Legal Experts Reveal The Biggest Challenge Lori Loughlin Will Face In Avoiding Conviction
Earlier this month, Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison for her role in the college admissions scandal. In wake of the news, there has been much speculation about what Huffman’s sentence means for Fuller House star Lori Loughlin, the other famous face in this scandal.
Huffman was considered to be one of the least serious offenders in this vast cheating scheme and the fact that she took a plea deal and was still given prison time isn’t a good sign for Loughlin. Legal experts are now weighing in on whether or not they believe Loughlin will be able to prove her innocence, according to Deseret News.
Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, have been accused of paying Rick Singer, the mastermind of the scheme, $500,000 to ensure their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella, a spot at the University of Southern California. To make matters worse, they also reportedly presented their daughters as row.crew recruits, despite the fact that neither girl participated in the sport. Unlike Huffman who took a plea deal, these wealthy parents have opted to fight the charges.
Legal expert Vinnie Politan, the lead anchor for Court TV, explained in a recent interview that Loughlin and Giannulli’s only option now is to persuade the judge that they were victims to Singer’s manipulation.
“Felicity Huffman’s sentence means Lori Loughlin is facing much more time if she gets convicted. The two questions in her case are whether a jury will believe USC is really a ‘victim’ in the case, and whether they will believe the government’s star witness, who was the ringleader of the whole scam (and has also pleaded guilty). What the Huffman sentence does is confirm Lori Loughlin’s fears about being sentenced to custody if convicted of anything.”
If they truly did believe that the $500,000 was just a donation and not a bribe, then they’re going to have to be able to back that claim up. Clearly the pair must believe they are in fact innocent as they passed up the option of a plea deal. The stakes are so high in this case that not taking the plea deal could be a mistake that they regret for the rest of their lives. If they are convicted, they could potentially spend decades behind bars.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, there have been rumors circulating that Loughlin regrets not taking the original plea deal, especially now that she’s seen what fate awaits Huffman. Loughlin was reportedly persuaded by Giannulli that taking the plea deal would ruin their careers forever.
