Lori Loughlin, Husband Want College Scam Case Dismissed Over “Government Misconduct”
Written by SOURCE on March 26, 2020
Attorneys for Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli are seeking to have the college bribery case against their clients tossed out.
In a statement cited by Deadline late Wednesday, Latham & Watkins attorneys criticized the government’s handling of the case, using that as their reasoning for demanding the dismissal.
“The extraordinary government misconduct presented in this case threatens grave harm to defendants and the integrity of this proceeding,” the lawyers said. “That misconduct cannot be ignored.”
Loughlin and Giannulli’s trial is set to begin this October, with a potential guilty determination holding the possibility of up to 50 years behind bars. Both have maintained they are not guilty, claiming they were not aware that the reported $500,000 they handed over to alleged scam orchestrator William Singer’s Key Worldwide Foundation was being used illegitimately.
Previously, the couple’s defense team filed paperwork they say shows that they acted under the belief that the money was for “legitimate donations” purposes only. “This is precisely the kind of exculpatory—and indeed, exonerating—information defendants have been seeking,” lawyers said in the February filing.
As the Los Angeles Times‘ report on this latest development notes, 22 parents have entered guilty pleas in connection with fraud and money laundering charges related to the college admissions scandal. Sentences thus far have included 14 days for Felicity Huffman and nine months for former Pimco CEO Douglas Hodge.
The DOJ previously outlined the overall scam as including the bribery of SAT and ACT exam administrators to use a pre-selected test taker, bribing school athletic coaches, and using Singer’s charity to conceal these efforts.
