The time has finally come: Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman will appear in court today to address their alleged involvement in what may well be the biggest bribery scandal in college history.
On Wednesday, the two actresses — the highest-profile people indicted in the nationwide scam — will face a judge in a Boston courtroom for a preliminary hearing, along with nine other parents suspected of being involved in “Operation Varsity Blues.” Both have been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. In March, they were among the 50 people charged by the U.S. Attorney over their alleged participation in the nationwide effort by wealthy families to scam their children’s way into elite colleges by faking SAT scores and lying about their extracurriculars; of those 50 people, prosecutors say that four have pleaded guilty or have plans to.
The nature of the actresses’ suspected involvement varies: the U.S. Attorney has accused Huffman of paying $15,000 to William “Rick” Singer, the head fraudster behind the scam — who has already pleaded guilty — who hired a proctor to correct Huffman’s daughter’s answers on her SAT. Meanwhile, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of having paid Singer $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew team recruits. (They do not do crew — instead, one of them, Olivia Jade, famously vlogs and partners with brands … or used to, before they all dropped her over this scandal.)
While the two women could serve prison time, legal experts see it as pretty unlikely. Perhaps that explains Loughlin’s chipper attitude leading up to today!