Prosecutors slam Loughlin’s claim she is a victim
Federal prosecutors Wednesday rebuked efforts by Lori Loughlin, her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and other wealthy parents to claim they were the unwitting victims of a nefarious government scheme to entrap them in the Varsity Blues college admissions case.
In a scorching 36-page memorandum, prosecutors laid out a detailed argument for how Loughlin, Giannulli, Mill Valley investor Bill McGlashan Jr. and 12 other parents allegedly engaged “in a single, sweeping scheme” to gain admission for their children to top colleges. Prosecutors accuse the parents of knowingly lying about their children’s academic and athletic qualifications, and relying on complicit coaches — induced by bribes, “styled as ‘donations’ to their programs” — to pass their children off as elite athletes.
Last month, attorneys representing Loughlin, Giannulli and the other parents argued that the case should be thrown out because of government misconduct. The attorneys said that the notes of college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer show that he was browbeaten into implicating them in his criminal behavior.
The defense attorneys also accused the government of prosecutorial misconduct, saying the U.S. Attorney’s office withheld Singer’s notes for nearly nine months, well past a court-imposed discovery deadline.
In their filing, prosecutors admit that it was a “mistake” to not turn over the notes earlier, but they denied acting in bad faith. “In a sprawling, fast-moving prosecution, the failure to produce the notes earlier was simply a mistake,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Frank and Karin Bell.
The prosecutors then hit back, declaring that “the defendants have suffered no prejudice” and the notes do not at all “exonerate” them or reveal that the evidence against them was fabricated.
The former “Full House” actress, her fashion designer husband, as well as McGlashan and the other parents face trials in October and January, though court closures because of the coronavirus pandemic could delay proceedings.