Will Lori Loughlin Strike a Plea Deal After All?

Felicity Huffman’s 14-day jail sentence in Operation Varsity Blues could prove to be a beneficial break in Lori Loughlin’s case. According to TMZ, the former Fuller House star and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli, both of whom are facing up to 40 years in jail for their roles in the college admissions scandal, may strike a plea deal after all.

“Sources with direct knowledge on the subject tell us the U.S. Attorney is open to plea discussions, and that is far more likely now that a possible sentence for Lori could be measured in weeks and not years,” TMZ said.

In a reported effort to avoid jail time, in April, the pair, accused of paying a $500,000 bribe and falsifying their influencer daughters Olivia Jade and Bella Giannulli as crew recruits to get into USC, pleaded not guilty to mail fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges. They have since been awaiting a trial date. But Huffman’s light sentence (she tapped alleged mastermind William “Rick” Singer to have her daughter’s SAT scores doctored) has reportedly provided a new “opening” for Loughlin to reach a plea bargain, as it established that the court might not be willing to hand down a tough sentence for the white-collar crimes (committed by white people of means) at hand.

“Multiple sources involved in the various college admissions cases say Lori’s big break came with the probation department’s sentencing report for Felicity,” TMZ claimed. According to the outlet, prosecutors reportedly sought a year in jail for Huffman, but she received only 14 days. Prosecutors are now said to be “worried it will become an embarrassment for the U.S. attorney’s office if Lori goes to trial, gets convicted, and gets a short sentence.”

The Giannulli sisters, meanwhile, are already living the real-life consequences of the scandal, at least in the academic sense: According to multiple reports citing the USC registrar’s office, Olivia Jade and Bella, whose enrollment had been frozen pending the results of an internal review, are officially no longer students at the university. (Bella is, however, back to semi-regular Instagram posting, recently sharing a favorite silky bathrobe). Until the family’s inevitable co-written tell-all, this legal drama is to be continued.

Originally Appeared on Vogue