Nov. 1 (UPI) — Actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli both pleaded not guilty in Boston federal court Friday to new federal bribery charges stemming from the national college admissions cheating scandal.
The couple entered the pleas in new court filings. The new charge each faces is federal programs bribery. In the filing, the couple also requested that they not need to appear in court to be arraigned on the new charge. They have previously entered not guilty pleas to counts of mail fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors say the celebrity couple paid scandal mastermind Rick Singer $500,000 for their two daughters to be admitted to the University of Southern California as rowing student-athletes when neither had ever been a rowing athlete.
The new charges document the couple’s connection to Singer through a $200,000 payment, which Giannulli sent through his accountant in 2017, prosecutors said.
More than 50 people have been charged in the case, including 35 parents.
Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Huffman was one of 23 defendants who entered guilty pleas. She was released from a California prison last weekend after severing a shortened 14-day sentence. She received the punishment after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges.
Prosecutors said Huffman paid money to inflate her daughter’s college aptitude test. She still must perform 250 hours of community service and pay a $30,000 fine.
