Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli, wearing green tie at left, leave the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston on April 3, 2019. Photographer: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe /Boston Globe
Actress Lori Loughlin appeared cheery outside an Boston courtroom Monday where she and her husband not guilty plea and are waiving their right to appear in court for an arraignment in their alleged involvement in the college admissions scandal.
The two appeared in federal court last week but said they were “not ready” to enter a plea. The couple were of the few who didn’t enter a plea while several others, including actress Felicity Huffman, entered a guilty plea in the case.
Loughlin is accused of giving around $500,000 to a fake charity, according to CNN, to get her daughters into college at the University of Southern California. The daughters reportedly posed as crew recruits despite not being athletes for the sport.
According to CNN, the two were also accused of conspiring to launder bribes and other payments through a charity run by Rick Singer, the mastermind of the scam, as well as transferring money into the United States to promote the fraud, prosecutors said.
The charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud are punishable by a maximum 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to federal officials.
The couple are among 33 parents accused of using their wealth to cheat on standardized tests for their children, and bribe college administrators and coaches who had major clout when it came to admissions.
CNN contributed to this report.