Actress Lori Loughlin avoided another court appearance Wednesday after a federal judge accepted her latest not guilty plea in the college admissions bribery case.
In a filing Tuesday, Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley waived her appearance and entered the written plea the “Full House” star submitted Nov. 1 to the new bribery charge handed down last month.
Prosecutors announced Oct. 22 that Loughlin; Mossimo Giannulli, her fashion designer husband; and nine other parents were facing the new charge of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery for allegedly bribing employees at the University of Southern California to get their kids into the school.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to have their two daughters admitted as crew team recruits, even though the girls had no competitive rowing experience.
Prosecutors say the daughters — Olivia Jade, 20, and Isabella Rose, 21 — posed on rowing machines for staged photos added to their applications.
Loughlin, 55, and Giannulli, 56, were first arrested in March when prosecutors announced their sweeping case against dozens of wealthy parents as well as coaches at elite schools including USC, UCLA, Stanford and Yale.
The couple got slapped with an initial charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and picked up a superseding indictment April 9 that added a second charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
With the third superseding indictment announced last month, the spouses now are facing a maximum of 45 years in prison each if convicted of all three charges.
“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman took an early deal in the case and already has served her 14-day prison term for paying $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT score.
California dad Toby MacFarlane received the harshest penalty yet when he was sentenced last week to six months in prison for paying $450,000 to get his son and daughter admitted to USC as bogus athletic recruits.
Loughlin and Giannulli reportedly became “very discouraged” when they saw MacFarlane’s sentence considering the striking similarities in their cases.
“They’re very concerned. If this guy pleaded guilty and was still given six months, what does that mean for them?” a source close to Loughlin reportedly told People magazine.
“If they’re convicted, their sentences are going to be very severe. Also, they face more charges than Mr. MacFarlane did. They’re very discouraged,” the source said.
“It’s very hard for Lori not to obsess about this case and what her future will be,” the source continued. “This is hanging over her head every single day.”
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