Lori Loughlin Has Big Regrets About Not Taking Plea Deal in College Admissions Bribery Case

Lori Loughlin is having second thoughts. The actress regrets not taking a plea deal offered by prosecutors in the college admissions bribery case, an insider told Us Weekly. 

“Lori regrets not doing what Felicity [Huffman] did,” the insider told the magazine. Both Huffman and Loughlin were charged in the case involving parents who allegedly paid bribes to ensure their children were admitted to elite colleges or received higher scores on standardized tests like the SAT. 

Prosecutors want Felicity Huffman to spend a month in jail

Huffman pleaded guilty to mail fraud and honest services fraud earlier this year. While she hasn’t yet been sentenced, on September 6, prosecutors recommended that she spend a month in jail. They also want her to pay a $20,000 fine. Huffman admitting to paying $15,000 to have a proctor correct answers on her daughter’s SAT. 

In a statement released in April, the Desperate Housewives said she was “ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”

Lori Loughlin wishes she’d followed Huffman’s lead 

Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud as well as money laundering. The couple could each spend up to 40 years in prison if convicted, according to reports. Prosecutors allege that the paid spent $500,000 to guarantee their two daughters were admitted to the University of Southern California. 

Initial reports claimed that Loughlin was confident that she’d beat the charges against her. At the time, she felt she had not done anything wrong. In her mind, the bribes were no different than donating money for a library or other building on campus, according to People. 

Now, new reports claim that Loughlin was in favor of accepting a plea bargain and that she only refused the deal under pressure from her husband. The couple would have had to spend two years in prison if they accepted the agreement, a source told Us Weekly.

“Lori was inclined to take the deal, but Mossimo said it would ruin both of their careers,” Us Weekly reported. 

Is her marriage in trouble? 

The legal problems are causing turmoil in Loughlin and Giannulli’s marriage, sources say. Recently, the couple fought over how they should travel to Boston for a court appearance. Loughlin (and the couple’s lawyers) thought they should fly commercial, but Giannulli preferred a private jet. The conflict supposedly has their oldest daughter Bella concerned that her parents are headed toward divorce. 

Meanwhile, Loughlin’s friends are urging her to leave Giannulli, who she married in 1997.  “Her friends think she should leave him,” an insider told Us Weekly. “But Lori refuses and says the ordeal has made them stronger.”

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