“I understand that I have contributed to exacerbate inequalities” and “I will do anything to redeem myself”: American actress Lori Loughlin made her mea culpa Friday after being sentenced to two months in prison for being part of rich parents having paid to guarantee the entry of their children in prestigious universities.
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In this vast scandal revealing the inequalities of the American university system, she was with actress Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) the most famous figure.
“I am sincerely and deeply sorry,” Lori Loughlin said with tears in her eyes during the hearing before the Boston federal judge who set her sentence. “I believe in God and in redemption, and I will do all in my power to redeem myself.”
The 56-year-old actress, whose career was brought to a halt by this affair, assured that she had learned the lessons of the “terrible decision” which led her, with her husband, to pay 500,000 dollars to an intermediary for guarantee the admission of their two daughters to the University of Southern California (USC).
They had agreed with the mastermind of the operation, William Singer, that their daughters would be presented as good recruits for the college rowing team, although they did not play the sport. .
“I thought I was acting out of love for my children (…) I now understand that my decisions have contributed to exacerbating inequalities in general, and those of the education system in particular”, admitted Ms. Loughlin.
In addition to her prison sentence, she will have to pay a fine of 150,000 dollars and submit to two years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service.
If the sentence is relatively lenient, federal judge Nathaniel Gorton gave him a moral lesson on Friday, by videoconference because of the pandemic: “You were an admired actress, with a solid marriage, beautiful children, more money than need, living in a wonderful house in Southern California – a dream life ”.
“Now I have before me a convicted criminal. Why? Because of the inexplicable desire for more, to have the prestige and the gratification that goes with the possibility of bragging that his children have been admitted to a university of choice, ”he continued. “We can only hope that you will spend the rest of your good life (…) fixing the damage you have done to the system.”
Earlier on Friday, the actress’ husband, stylist Mossimo Giannulli, was sentenced to 5 months in prison and a $ 250,000 fine.
According to investigators, he had been “the most active” in the organization of these privileges for their daughters.
The sentences were expected since the couple pleaded guilty in May to one count of fraudulent bank transfer.
In exchange for this admission of guilt, which saved the couple a trial, the Massachusetts federal prosecutor had, as is common in the United States, dropped two other charges and recommended more lenient sentences.
Presented as a foundation, William Singer’s organization would have received a total of $ 25 million from well-to-do parents eager to see their children admitted to prestigious universities such as Yale, Georgetown or Stanford.
Of the 55 people indicted in the scandal, 41 have already pleaded guilty, including Mr Singer. Many parents received sentences limited to a few months of incarceration.
Actress Felicity Huffman, among the first parents to plead guilty, had been sentenced to two weeks in prison. She finally spent 11 days behind bars last October.
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