Celebrity parents sentenced in college admissions scheme

Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli will spend five months in prison for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get his two daughters into the University of Southern California. The federal judge who accepted his plea deal on Friday also fined him $250,000 and ordered him to take part in 250 hours of community service. His wife, Full House actress Lori Loughlin, received a two-month prison sentence, a $150,000 fine, and 100 hours of community service. “I am ready to accept the consequences and move forward, with the lessons I’ve learned from this experience,” Giannulli said.

What led to the sentencing? Giannulli and Loughlin switched their pleas to guilty three months ago after the judge refused to dismiss the case over allegations of federal agent misconduct. They are among the nearly 30 prominent parents who have pleaded guilty in a college admissions cheating scandal that included bribes, rigged test scores, and fake athletic credentials. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton already has denied requests from other parents to serve out their sentences under house arrest during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dig deeper: Read Kiley Crossland’s report in Schooled on the scope of the scam and how lawmakers are trying to keep it from happening again.