Lori Loughlin Released from Prison But Her Punishment Is Just Beginning
Hollywood actress Lori Loughlin has been released from prison after serving two months for her role in the 2019 college admissions scandal, but her sentence is only just beginning.
The former co-star on “Full House” reported to prison on Oct. 30 to serve out the sentence for her role in a larger scheme in which affluent and wealthy individuals used their money and influence to help get their children into premiere colleges.
The scheme involved paying for bribes for favorable test scores and even placing some students onto university sports teams, despite the fact that many of those students had never participated in the sports.
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli both pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Giannulli, a fashion designer, also pleaded guilty to honest services wire and mail fraud.
Fox News reported Loughlin walked out of the minimum security prison FCI Dublin in Northern California on Monday. Despite being free in time for the new year, the actress is only just beginning her sentence.
In addition to two months of confinement, Loughlin agreed to two years of supervised release. She will now also have to put in 100 hours of community service and pay a $150,000 fine.
Giannulli is still serving his prison sentence at a federal facility in Southern California. He agreed to serve the prison sentence and will face two years of supervised release after he is discharged, and will also pay a $250,000 fine and also complete 250 hours of community service.
Loughlin has not spoken publicly or issued a statement to the media since being released, and it’s unclear if she intends to speak on the matter. The actress did express regret for her role in paying up to $500,000 in bribes to help get her two daughters admitted to college.
“I made an awful decision. I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process and in doing so I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass,” she said in court August during her sentencing.
“I have great faith in God, and I believe in redemption and I will do everything in my power to redeem myself and use this experience as a catalyst to do good,” she added.
Fox News reported a source had stated that Loughlin was emotional during her first night in the FCI Dublin women’s prison in October.
Us Weekly spoke to sources who reported the actress had settled in and had made friends and was attending prison church services. Loughlin, though, was reported to be afraid of contracting the coronavirus while behind bars.
A person reportedly close to the star told the outlet, “Lori has been doing OK and has made several friends … She hangs out with a group and keeps to herself.”
That person added the star had been “praying a lot,” and that she had been keeping her contact with others minimal, apparently only interacting with a small group of other inmates.
The 2019 college admissions scandal implicated roughly 30 parents in all. Among those was TV star Felicity Huffman. Huffman spent only 11 days in the same facility which Loughlin was just released from, CNN reported.
Huffman stated in a letter to the court that like Loughlin, she participated in the scheme to bribe her child into a prestigious school in a misguided effort to be a good parent.
“In my desperation to be a good mother I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot,” she stated. “I see the irony in that statement now because what I have done is the opposite of fair. I have broken the law, deceived the educational community, betrayed my daughter and failed my family.”
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