Just hours before Lori Loughlin was hit with additional charges in the Operation Varisty Blues college admissions bribery scandal, she was photographed amidst what looked like a tense phone call.
Lori Loughlin was photographed getting her car washed in West Hollywood, California on April 9, and she looked quite upset as she took a phone call while paparazzi snapped pictures. Lori covered her face by wearing sunglasses for the outing, but there was no mistaking the concerned look on her face as she spoke to someone on the other end of the line. These pictures were taken on the very same day that Lori was given additional charges of money laundering for her alleged involvement in a college admissions bribery scandal after she failed to make a plea deal with the prosecutor.
Along with Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, 14 other defendants in this lawsuit were also given these new money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed. Lori still has a chance to cop a plea with the prosecutor, but now that charges have been added, her recommended prison time will be increased. Based on the original charges, prosecutors were planning to recommend a minimum of two to two and a half years in prison, according to TMZ. Now, the site reports that that minimum number has been increased to between four years and nine months and five years and 11 months. Meanwhile, money laundering charges can mean a maximum of up to 20 years behind bas.
Lori and Mossimo are accused of paying $500,000 to have their daughters, Isabella and Olivia Jade, put on the crew team at USC, ensuring their acceptance to the prestigious university. Overall, 50 people were named in the lawsuit, which claimed that the defendants paid more than $25 million in bribes between 2011 and 2018. College admissions counselor [William] Rick Singer was the man who organized the scandal, and he pled guilty, then worked with the FBI in gathering evidence against others who were allegedly involved.
Some defendants in this lawsuit, like Lori and Mossimo, allegedly used bribes to get their children on university athletic teams, even if they weren’t qualified, while others have been accused of using bribes to have their kids’ standardized test scores altered. Felicity Huffman, who allegedly paid $15,000 to have her daughter, Sofia’s, SAT score changed, and 12 other people pled guilty to the charges against them on April 8, allowing them to make plea deals with the prosecutors to lessen possible prison time. Lori’s decision to put off accepting the plea deal resulted in the additional charges brought against her.