Lori Loughlin might be able to put the college admissions scandal behind her once and for all after her most recent win in court. According to People magazine, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, among dozens of other parents, face: "Charges of money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services mail and wire fraud."
They also allegedly paid admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer $500,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, disguising them as athletes in a sport they did not play.
Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to all charges. As Deadline reported, if found guilty, they face up to 50 years each and millions of dollars in fines. In April 2020, defense attorneys for Loughlin and other defendants asked U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton to throw out the case entirely after submitting a memo that documents Singer's notes on the case. Star witness Singer, who wore a wire to cooperate with investigators to catch Loughlin and others, was reportedly told to, quote, "bend the truth [to] retrieve responses that are not accurate," according to NBC News. His notes go on to say,
"[Federal investigators] fabricated evidence to create the false impression that Defendants knowingly paid bribes to corrupt insiders, rather than made legitimate donations to help their children's chances of admission."
To put it plainly, Loughlin's defense attorneys are saying that Singer's notes show that investigators fabricated evidence to make it look like the parents knew they were part of a scam, and the judge in the case seems to believe that there is some validity to the attorneys' claims. Judge Gorton wrote in a three-page memorandum that the new evidence was, quote, "serious and disturbing," according to NBC News. He added,
"While government agents are permitted to coach cooperating witnesses during the course of an investigation, they are not permitted to suborn the commission of a crime."
For now, the judge has asked prosecutors to respond to the allegations in the notes, but said that he wouldn't actually throw out the case, as Fox News reported. He also added,
"Counsel should have produced Singer's notes earlier."
Still, this is good news for Loughlin and the other defendants. The most recent move by the judge in the college admissions scandal trial tracks with everything Loughlin and her husband have been saying all along. In 2019, a source told People that the couple felt they were "hoodwinked" by Singer. The insider explained,
"She did not have any intent to do something illegal, and in fact she thought she was doing the right thing...[Loughlin didn't stage the photos that] falsely depicted her daughters using crew equipment...The prosecution is hell-bent on making examples out of people, and not playing fair."
Since Loughlin and her husband are also charged with conspiracy, it's vital that prosecutors prove that the couple knew they were committing a crime by giving Singer money. That being said, the new evidence shows that Loughlin's claims might actually have some merit.
Since news of the college admissions scandal broke, Loughlin has maintained her innocence, saying that she thought her payments were a legitimate donation and not a bribe to get her daughter into college. A source previously told People that she was "actively involved" in building her defense, going over legal documents and evidence. The insider added,
"She feels like she's got a valid defense, and that when all the evidence comes out, that she won't be found guilty. She still is looking into the avenues to defend herself against what she thinks is a meritless charge."
Her hard work on her defense might be starting to pay off.
The new evidence seems to be somewhat of a lifeboat for Loughlin and her husband, who turned down a plea agreement because they didn't want to spend any time in jail. The couple, according to a People source, is confident that they have all the evidence they need to avoid doing any time behind bars.
In other words, it looks like things might be starting to look up for the former Full House star. Watch the video to learn how Lori Loughlin Just Scored A Major Courtroom Win!
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