Lori Loughlin indicted on new, more serious charge in college admissions scam that ‘drastically’ increases likely prison time: Report

Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband were among a group of parents indicted Tuesday on additional money laundering charges that could mean a much stiffer sentence for the former “Full House” star.

Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli allegedly paid a high six-figure sum to the owner of a fraudulent nonprofit to bribe their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew team recruits, though neither daughter is a crew athlete.

According to TMZ, the U.S. Attorney has said that the couple and 14 other defendants are facing the new money laundering charge, accusing them of “conspiring to launder the bribes and other payment in furtherance of the fraud by funneling them through [Rick] Singer’s purported charity and his for-profit corporation.”

The TMZ report suggests that prosecutors added the new charge because this group of defendants did not plead guilty along with actress Felicity Huffman and 14 others. According to the report, the money laundering charge “drastically increases the amount of time Lori and her husband would get as a minimum recommended sentence.”

The new charge by itself comes with up to 20 years in prison. According to the report, prosecutors are expected to recommend a minimum of four years and nine months in prison, double what Loughlin and her husband were previously estimated to face.

CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.

 

[Feature image: StarMax via AP]