Actress Loughlin surrenders to Dublin prison in bribery case

Lori Loughlin finally had to face the hard consequences of her role in the college admissions scandal, reporting to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin on Friday to begin her two- month sentence.

The former “Full House” star surrendered to authorities at the Dublin facility several weeks early, reportedly so she could be back home by the holidays, NBC News and People reported. A federal judge had ordered her to report to the prison by Nov. 19.

“She hopes to be home by Christmas, but she’ll definitely be home by New Year’s,” a source told People. “She had everything in order, so she decided a couple of days ago to report to prison.”

Loughlin, 56, will serve out her time in the same prison where“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman served her 11 days last October. Both Loughlin and Huffman are among nearly two dozen wealthy parents, including some from the Bay Area, who have been convicted in Operation Varsity Blues, the sprawling federal investigation into parents paying bribes to have their children’s test scores boosted or to have them falsely presented as star athletes to win them admission to top U.S. colleges.

As Bureau of Prisons inmate no. 77827-112, Loughlin is expected to surrender all of her personal belongings, including clothing and underwear, and to don a plain uniform of khaki pants and a brown T- shirt, according to former inmates.

Loughlin will have to learn to live a “Groundhog Day” existence, with a schedule that dictates when inmates get breakfast, lunch and dinner, stand for count, go to work assignments and have free time to shower, make phone calls, read or exercise, according to prison consultant Larry Levine, who served 10 years in prisons around the country after being convicted on racketeering, securities fraud and narcotics trafficking charges.

“She is going to set her jaw and do her time,” a source told People in the days before Loughlin reported to the Dublin prison — which has incarcerated other famous felons, such as Patty Hearst, Sara Jane Moore, Heidi Fleiss and Michael

Milken.

“Of course she’s dreading it, but she’s resigned that it’s the way to get this behind her,” the source a dded . “She’s a lre a dy thinking about how 2021 will be better for her, and she’ll be able to move forward.”

But Loughlin will have limited contact with her family during her lock-up because of the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, all visits to the Dublin facility were suspended, but they recently were modified, according to the prison’s website. Visitors must wear masks, submit to a health screening before entering the facility and can have no physical contact with the inmate.

T hat means the tabloids may not be able to publish any clandestine photos of Loughlin rushing out to a parking lot to greet daughters Olivia Jade Giannulli, 20, and Isabella Giannulli, 21. Such photos were produced of Huffman enjoying visits from her husband, TV actor William H. Macy, and oldest daughter Sophia.

Meanwhile, Loughlin’s fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, definitely won’t be visiting because he, too, was ordered to surrender to a federal prison by Nov. 19 to serve out a five-month sentence for his role in the scandal. Information about his status was not immediately available.

Loughlin and her Giannulli, 57, pleaded guilty in May to paying $500,000 to college admissions consultant William “R ick” Singer to get Olivia Jade and Isabella fraudulently admitted to the University of Southern California. Federal prosecutors accused the couple of working with Singer to create false athletic profiles for their daughters, presenting them as recruits to the rowing team. Neither girl was a rower.

Loughlin and Giannulli spent more than a year, using a highly paid legal team and behind-thescenes PR spin experts, to aggressively insist on their innocence and fight the charges.

But the couple may have finally relented and agreed to a plea deal after prosecutors released evidence that showed the extent to which Olivia Jade and Isabella participated in their parents’ crimes. The parents had their daughters pose on rowing machines for photos that were used to create false athletic profiles.