you can stand head over heels trying to make them see otherwise and still will be wasting your energy and time. They need to want to see it.
GREEN DESERT
No I am calling out a lie that Tania McDowell was jailed for trying to get her kid’s school switched
And which person of color has got a higher sentence for a crime the Becky’s crime.
You know what’s also bad .Allowing various people to claim you were jailed for one thing when you were not ,or trying to blame the cops for you pimping out women over a period of time ans selling crack on the street for weeks .
I mean, what else was she going to say? She should have taken a plea deal months ago and just avoided the whole theater. But privilege can make you stupid.
Ah well. Two months is nothing. Now who’s running a pool on how long til her white church lady book comes out? I’m betting six months.
Her church lady buddy Candace Cameron Bure, whom I loathe, has already come out to defend her.
Beyond the deplorable nature of the Giannulli’s actions and behaviors, as I university professor, this whole case just infuriates me and is the paragon of privilege. As a university professor, there are so many students who are way more deserving than their vacuous daughters– these young people will never have an opportunity to study at institutions of their choice because of these types of scams and unfit “legacies.” In addition to the prison sentences (which should have been longer, imo), they should have to pay some type of restitution commensurate with what they spent to swindle USC that will fund students for years to come.
Right there with you on Candace CB. Yowza, she is SO annoying!
Two months isn’t nothing, prison isn’t a happy-fun-time-spa, but I doubt she’ll spent more than a week. I tend to be against prison for non-violent crimes, so I can’t wish her more time but what angers me is that non-rich, non-white people can’t hope to have a similar sentence. But darn! they should have each been fined AT LEAST twice what they spent in bribes.
Will she even have to report to a prison or will she get a Covid exception and just do prison from one of her mansions? I’m expecting the latter.
Yeah, I’m expecting some form of COVID exception… Which, again, all things considered, I think they ‘re a good thing for the safety of inmates and employees and all those doing time for non-violent crimes should benefit from them (except Roger Stone, he should be kept locked in).
But if there’s not going to be a prison sentence, they should be paying a lot more in fines. Let them go bankrupt, I really don’t care if they have to flip burger and live in a motel room.
They have 90 days to report to prison. The worst of the virus might be over as far as prisons go.
I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to my own family, if that’s okay with everyone. I made an awful decision. I went along with a plan to eat the last three Oreos by myself and not tell my husband or children. In doing so I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass. I thought I was acting out of love for my children and husband by removing the delicious treat temptations but in reality it only undermined and diminished their own cookie eating abilities and accomplishments.
Wow you guys I’m getting a little emosh here. That really was like a weight being lifted from my shoulders. It feels really good to take responsibility for your actions.
Lol. Not enough eyeroll emojis in the world for Loughlin.
LMAO!!!!!!!
Haha. I actually believe you!
Question: why was her husband’s sentence longer than hers? Was he more “involved” than she was?
The feds had more evidence against Mossimo, he was the one on tape doing more crimes
It looks like he was convicted of two separate crimes while she was convicted of only one. She got the conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud. He got the conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud plus honest services wire/mail fraud.
So bloody disingenuous when these two fought (and spent money) to defend their actions, then when they cut a deal they’re all “so sorry, I should have known better, I just love my kids so much”.
So hollow her words. All I see, all I hear is “I’m sorry I got caught.”
They had a Constitutional right to spend money and defend themelves…that is the least offensive thing about this story. Yes, we can discuss income disparity and privilege and those are valid arguments…but their right to defend themselves?
Agreed no one with two brain cells to rub together believes her allocution.
You should read what the judge said to her. He was having none of her excuses.
Is she trying to make a joke? Making that statement to a court while leveraging her wealth and celebrity to exacerbate existing inequalities in society, generally, and the justice system, more specifically for her own gain is perverse.
She’s disgusting.
What happens now? Do they go to jail during the pandemic? Wait for the pandemic to be over before they report to jail? Or does their jail time get forgiven/dismissed because of the pandemic? If they dismiss the jail time, does it get converted to something else like more fines or community service hours or longer probation?
‘Moral compass’. BAHHAHAHAHA.
I don’t have any sympathy for her, her husband or their daughters. I also, find that their daughter’s were complicate in the whole plot as well, and should get some punishment for that.
I believe these self righteous twits deserved much stronger sentences. I feel they got off too easy!!!
True but I think that the public humiliation she has faced is the worst hell for her, it’s all about status and public image for these celebrities. Plus she had to leave her country club. Eye roll.
Agreed. Anywhere she goes now in her “society” circles people will look sideways and whisper at each other: “guess who just walked in!” And for those who don’t know the story will be retold with glee. Ultimate punishment for the country club set.
Only in 2020 can you say that Lori Loughlin is a more convincing actress than Felicity Huffman.
LOL! Very funny!
It might be because I’m an atheist but I wish we also had more discussions around the weaponizing of religion (to be clear I have no problem with people of faith, as long as it’s genuine and not serving as a shield for terrible behavior, fear or exploitation). I can’t be the only one that notices how all these morally reprehensible people prop up their religion as a first line excuse for why they SHOULD BE and WILL BE forgiven or redeemed. It’s the go- to, “whoops, I got caught!”: “As a god fearing man/woman whatever I believe in (blank) and am committed to (blank)….” For once I want someone to say back they don’t give a sh!t about whatever God you pray to, you’re the epitome of perverting real faith and should make amends to the real people you’ve hurt”
The more episode repeats of the office i watch in quarantine i see thats what the character angela did. Shoving her faith down everyones throats so theyd be distracted by that before noticing her hypocrisy and judgement of others.I
Meredith on the other hand didnt hide her promiscuity yet angela stated she had no respect for her and referred to her as an alcoholic to criticize her
Well said.
Yeah, I feel you, I’m sick of people parading their faith out at opportune moments in order to insist that whatever we observe of them, whatever crimes or “sins” they’ve knowingly committed, God has their back. If so, why didn’t you call Him into court as a witness to defend your character, Lori, huh? Oh, you prayed but He didn’t show up and you were still proven guilty? Interesting…
Calling yourself a Christian (or follower of any religion) doesn’t necessarily mean you’re even a *good example* of a follower of that religion, or in possession of a “moral compass/intuition.” As Lori proved, she can easily be all of the following at the same time: a Christian, a liar, a wealthy, overprivileged person, a U.S. citizen aware that fraud is a crime… but doesn’t let that stop her, married to a man who also was willing to commit fraud, a mother who loves her daughters, a mother who didn’t trust that they could get into a desirable school on their own merit, and now, a felon.
All the passive language she used sounds hollow. I’d respect her if she had said, “My life is full of advantages and I thought I could get away with this shortcut to success for my daughters, but I was wrong and stupid. I’m sorry. I’ve learned I shouldn’t try to commit fraud, I promise to work on being a better person and will obey the law.” But of course, as a highly visible Christian, she tries to publicly cower behind this image of God doling out forgiveness when it’s convenient for her agenda.
“I went along with it.” Such complete BS. I wish the judge could have doubled her “sentence” for refusing to admit guilt. If I recall correctly one of her daughters had a strong Instagram influenced gig happening and that ended. Why can’t people just say I am sorry I made a bad decision? She’s got her publicity team working on her redemption with her God by her side. I had really hoped for more than a slap on the wrist but here we are….
While I wholeheartedly agree with you – the sentence should fit the crime without emotional input. I actually think this was appropriate.
2 months is appropriate?? Not even.
Her husband got more time in jail because evidence showed he was more involved in this than even lori was. We’re talking about lori more because of her fame from full house shes more recognizable but her husband was sentenced to longer jail time for a reason.
I dont disagree she could’ve worded her statement better to avoid seemingly throwing her husband under the bus which makes me wonder how she speaks to him in private and i wouldn’t be surprised if they split. They had to scale back their lifestyle after paying these lawyers all this time to come up with a way to avoid jail entirely. I saw on the news a lawyer say that when they got it through their thick skulls that wasnt going to happen they took advantage of covid19, and some being released early to prevent the public health crisis from getting worse, to get a shorter sentence themselves. these people hide behind god and religion but are in fact trumpsters
They just bought a new 9.5 million dollar mansion together. I guess that’s, technically, scaled back but hardly humbled.
A few months in prison will never be enough for these lowlifes. All the privilege and money in the world, and they still cut corners. Wonder how much other fraud they’ve carried out in their business and home finances?
what a joke….
https://twitter.com/_SJPeace_/status/1296916480269996039?s=20
Ugh. Aunt Becky is such a Becky.
I’m about to say something unpopular, here we go!
I do not support what Lori, Felicity or the others parents did but I also believe that many parents in their situation would do it. While this situation highlights the economic advantages that drive inequality, it also highlights a universal truth, a parent will do anything in their power for their child. That is not an excuse, but a piece of the greater whole. What they did was represhensible for a community, but as a decision made in the home, it makes a lot of sense. If an admissions advisor told you “your kid can’t get in as is, but there are special admissions programs we can use, there are also spots that we can open up with money…”
We can pearl clutch, but there it is, many of us would do something similar if we were in their situation. When it comes to our children, we can justify a lot. We can compare to people who buy buildings to get admission and say “this isn’t that different!” That makes it difficult to say how we can fix these systemic inequalities.
I’m not saying don’t be mad at the parents, but perhaps show compassion? I might be an atheist, but I still believe in redemption and believe that a person redeemed is in a good position to advocate for change.
My anger is directed more at the institutions that have structured their admissions in a way that makes gaming the system easy when you have the resources. We get mad when the unfairness is blatant, but SAT prep, extra-curricular activities, access to culture, and home stability all affect admissions more and are the deeper issues we don’t address when we focus on rich people buying access. Let’s talk about the broader problem, because it has been drowned out by the gossip.
Here here! The system is broken and unfairly sentences those of lesser economic means and/or the wrong color the harsher, more uneven sentencing. These mayo ‘criminals’ are a symptom of a broken system. Hate the game, not the player~
What?What?,
I completely, vehemently disagree with you. I am a parent and have one child beginning college in 2 weeks and another one about to start his senior year and there is NO WAY I would commit fraud to get them into college. What inequalities? That not every college is accessible to every child? This is not a problem with “the system.” There are plenty of colleges that these girls could have been accepted to on their own – this is not a failure in the system…it’s supposed to be a meritocracy. The fact that the girls were able to game the system IS the flaw in the system.
Please don’t imply that they are “just like us.” I would take a bullet for my kids, but I’m not going to cripple them for life by lying their way into an institution where they don’t belong.
👏👏
Thank you,McMom! I was reading that comment like: huh? 😕 we’re not all horrible people who would cheat, lie and steal even if we could get away with it…and I’ve had the opportunity to do so but I chose not to because morals.
Q – morals and the responsibilities of being a parent! A lot of us recognize that giving our kids everything they have ever wanted leads to entitled, miserable, and ultimately UNsuccessful adults. Parenting isn’t easy and one of the hardest things to do is to sit on the sidelines and let our kids handle things themselves. I’m certainly not unique – this is Parenting 101.
I have so much respect for parents. I honestly don’t know how you guys do it.
The emotional labour alone..✊
I think there’s a difference though, between trying to give your kids everything, and feeling ENTITLED for them to have everything because you have money and/or fame. They didn’t do all the SAT prep, activities, etc, they just threw money at the problem and expected to get whatever they wanted.
To me, the exchange they had about the high school counselor shows they weren’t desperate or caught up in someone’s scheme, or worried about straying from their “moral compass”. They’re just rude, entitled jerks.
So Lori and her husband broke the law, committed fraud, and took spots that might have gone to other students, because they were ‘blinded by love?’ I wish parents would get over the idea that giving their kids ‘everything they didn’t have’, and making things ‘easier’ for them, makes them good parents. It doesn’t. I would also like to know why Lori and her husband didn’t just ‘donate’ their way in. Aren’t they worth close to $100 million? What were they trying to do, be ‘value-conscious’ in their FRAUD? It kills me that all these rich parents acted like getting their kids into this college, was going to make a huge impact in their kids’ lives. None of the kids are going to be working poor or even middle class. Those kids come from families with generational wealth and most likely, won’t ever have to worry about much.
“I just assumed that the plan the College Admissions Fairy left under my pillow did not include anything unethical.”
She was effectively teaching her kids that the end justifies the means, which is the opposite of good parenting, in my humble opinion. And it’s not like her girls couldn’t get into any college; they just weren’t good enough for an upper tier college. With their existing wealth and privilege, the name on their degree wouldn’t have changed much in their futures. It was just bragging rights for parents.
Is she ever going to take responsibility for her actions? No. Even now “I went along” Entitled much? Ugh!
Now just go back to your mansion and live out your days there and I don’t want see one more Hallmark movie with your name on it. Goodbye!