Lori Loughlin Finally Accepts Plea Deal in College Admissions Scandal

Update: Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli have accepted a plea deal after being charged in the college admissions scandal for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services mail and wire fraud. 

The couple is currently awaiting the judge's approval, which would mean the Full House star will serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine, work 100 hours of community service, and two years of supervised release.

Loughlin is facing a harsher sentence than Felicity Huffman in light of new information provided by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, the top prosecutor on the "Varsity Blues" college admission scandal. 

Huffman served a 14-day sentence for paying $15,000 to have someone correct answers on her daughter's SAT exam. Loughlin's part in the scandal was about 33 times greater. 

It's unlikely that you haven't heard of the "Varsity Blues" college admission scandal, but, just in case, here's a recap. In this criminal scandal, a man named Rick Singer created his own "life coaching and college counseling company." Except it wasn't counseling. 

It was actually a money-laundering scheme and wealthy parents paid him to help their children cheat on college entrance exams and falsify records to make them look like top athletic recruits. 

Several colleges were affected, from Yale to Georgetown. In Loughlin's case, she is accused of paying $500,000 to get her two daughters (Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade) classified as crew recruits for the University of Southern California. 

Loughlin is one of the dozens of parents who were charged, but she is one of the few parents who paid so much. Most of Rick's clients paid him between $15,000 like Felicity and $75,000.

Loughlin's court date was set for Jan. 17, 2020 — but it was delayed before Loughlin pleaded guilty in May. Now, it does seem that Loughlin is heading to prison for two months. 

Huffman may have only got 14 days in prison, but other parents in the scandal have not had such light sentencing, especially if they paid more for their children to be recruited. 

Devin Sloane, for instance, paid $250,000 to Rick, which is half of what Loughlin paid. He had Rick fake that his son was a champion water polo player, similar to how Rick faked that Loughlin's daughters were champion rowers, despite never having been on a crew team.

Just like how Rick posed Loughlin's daughters on rowing machines to make them look like experienced rowers, he also made Devin's son pose in the family pool with water polo equipment so he could doctor the photos to look like he was on a water polo team. Rick also bribed the water polo coach at the University of Southern California to help get Devin's son into the college.

Because of the scandal, Devin now faces four months in prison as well as a $95,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. Judging by the precedent, Loughlin's jail time and sentencing should not be surprising. 

As Andrew stated before, speaking with WCVB5, "If she is convicted we will probably ask for a higher sentence than we did for Felicity Huffman." 

He went on to say that if she goes through trial, rather than resolving before trial, then she can expect a sentence that is "substantially higher." 

It looks like Loughlin finally listened.