More guilty pleas in college admissions scandal case

People in New Jersey who have followed the college admissions scandal may be interested to know that actress Lori Loughlin will plead guilty to conspiracy charges and receive a sentence of two months in prison for her role. Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, her husband, will also plead guilty and has agreed to a sentence of five months in prison.

The two could have served up to 20 years in prison if they had gone to trial and been found guilty. Actress Felicity Huffman and another 21 parents have also pleaded guilty in the case, which involved parents paying bribes to get their children into prestigious colleges. Huffman paid $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT scores increased and went to prison for 11 days. Loughlin and Giannulli initially pleaded not guilty when they were accused of paying $500,000 to have their two daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as crewing recruits despite not playing the sport.

Originally facing three conspiracy counts, Loughlin’s guilty plea will be for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Her husband’s will be conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Loughlin and Giannulli will also pay fines of $150,000 and $250,000 and serve 100 and 250 community service hours, respectively. They will have two years of supervised release.

These types of charges often fall under the category of white-collar crime along with embezzling, money laundering, extortion and similar charges. Some people may make the mistake of thinking they will automatically be treated with leniency because their crime was not a violent one. Other people might not realize they are or could become the focus of an investigation despite being questioned. Those who are facing questioning or charges related to white-collar crime may want to contact an attorney to discuss how to proceed.