Feds Seek Harsh Punishment for Lori Loughlin, Says Source: They Can’t 'Skate Because They’re Rich'
As prosecutors move forward in the cases against Lori Loughlin and her husband in the high-profile college admissions cheating scandal, they are sending a clear message: the defendants’ money and status won’t help them.
“They really want to make sure that there isn’t this perception that these people are able to skate by because they’re rich,” a legal source close to the case tells PEOPLE. “They want to make sure everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.”
The source says prosecutors are pushing for jail time for Loughlin, fellow actress Felicity Huffman, and more than 40 other defendants.
“They know this is a high profile case and they want to make an example of the defendants,” says the source.
On March 12, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced that it had charged 50 people, including Huffman and Loughlin, in the cheating scandal. The two actresses, along with coaches, admissions counselors, parents and Loughlin’s husband, fashion designer J. Mossimo Giannulli, were accused of such alleged crimes as falsifying SAT scores and lying about the athletic skills of their children.
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Huffman paid $15,000 to admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer and his nonprofit organization, Key Worldwide Foundation (“KWF”), which prosecutors said was actually a front for accepting bribes. Singer then allegedly facilitated cheating on Huffman’s daughter’s SAT test by having a proctor correct the teen’s answers after the fact.
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Huffman has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, saying, “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.”
Loughlin, meanwhile, allegedly wanted her daughters to get into the University of Southern California so badly that she and Giannulli paid approximately $500,000 in bribes to falsely designate their daughters as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew.
Loughlin has not yet admitted to any guilt — and things got worse for her on Tuesday, when she and Giannulli were among 16 parents indicted on an additional felony charge of money laundering conspiracy. They now face up to 20 years in prison for each charge.
Although both women face different charges, the source says prosecutors want jail time for both of them — despite Huffman’s agreement to plea.
“[The prosecutors] are saying that the only way anyone’s going to escape jail time is if they go to trial and are found not guilty,” says the source. “But they’re saying the they have such meticulous evidence that it would be foolish to take that risk.”
Attorneys for Loughlin, Giannulli and Huffman have not returned PEOPLE’s calls for comment.
