in order to gain them acceptance to elite colleges
including Yale, Georgetown and Stanford. Lough-
lin and Giannulli allegedly paid $500,000 to admis-
sions consultant William “Rick” Singer to falsely
designate daughters Olivia and Isabella as recruits
to the University of Southern California crew team,
though neither actually participated in the sport.
While 14 defendants, including actress Felicity
Huffman (see sidebar), agreed to plead guilty in
April, Loughlin and Giannulli declined a plea deal.
“They weren’t ready to accept that,” says the legal
source, who also notes the couple have resisted any
deals that would result in jail time. Days later they
were slapped with an additional money-laundering
charge and more possible prison time if convicted.
Had they taken the original agreement offered,
the couple likely would have been facing 18 to
24 months in jail, per federal sentencing guide-
lines. Now the stakes are far higher. Loughlin and
Giannulli theoretically face up to 40 years in prison
each, 20 years per charge, but the legal source says
their chances of serving consecutive sentences,
rather than concurrent ones, are low.
While Loughlin maintains her innocence, she’s
struggling with the aftermath of rejecting the deal.
In the midst of back-to-school season (Olivia and
Bella have no plans to return to USC), “Lori is in
a state of limbo,” says the source. “For criminal
defendants, sometimes it’s better just to take the
plea deal and start serving your jail sentence. At
least there’s resolution. She has no closure, and it’s
frustrating and upsetting.” While Giannulli, best
known for his Mossimo line formerly featured at
Target, is still working, Loughlin’s career has come
to an abrupt halt. She was fired from her Hallmark
Channel series When Calls the Heart in April, and
the fate of her beloved Aunt Becky character on
Netflix’s Fuller House remains undecided. Pri-
vately the family is also in mourning: Giannulli’s
father died in January, and his mother died just last
month. According to a source close to the family,
“It’s been a very hard time for them, particularly for
Mossimo, who lost both of his parents.”
Despite criticism that Loughlin has appeared
indignant in the wake of the scandal, “Lori is
remorseful, and she has definite regrets,” the legal
source says. “She’s embarrassed and hurt, and she
knows that her reputation has been ruined for life.
But she also believes the allegations against her
‘THIS
HAS BEEN
DEVASTATING
FOR HER
AND HER
FAMILY’
—HOLLYWOOD
SOURCE
September 2, 2019 PEOPLE 45
No Signs of
Tension
The actress ran errands
with her daughter Bella
on April 5.
Staying Busy
After lunching
with friends on July
15, Loughlin went
grocery shopping.
Creature
of Habit
Loughlin (on July 17)
continues to attend
yoga classes.
Looking Ahead
Loughlin (shopping
on Aug. 4) “is able
to turn lemons into
lemonade,” says a
Hollywood source.
CLOCKW
ISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: THE IMAGE DIRECT(2); CLINT BREW
ER/BACKGRID; YELLOW
MAMBA/BACKGRID; PATRIOT PICS/BACKGRID;
P&P/MEGA; MONA SHAFER EDW
ARDS/BACKGRID; ALLEN J. SCHABEN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES; THE IMAGE DIRECT
Return to Social Media
Olivia and Bella (left,
in 2018) went silent on
Instagram shortly after
news of the scandal broke
but returned in July to
wish Loughlin a happy
birthday (above left). Above:
Olivia’s on-again, off-again
boyfriend, singer Jackson
Guthy, posted a photo of
them on Aug. 2, writing,
“Lil monkey I love you.”
