People in New York who followed the college admissions scandals, in which parents paid bribes to get their children admitted to prestigious colleges, may be interested to learn that actress Lori Loughlin will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. She has agreed to serve two months in prison.
Loughlin and actress Felicity Huffman were among the most famous individuals connected with the scheme. Huffman spent two weeks in jail for her participation. Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, paid $500,000 to have their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits on the crewing team although neither were involved in the sport. Her husband will enter a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud. He has agreed to serve five months in prison.
In addition, Loughlin will have 24 months of supervised release and 100 hours of community service plus a $100,000 fine. Giannulli has agreed to pay a $250,000 and have 24 months of supervised release plus 250 hours of community service. As part of their plea deal, they can still argue that they had ineffective counsel or that prosecutorial misconduct occurred.
These types of charges often fall under the category of white-collar crimes. They might include charges like insider trading, embezzling, fraud and extortion. They may be committed by people who otherwise have no criminal record and, in some cases, they may have been unaware that they were breaking a law. This can also mean that people can become the focus of white collar crime investigations without realizing it even after being questioned. Individuals in this situation or who are facing charges for white collar crimes may want to consult an attorney.