Lori Loughlin Released From Prison After Serving Time For College Admissions Scandal
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) – Actress Lori Loughlin was released Monday from a federal prison in Northern California after serving two months for paying half-a-million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into USC as fake athletic recruits.
The "Full House" star was released from the federal lockup in Dublin.
Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc for the same crime. He is scheduled to be released on April 17, the Bureau of Prisons says.
The 56-year-old Loughlin and the 57-year-old Giannulli plead guilty back in May to paying $500,000 in bribes to get their two daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, admitted to USC as members of the crew team even though neither had ever rowed crew.
Earlier this month, 21-year-old Olivia Jade appeared on actress Jada Pinkett Smith's show "Red Table Talk" to discuss the scandal for the first time.
"What happened was wrong," Jade said bluntly. "And I think every single person in my family can be like, 'that was messed up, that was a big mistake.'"
Beginning in March of 2019, the FBI charged nearly 60 people — including at least 35 parents and nine coaches — in a massive bribery scheme dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" in which wealthy families paid millions to Newport Beach businessman Rick Singer to help their children cheat on standardized tests and bribe test administrators and college coaches to get their kids into top universities like UCLA, USC, Yale, Stanford and Georgetown.
The sentences for the parents who have pleaded so far in the case range from a couple weeks to nine months. Among them is "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman — who served a 14-day sentence last October.
About a dozen people are still fighting the charges.
