In this April 3, 2019 file photo, actor Lori Loughlin, front, and husband, clothing designer Mossimo Giannulli, left, depart federal court in Boston after facing charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. Loughlin was released from federal prison in Dublin, Calif., Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
By Alanna Durkin Richer
“Full House” actor Lori Loughlin was released from prison Monday after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college.
Loughlin was released from the federal lockup in Dublin, California, where she had been serving her sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme, the federal Bureau of Prisons said. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, California.
Loughlin and Giannulli were both initially supposed to report to prison on Nov. 19, but prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Loughlin could start her sentence on Oct. 30. Loughlin also agreed that she would not seek early release on coronavirus-related grounds, prosecutors said.
Giannulli is scheduled to be released on April 17, the Bureau of Prisons says.
Loughlin and Giannulli were among the highest-profile defendants charged in the scheme, which revealed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universities.
The famous couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower. Their guilty plea was a stunning reversal for the couple, whose lawyers had insisted for a year were innocent and accused investigators of fabricating evidence against them.
The only public comments either Loughlin or Giannulli made about the case since their arrest last year came at their sentencing hearings in August. Loughlin told the judge her actions “helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society” and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a “catalyst to do good."
Their younger daughter, social media influencer Olivia Jade, made her first public remarks about the scandal this month on the series “Red Table Talk." Olivia Jade said she doesn't want or deserve pity.
“We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, ‘I recognize I messed up.’ And for so long I wasn’t able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it," she said.
Of the nearly 60 parents, coaches and others charged in the case, about a dozen are still fighting the allegations. The sentences for the parents who have pleaded so far in the case range from a couple weeks to nine months.
Janet Balis, EY Marketing Practice Leader, joins Cheddar News at South by Southwest to break down what exactly the metaverse is, how brands can start to break into this experience, and why to keep the digital divide in mind as the metaverse grows.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the U.S. Congress today, enough of changing our clocks for Daylight Savings, and the Eiffel Tower gets a few feet taller. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Food technology startup Tender Food raised $12 million in a seed round led by Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. Tender says it specializes in creating alternative meats with an authentic texture and is on a mission to make alternative meats so delicious, nutritious, and affordable, that eating meat from animals will no longer make sense. Christophe Chantre, co-founder & CEO of Tender Food, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
With the number of Ukrainians being displaced due to the Russian invasion surging, two students from Harvard took it on themselves to develop a website to help connect potential hosts with refugees seeking housing. The co-founder of the website Ukraine Takes Shelter, Marco Burstein, joined Cheddar news to discuss working together with fellow freshman Avi Schiffmann to streamline the effort to aid Ukrainian refugees. "We basically worked for three days straight developing the website, and since then the response has been pretty incredible," Burstein said.
Over three weeks ago, WNBA player Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia on drug charges. According to reports, the Star arrived at an airport near Moscow where authorities found Vape cartridges and hashish oil in her luggage. Grindr faces serious charges that could carry a possible sentence of 5-10 years in a Russian prison. Experts warn that Griner's arrest could be used as a bargaining chip. Partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Thomas Firestone, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Image-sharing social media platform Pinterest is marking Women's History Month through its Pinterest Elevates program, designed to help grow 10 underrepresented businesses with monetary and strategic support. Alise Marshall, senior global lead for public affairs at Pinterest, joined Cheddar News to explain how the program is helping to uplift women and women of color with businesses of their own. “This was in response to issues that we saw happening in the community, and ways that we thought that we were uniquely positioned to respond," she said.
A new report from the Motion Picture Association highlights how the popularity of streaming services has helped the film industry recover from the pandemic. Matthew Belloni, the host of "The Town" podcast and founding partner of Puck News, joined Cheddar News to discuss the impact of streaming on Hollywood. "For all but the largest tent-pole style blockbuster movies, the future probably is streaming," he said.
In the new comedic film "Linoleum," an Ohio family faces the adventure of a lifetime after a mysterious satellite lands in their yard. The suburban dad, played by comic Jim Gaffigan, takes the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut by re-building the machine as his very own rocket ship. Gaffigan and co-star Rhea Seehorn joined Cheddar News senior reporter Michelle Castillo at South by Southwest 2022, to chat about the science fiction roles, with the actors noting that they didn't quite understand the jargon. "Jim and I had some late night googling sessions of what we were saying in the, in the scenes, but it was fun," Seehorn said.
The pandemic has turned the world of dating upside down. So what's making daters smile, and what are they looking for in a partner? Cheddar breaks down the findings from eharmony's 2022 Happiness Index study that break down the current state of dating.
