Actress Lori Loughlin is confident that she will beat the charges in the college admissions bribery scandal, reports Fox News.
Earlier this year, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were charged with paying $500,000 to William “Rick” Singer to bribe college officials and rig the entrance exams so that their two daughters, Oliva Jade and Isabella, could be admitted into USC. The couple would later go on to reject the plea deal offered to them, which resulted in them both being charged with both money laundering and conspiracy. If convicted, both could face up to 40 years in prison.
USA Today reported at the time that the new charges resulted from the defendants allegedly “conspiring to launder bribes and other payments in furtherance of the fraud by funneling them through Singer’s purported charity and his for-profit corporation, as well as by transferring money into the United States, from outside the United States, for the purpose of promoting the fraud scheme.”
Despite the glaringly high stakes, a source close to Loughlin told People that Lori Loughlin believes she will clear these charges when it comes to trial.
“[Lori] still believes she did the right thing by rejecting a guilty plea,” the source said. “She is a fighter.”
The source said that the former “Full House” actress has become an “active participant” in her own defense. “Lori in particular has become extremely well-versed in the case,” the source added. “She’s an active participant in her own defense, feels like she’s got a valid defense and that when all the evidence comes out, she won’t be found guilty.”
“She isn’t working, and her whole life focus has changed drastically,” the source continued. “It consists of waiting around for the next court date and planning her legal defense.”
Lori Loughlin experienced instant career fallout after the bribery scandal dropped, with both the Hallmark Channel and the Netflix series “Fuller House” giving her the boot.
While the source makes it seem that Lori Loughlin planned for this, another source told E! News this past April that the actress rejected her plea deal because she thought the prosecutors were “bluffing” and she did not understand the seriousness of her situation.
“She has been in complete denial and thought maybe she could skate by,” the source told the outlet. “She refused to accept any jail time and thought the prosecutor was bluffing. She was adamant she wouldn’t do any jail time. Lori is finally realizing just how serious this is. She is seeing the light that she will do jail time and is freaking out.”
Lori Loughlin’s attempt to get a not guilty verdict starkly contrasts with that of actress Felicity Huffman, who immediately pled guilty and expressed remorse for her role in the bribery scandal.
“I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions,” Huffman said in a statement. “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them. I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”