The Maui News

Lori Loughlin is released from prison

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“Full House” actor Lori Loughlin was released from prison Monday after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college.

Loughlin was released from the federal lockup in Dublin, Calif., where she had been serving her sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme, the federal Bureau of Prisons said. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, Calif.

Giannulli is scheduled to be released April 17, the Bureau of Prisons says. Prosecutor­s said Giannulli deserved a tougher sentence because he was “the more active participan­t in the scheme.”

Loughlin and Giannulli were among the highest-profile defendants charged in the scheme, which revealed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universiti­es. Authoritie­s said parents funneled bribes through a fake charity run by an admissions consultant to get their kids into top schools with fake athletic credential­s or rigged test scores.

The famous couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower. Their guilty plea was a stunning reversal for the couple, whose lawyers had insisted for a year were innocent and accused investigat­ors of fabricatin­g evidence against them.

The only public comments either Loughlin or Giannulli made about the case since their arrest last year came at their sentencing hearings in August. Loughlin, who gained fame for her role as the wholesome Aunt Becky in the sitcom “Full House,” told the judge her actions “helped exacerbate existing inequaliti­es in society” and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a “catalyst to do good.”

Their younger daughter, social media influencer Olivia Jade, made her first public remarks about the scandal this month on the series “Red Table Talk.” Olivia Jade said she doesn’t want or deserve pity.

“We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, ‘I recognize I messed up.’ And for so long I wasn’t able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it,” she said.

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