Lori Loughlin 'thinks any mom would have done the same' as she faces prison for paying $500,000 in bribes to get her two daughters into USC
Lori Loughlin rejected a plea deal in the college admissions cheating scandal because she never viewed her actions as illegal and felt that she was doing what any parent would do to promote their child's success, a source close to the actress has claimed.
The Full House star and her husband Mossimo Giannulli are facing up to 40 years in prison for allegedly paying $500,000 to get her daughters into USC.
Some sources have claimed that they turned down a plea deal which would have drastically reduced their sentences because they thought prosecutors were 'bluffing' when they said they could end up behind bars.
One insider, however, says Loughlin is still coming to terms with the reality of her situation.
'It’s just taking some time for it to sink in that what she was allegedly doing could be considered illegal,' the source told People.
'To her, it wasn’t egregious behavior. Was it entitled and perhaps selfish? Perhaps. But she didn’t see it as being a legal violation.
The source added: 'From the beginning, she didn’t want to take a deal, because she felt that she hadn’t done anything that any mom wouldn’t have done, if they had the means to do so.
'So this wasn’t her being obstinate; this was her truly not understanding the seriousness of the allegations.'
Lori Loughlin rejected a plea deal in the college admissions cheating scandal because she never viewed her actions as illegal and felt that she was doing what any parent would do to promote their child's success, a source close to the actress (above on Wednesday) has claimed
Another source claimed that Loughlin rejected the plea deal because 'she has been in complete denial and thought maybe she could skate by'.
'She refused to accept any jail time and thought the DA was bluffing. She was adamant she wouldn't do any jail time,' the insider told E! News.
'Lori is finally realizing just how serious this is. She is seeing the light that she will do jail time and is freaking out.'
The actress was said to be 'fixated' on getting daughters Isabella and Olivia Jade into USC no matter the cost.
'For her, there was no other way. They needed to be at USC. It was very important for her to be able to say that her girls were at USC,' a source told Page Six.
They added it was 'absolutely a status thing,' saying: 'Lori is used to getting what she wants.
'This is why she got in trouble in the first place. She got fixated on getting her girls into USC.'
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters - Olivia (left) and Isabella (right) - into USC as crew recruits, even though neither of them row
On Thursday news broke that The Hallmark Channel had edited Loughlin out of When Calls The Heart, the show she appeared in.
It went on hiatus when the scandal broke but it has now officially cut ties with her after 'creatively retooling' the final episodes.
'Life throws all of us painful curveballs, and the only way to survive is to walk right through them with courage, grace, a forgiving spirit, and most of all, hope.
'Many of you have wondered what the future holds for our cast and crew, and for the citizens of Hope Valley.
'Your care and concern means the world to us, and the best way we can thank you is to encourage you the way you encourage us because… Hope always lives here,' show creator Brian Bird said in an Instagram post.
Loughlin is also in discussions with Lindsay Lohan's former crisis manager, according to Page Six.
The star was approached by Hunter Frederick after her indictment but it is not clear if she has decided to work with him or not.
Separately, it has been claimed that prosecutors want to make an example of the pair and that the parents charged are desperate for a new judge.
'They really want to make sure that there isn’t this perception that these people are able to skate by because they’re rich,' a source told People.
'They want to make sure everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. They know this is a high profile case and they want to make an example of the defendants.'
The actress was said to be 'fixated' on getting daughters Olivia Jade (left) and Isabella (right) into USC no matter the cost
Andrew Lelling, the lead prosecutor in the case, said that they did not want Judge Nathaniel Gorton.
They have sent a letter to a higher ruling judge claiming that prosecutors 'shopped around' for a judge they felt would be sympathetic to them as opposed to the defendants.
Gorton, the prosecutors say, is tough and the defendants are worried he will not rule in their favor.
The 54-year-old actress was spotted on Wednesday visiting an orthopedic center in Santa Monica on Wednesday.
Loughlin, who was dressed in a lilac sweater, blue jeans and patterned Birkenstock sandals, bore a grim expression as she headed into her appointment.
Her outing came just one day after Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli were hit with new charges in the college bribery scheme.
The couple is facing 40 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines for allegedly paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as fake crew recruits.
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli arriving in court in Boston on April 3
They were already charged with mail and mail fraud but federal prosecutors added money laundering to the list of accusations against them on Tuesday.
Loughlin, her husband and 19 other parents who have not admitted guilt in the scheme were hit with the additional charge.
A day earlier, 13 other parents - including actress Felicity Huffman - entered guilty pleas to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Other parents indicted on the new charge on Tuesday include Michelle Janavs, whose family developed the microwave snack line Hot Pockets before selling their company, and William McGlashan, who co-founded an investment fund with U2's Bono in 2017.
The parents charged in the case are accused of paying an admissions consultant, Rick Singer, to cheat on their children's college entrance exams and get their children admitted as athletic recruits at schools including Georgetown and Yale.
It is the largest such scheme ever prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters - Olivia and Isabella - into USC as crew team recruits, even though neither of them can row.
The couple appeared in Boston federal court briefly last week and were not asked to enter a plea.
Huffman, the 56-year-old Emmy winner who stared in Desperate Housewives, was accused of paying $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to have a proctor correct the answers on her daughter's SAT.
Loughlin posed for photos and signed autographs when she was greeted by fans in Boston last week ahead of her first court appearance
Prosecutors say they will seek a prison sentence that's on the low end of between four and 10 months for Huffman after she agreed to plead guilty.
Huffman is scheduled to appear in Boston's federal court on May 24 to enter her plea.
In her first public comments since her arrest, Huffman on Monday took responsibility for her actions and said she would accept the consequences.
'My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life,' she said after her plea deal was announced.
'My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.'
It is not clear if Loughlin's daughters were aware of their parents' alleged meddling.
Lori Loughlin 'thinks any mom would have done the same' as she faces prison for paying $500,000 in bribes to get her two daughters into USC
![Lori Loughlin 'thinks any mom would have done the same' as she faces prison for paying $500,000 in bribes to get her two daughters into USC]()
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April 12, 2019
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