LORI LOUGHLIN Ready to face her fate
Charges of mail fraud and money laundering weren’t about to put a damper on Lori Loughlin’s 55th birthday. Despite facing up to 20 years in prison as part of the massive college admissions cheating scandal, she and her husband, fashion designer J. Mossimo Giannulli, went to church and then gathered with a small group of friends and their two daughters, Isabella Rose, 20, and YouTube star Olivia Jade, 19, to celebrate. But that calm life-as-usual demeanour is just a front, say those close to the actress. A legal source familiar with Loughlin’s and Giannulli’s situation describes the Full House star as panicking behind closed doors as she awaits her fate and a future that could involve decades in prison. “Lori is obsessing over every detail of the case. She’s not working, she’s not doing anything. She’s just reading the files again and again,” the source explains.
“The family were told to remove their Google alerts and to stop searching their names because it’s not good for them to see what’s being said. But this is a full-time concern of hers.”
The couple’s once-charmed life in Beverly Hills was turned upside down on March 12 when the US attorney’s office in Massachusetts announced it had indicted Loughlin and Giannulli, 56, in the shocking nationwide scam dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. The pair – along with nearly 50 other parents, coaches, exam proctors and admissions counsellors – are accused of such actions as paying for boosted SAT scores and lying about students’ athletic skills in order
to gain acceptance to elite colleges including Yale, Georgetown and Stanford.
Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly paid more than $730,000 to admissions consultant William ‘Rick’ Singer to falsely designate daughters Olivia and Isabella as recruits to University of Southern California rowing crew team, though neither actually participated in the sport. While 14 defendants, including actress Felicity Huffman, agreed to plead guilty in April, Loughlin and Giannulli declined a plea deal.
“They weren’t ready to accept that,” says the legal source, who also notes the couple have resisted any deals that would result in jail time. Days later they were slapped with an additional money-laundering charge and more possible prison time if convicted.
Had they taken the original agreement offered, the couple likely would have been facing 18 to 24 months in jail, per federal sentencing guidelines.
Now, the stakes are far higher. Loughlin and Giannulli theoretically face up to 40 years in prison each, 20 years per charge, but the legal source says their chances of serving consecutive sentences, rather than concurrent ones, are low.
While Loughlin maintains her innocence, she’s struggling with the aftermath of rejecting the deal. In the midst of back-toschool season (Olivia and Bella have no plans to return to USC), “Lori is in a state of limbo,” says the source. “For criminal defendants, sometimes it’s better just to take the plea deal and start serving your jail sentence. At least there’s resolution. She has no closure, and it’s frustrating and upsetting. Of the entire family, this is affecting Lori the
“This has been devastating for her and her family” –Hollywood source As the ‘Full House’ actress and her husband face their upcoming court date, the family remains ‘united’ and hopeful for their future: ‘They believe they can beat this’
most.” While Giannulli, best known for his Mossimo line formerly featured at Target in the US, is still working, Loughlin’s career has come to an abrupt halt. She was fired from her Hallmark Channel series When Calls the Heart in April and the fate of her beloved Aunt Becky character on Netflix’s Fuller House remains undecided.
Despite criticism that Loughlin has appeared indignant in the wake of the scandal, the source says that couldn’t be further from the truth. “Lori is remorseful and she has definite regrets. She’s embarrassed and hurt, and she knows that her reputation has been ruined for life. But she also believes the allegations against her aren’t true.
“She honestly didn’t think what she was doing was any different than donating money for a library or athletic field. That’s the crux of why she pleaded not guilty.” Amid the stressful legal proceedings, the family have continued to lean on one another.
Shortly after the news broke, Loughlin’s daughters went silent on social media, as rumours of friction among the foursome swirled. But Olivia and Bella returned to Instagram in July with loving birthday posts for their mother – a very public show of support. While the entire ordeal has undoubtedly taken its toll, Loughlin’s daughters are standing firmly by her and will continue to do so. Says the source: “They’ll be the first ones to visit her if she does have to spend time in jail.” Aside from their parents, Olivia and Bella are also getting support from their inner circle. “Bella still lives at home and Olivia has her own place, but they both have a big group of friends,” says a longtime Loughlin
pal. “None of their friends have turned on them. It’s the opposite.”
Loughlin and Giannulli are due back in court on August 27, when they’re expected to waive their rights to separate attorneys, as both are being represented by lawyers from the same law firm in order to put forth a “united front”. According to legal expert James J. Leonard Jr., Esq., that decision comes with one potential downside. “The risk with any joint defence is that one defendant may be more culpable than another and the less culpable defendant could suffer as a result of a strategy designed to protect that individual,” says Leonard. Since neither Loughlin nor Giannulli have a criminal record, if they are convicted of the same offences, Leonard adds that the judge will likely hand down identical sentences. And given their celebrity status and the nature of the crimes with which they have been charged, it’s possible prosecutors could try to make an example of them. “The government often utilises high-profile cases to send a message to the general public,” says Leonard. “The message is: If you engage in this type of behaviour, then this will happen to you, no matter who you are.”
Regardless of the outcome, the couple are committed to sticking together. “Lori and Mossimo are united in this,” says the Loughlin legal source. “They’re going to face this together, and they believe that together they can beat this and move on with their lives. You won’t see one of them turning on the other.” For now the pair are busy preparing for their day in court. Loughlin remains in “constant communication” with
her legal team and is keeping “meticulous records” on everything – including the other defendants and their plea deals. “She wants to know who is getting what punishment, and how their cases differ from hers.” Still, fear creeps in. “Waiting is excruciating for any criminal defendant, because there’s always a sense of ‘what if ?’” says the source. “It’s very easy to get paranoid: ‘What is the state thinking? Are they talking about me? Are they planning more charges?’ Not knowing is the most difficult part.”
Which is all the more reason that Loughlin and Giannulli are eager to for the case to move forward so they can put an end to the self-imposed purgatory. “Lori is ready for this to be over,” says the source. “They all are. At this point it would be better to spend a few months in jail – because she’s been spending the last several months in her own prison.”
“Lori is determined to get beyond this” – Hollywood source