Could Lori Loughlin be considering a change in plea after all??
As you are no doubt aware, unless you’ve been living under a rock for eight months (or actually studying to get into college?), Aunt Becky was one of 50 people arrested as part of the college admissions scandal. She is accused of slipping $500,000 to USC officials to get her daughters an athletics-based admission to the university as part of the crew team — even though they don’t row crew.
Thus far the Full House star has been adamant she did nothing wrong, likening the payment to making a donation to a school to get preferential treatment (which, let’s face it, is kind of the same thing, only without the fraud and money laundering parts).
She and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are two of less than a dozen parents who have maintained their innocence and pleaded not guilty.
However, the government pretty much has Lori dead to rights here; the sting was made possible because the FBI first busted the middleman running the criminal enterprise which connected wealthy parents with unscrupulous school officials. Thanks to his cooperation, prosecutors have the actress on tape acknowledging not just the money but a willingness to defraud the IRS by telling them it was for a charity for — we could not make this up — underprivileged kids.
So as Lori and Moss have refused to plead guilty, the charges have added up.
In all, Lori is charged with fraud, bribery, and money laundering — and faces a possible 50 YEARS in prison, meaning she could actually end up spending the rest of her life on the inside.
Meanwhile fellow implicated TV star Felicity Huffman, who immediately accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty, is already out after serving just 11 days in prison.
But according to a source talking to Us Weekly this week, there’s a new deal on the table for Lori: if she changes her plea to guilty before her pretrial hearing in January, prosecutors have promised “a recommendation of 10 years in prison would be made to the judge.”
10 years behind bars. Damn.
It’s not ideal. But it’s a heck of a lot better than a half century.
After 10 years, Lori will still be a smoking hot 65-year-old. She could even get another chance at an acting career. People love a redemption arc; look at Robert Downey Jr.
However, the insider says there’s a huge roadblock along this path — Lori would have to testify against Mossimo, which she “refuses” to do.
But clearly she isn’t that firm in her decision, as the source also says:
“The stress is only mounting.”
Hmm. We’ve already heard Lori wanted to plead guilty before the federal program bribery charge was tacked on, but her hubby convinced her not to. Is she coming around to the realization what’s best for her and what’s best for him might not 100% be the same thing??
If so, the holidays could get real chilly real fast in the Giannulli household.
Do YOU think Lori will take the deal??
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