College administration bribery scandal

[MacMadame]

Mr. and Mrs. Aunt Becky's actions were far more gray, imo,

You don't think it's immoral to lie to get your kids into college? I do.

From other articles I read, I'm guessing they were proactive in this, and that the timing isn't exactly a surprise. Who wouldn't want to stay at home for a few months rather than go to prison?

The posted article says they were sentenced to X months in prison.

 

[Jenny]

Can't recall where I saw it, but sounds like they are planning to plead guilty to some of the charges and the sentencing has been worked out, but it hasn't happened formally, which means the might be able to ask for house arrest given the dangers of being in a prison right now.

 

[Deleted member 221]

So Felicity Huffman's daughter gets into an even more prestigious, elite school, and Lori Loughlin gets off with serving her sentence in her mansion because of covid-19. And they say crime doesn't pay....

 

[Coco]

You don't think it's immoral to lie to get your kids into college? I do.

I was referring to the charges against them. Technically, and this is legally significant, it was the kids who lied. The kids were not charged with a crime.

The parents were charged with bribery, iirc. And there is a fine line, apparently, between the widespread practice of donating to a college expecting it to tip the scales for your kid and straight up bribing an employee of a college for help with admissions.

 

[Vagabond]

The posted article says they were sentenced to X months in prison.

There is a possibility that they'll wind up in prison, but many non-violent federal inmates such as Michael Cohen have been sent home because of that which cannot be named. I would expect the same to apply to newly sentenced felons as well. There is even a possibility that this was part of the plea bargain but has not been publicly disclosed yet.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Wow. I thought they would fight this to the death. But I can see the angle for accepting a plea now, in this moment in time. Even if they get 'jail time', I bet they won't actually serve it in a 'jail' because of the BB. I bet they are going to argue for 'home confinement' with an ankle monitor because the prison system is trying to keep the populations of low level offenders down to fight the spread, isn't it? Yeah, I'd like to be in 'home confinement' in their LA mansion too. If the other parents had to serve their time in a 'jail', then Aunt Becky and her hubby better have to as well. Serving their time by staying confined to their million dollar mansion, which they are already doing (and ain't no one hiring her for acting jobs, and there's no where to go, and SIP orders), isn't really punishment.

 

[MacMadame]

So Felicity Huffman's daughter gets into an even more prestigious, elite school, and Lori Loughlin gets off with serving her sentence in her mansion because of *********-19. And they say crime doesn't pay....

Felicity Huffman's daughter didn't do anything wrong and retook the SAT without help and re-submitted her now completely legitimate applications.

Also, she's a theater major, and for those kids the BFA program cares the most about their audition. A lot of them don't even require SAT scores. (Which is why this whole scandal was so stupid. If her audition was good and her SAT scores and grades were at least okay, she'd get into most schools even the top ones.)

But congrats to her. CMU is one of the top theater schools in the country.

I was referring to the charges against them. Technically, and this is legally significant, it was the kids who lied. The kids were not charged with a crime.

So then what the parents did might not be illegal.

It's still immoral IMO.

And there is a fine line, apparently, between the widespread practice of donating to a college expecting it to tip the scales for your kid and straight up bribing an employee of a college for help with admissions.

I think the line is a lot thicker than that. I may not approve of people donating to a college with the idea that it would help their kids get in. But it's not illegal. Also, it's all above board. The donations are a matter of public record and their college app is their actual college app.

If the college decides to let them in when that application is sub-par, that's on them.

 

[Jay42]

I thought Felicity Huffman's daughter who got into CMU was the daughter they didn't do the bribery for? Or am I getting people mixed up again?

 

[MacMadame]

I thought Felicity Huffman's daughter who got into CMU was the daughter they didn't do the bribery for? Or am I getting people mixed up again?

I don't know where the younger kid is going to college. But the one caught up in the scandal is going to CMU. She's 19. (The younger one is 18.)

Also, on the news tonight they said that Laughlin has asked to go to the Federal prison here in Pleasanton. The prison expert called it a summer camp with guards.

 

[Jay42]

I don't know where the younger kid is going to college. But the one caught up in the scandal is going to CMU. She's 19. (The younger one is 18.)

Also, on the news tonight they said that Laughlin has asked to go to the Federal prison here in Pleasanton. The prison expert called it a summer camp with guards.

So I was getting people mixed up, thank you.

 

[becca]

I have no issues with Felicity. She admitted her crime immediately did her time.

I think Lori and husband made it worse for themselves by not following her example but honestly no way do I think they should spend years. That’s way to much tax payer money down the drain. Some time yes lots of fines I also think her career took nose dive. I wonder if there will be any public remorse?

 

[Vagabond]

I wonder if there will be any public remorse?

She's already shown remorse for wearing a beige pantsuit. That's probably as far as either of them will go.

 

[becca]

She's already shown remorse for wearing a beige pantsuit. That's probably as far as either of them will go.

Yeah I agree in some ways what Felicity did was worse but I think taking responsibility for it was the right call.

 

[Winnipeg]

Taking responsibility was the right call for sure IMHO.

 

[overedge]

Taking responsibility was the right call for sure IMHO.

IMO it finally sunk in that either she and her husband could plead guilty now and get off relatively lightly, or go to trial with a lot of evidence against them and get a huge penalty.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

Loughlin sentenced

Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion mogul Mossimo Giannulli were both sentenced Friday to federal prison time for paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to get their two daughters admitted to USC as athletic recruits. In two separate virtual hearings Friday morning, a federal judge in Boston accepted sentencing recommendations from prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts that will see the the 56-year-old “Full House” star serve two months in prison, and her 57-year-old husband serve five months.

Loughlin will also be required to pay a $150,000 fine, receive two years of supervised release and conduct 100 hours of community service. Giannulli must pay a $250,000 fine, receive two years of supervised release and conduct 250 hours of community service.

I assume they will end up serving their time at home because of the crud. (And because she is very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry. )

 

[MacMadame]

I think they should have gotten more time. But no one asked me.

 

[annie720]

I think they should have serve time equal to the number of days that their daughters were "studying" at USC.

 

[overedge]

More than a few people lost a lot of work when Loughlin was charged and her Hallmark TV productions had to shut down because of that. IMO it would be great if her community service hours were at organizations that help out-of-work actors and production staff.

 

[maureenfarone]

I feel they should both have gotten longer sentences and bigger fines...but what do I know!

 

[Lacey]

Lori's husband has an unfortunate resting grin on his face, makes him look like he got away with something...well he and she both surely did, they should have to sit for at least one year for her and two years for him in jail, pondering what they did. Oh, and their kids should have to write essays saying how sorry they are for their part in this mess, but then again, they probably don't know how to write anything. What a shame they felt they had to sell their $15 million house, to downsize to something cheaper, like $10 or $12 million. These, ladies and gentlemen who all have slaved to get our kids to study hard enough to get into college and then worked and worked for years on end to pay for it, are skunks.

 

[BaileyCatts]

They better have to go sit in a jail for those 2 and 5 months, and not be on "home confinement due to the crud" in their luxury multi-million dollar home. If all those other parents had to go sit in a jail for however long of time, they better be sitting in a jail too. Sentences too short and fines too low.

 

[Jenny]

I've been home since March, only left the house a handful of times. So, I guess I'm kinda serving time here, right? So if I were to do anything illegal in the future, maybe I can negotiate it down as time already served?

OK joking, but while it does seem like a really cushy sentence, in the end, she's paid heavily in terms of her career and reputation, especially as this has gone on so long and she became the poster child for the entire thing. And considering that this all started because she wanted her kids to have a prestigious college education, then the massive blow to her squeaky clean image and the negative publicity for her kids and the overall humiliation of it all is the real punishment for her crimes.

 

[Vagabond]

Let us not forget that the "kids" had their college records nullified. That is, in effect, one more punishment for the parents, even if it isn't something handed down by the court.

 

[MsZem]

Let us not forget that the "kids" had their college records nullified. That is, in effect, one more punishment for the parents, even if it isn't something handed down by the court.

Olivia Jade never wanted to go to college, so it's not a punishment for her

I've written here before that I don't think a lengthy prison sentence would have been just in this situation. Fines and community service, absolutely. But fairness is for this sort of sentencing to be applied to less privileged people, not for Loughlin to get screwed over too.

 

[MacMadame]

in the end, she's paid heavily in terms of her career and reputation,

For now. I predict a comeback once her kids are in their 20s and college is off the table.

 

[Vagabond]

Olivia Jade never wanted to got to college, so it's not a punishment for her

Isn't she the one who wanted the social experience of college but without that education claptrap? Or at least, I think that's what she said.

At any rate, it ended earlier than she wanted it to.

 

[MsZem]

Isn't she the one who wanted the social experience of college but without that education claptrap? Or at least, I think that's what she said.

Well, now the college experience isn't very social, so it wouldn't serve her purpose...

 

[Vagabond]

Well, now the college experience isn't very social, so it wouldn't serve her purpose...

Maybe not for the nerdy types, but I keep reading about illicit frat parties. ?‍

 

[Jenny]

I've written here before that I don't think a lengthy prison sentence would have been just in this situation. Fines and community service, absolutely. But fairness is for this sort of sentencing to be applied to less privileged people, not for Loughlin to get screwed over too.

Totally agree with this.