Lori Loughlin may have sealed her fate in the nationwide college admissions scandal.
“The feds have an overwhelming amount of evidence against her, including emails, phone calls and financial documents,” Los Angeles-based lawyer Neama Rahmani says exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly.
The Full House alum, 54, and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, face at least $250,000 in fines, and “could spend years, if not decades, behind bars,” according to Rahmani.
Loughlin and the fashion designer, 55, have been accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters, Bella, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19, into the University of Southern California by labeling them as crew team recruits, despite their inexperience with the sport. The couple, who eloped in 1997, have pleaded not guilty to two charges: money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
“No jury will acquit them,” Rahmani predicts to Us.
A source previously told Us that the actress was “in denial” about potential prison time “based on her legal team’s confidence” in the ongoing case, while another insider said that Loughlin’s friends “think the situation was something concocted by her husband.”
Since the news of the scam broke in March, both Loughlin and her daughter Olivia have lost work opportunities. Hallmark Channel announced that the Homegrown Christmas actress would no longer be a part of its productions, including her show When Calls the Heart. The YouTube star, meanwhile, lost deals with Sephora and TRESemmé.
“We’ve all known Lori for a really long time, and when someone’s your friend and something happens to them, you don’t stop being their friend,” Loughlin’s former When Calls the Heart costar Paul Greene said on the “I Could Never Be” podcast on Monday, April 15. “You support, no matter what happens. So, that has been there, especially from me.”
For more details on Loughlin, Giannulli and Operation Varsity Blues, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
