Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli are facing serious jail time over their alleged involvement in the college admissions scandal shaking the country.
As we last reported, the couple have pled not guilty to charges of conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering after being accused of paying $500,000 to have both their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, designated as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team, despite the fact that neither had ever played the sport.
Related: Lori Loughlin’s ‘Only Choice’ Was To Plead Not Guilty!
Apparently the partners feel once they can share their story with a judge, it’ll be easy to see how they were the victims of manipulation. A source dished to ET:
“[Lori and her husband] claim they were under the impression they might be breaking rules, but not laws. They feel they were manipulated by those involved and are planning that as part of their defense. They realize how serious the charges are, but feel that once the judge hears their story he will see they had no bad intentions.”
Especially as Loughlin and Giannulli were hit with conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering after they rejected their plea deals. The insider continued to spill:
“They in no way felt they were money laundering. They thought the money would be used for a donation and to benefit the school. Even so, this has been one of the toughest decisions of Lori‘s life.”
Ah, the classic case of being bamboozled!
We’re not sure how well that will hold up in court considering prosecutors will likely want to make an example of them, and the other parents involved, who didn’t cop a deal early on like Felicity Huffman and 13 others.
There’s a lot riding on the Fuller House star and her fashion designer husband now. They both face up to 40 years in jail for their alleged crimes, a notion that left the actress devastated!
The source revealed how the 54-year-old has been in tears over it:
“When Lori heard the number of years she could spend in prison she broke down crying. The thought of being separated from her loved ones for years brought her to her knees. She has watched as the other families cut deals but her husband feels they are not guilty and should plead not guilty.”
Even their friends are supposedly “incredibly worried” about them pleading not guilty:
“[Their friends] have explained to them that they cannot just plead ignorance. In the end, she trusts those who are advising her and somehow believes there is a chance she will go free.”
It’s clearly out of their hands now! Hopefully for them, they’re not also being “manipulated” by a bad legal team.
But we can’t imagine either of them walking away free at this point. Who knows though, maybe the Netflix star really can convince a judge she and her husband thought what they were doing was totally harmless.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers?? Share ’em in the comments (below)!
[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/Dimitri Halkidis/WENN]
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