Full House actress Lori Loughlin was released from federal prison today, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Loughlin had been serving two-month sentence for her involvement in the 2019 college admissions scandal.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were two of 48 defendants revealed to have taken part in massive scheme to secure their children admission to college under false pretenses. The scandal was discovered following a 2019 complaint filed by Boston prosecutors. The initial charge was a conspiracy to commit fraud and honest services mail fraud as the accused had made payments of up to $500,000 to fudge admission and transcript records. Loughlin and Giannulli had purported records for their two daughters to be admitted to the University of Southern California.
Loughlin and Giannulli had initially plead not guilty and planned to go to trial, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, months before their October trial date, the couple plead guilty to conspiracy charges for lighter sentences. Loughlin reported to East Bay federal prison in October, three weeks earlier than the required Nov. 19 date. In addition to her jail stint, she will remain under supervised release for two years, must complete 100 hours of community services, and pay a fine of $150,000. Her husband is currently still in prison as he was sentenced to five months. Subsequently, he will surrender to two years of supervised release, complete 250 hours of community service, and is ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
Actress Felicity Huffman (American Crime, Desperate Housewives) was another high-profile defendant in this case. Huffman plead guilty last year and was sentenced to 14 days in prison. She has since been released and is booked to star in an ABC dramedy centered on the owner of minor league baseball team.
Earlier this month, one of Loughlin and Giannulli’s daughters, Olivia Jade, appeared as a guest on Facebook’s Red Table Talk. The talk show series hosted by family members Jada Pinkett-Smith (Scream 2, Girls Trip), daughter Willow Smith (I Am Legend, True Jackson, VP), and grandmother Adrienne Banfield-Norris, featured Jade to discuss the scandal and its societal ramifications.