The “Desperate Housewives” actress admits her role in “Operation Varsity Blue,” Loughlin addimitely denies she did anything wrong.
By Meg Taylor, News Editor
Following Felicity Huffman’s guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, Lori Loughlin pleaded not guilty April 15 in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scheme.
Loughlin has been seen outside of court proceeding signing autographs and has not publicly shown any remorse. The “Full House” actress and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, entered not guilty pleas to both charges against them. The criminal complaints against the couple detail evidence including emails, bank records and recorded phone calls. If convicted, Loughlin and Giannulli face up to 20 years in prison for each charge.
"If they have real physical evidence against Lori Loughlin, she and her husband are going to be in for a quick guilty verdict and a big punishment," CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman said. “If at some point, they should change their mind, the question is how much aggravation have they caused the government so far as well as looking at how they have finally come to grips with taking responsibility.”
Unlike Loughlin, Huffman has shown signs of shame and guilt for her role in the largest college admissions scandal in history.
“I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions,” Huffman said. “I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”
Huffman’s husband, actor William H. Macy, has not been charged by federal prosecutors. The court documents mention Macy much less than Huffman, but they suggest Macy knew about his wife’s crimes. Many people still question whether her daughter Sofia, 18, should be at fault and held responsible for her mother’s actions, but Huffman set the record straight.
“My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her.”
According to the court records, Huffman and the 12 other parents cooperating with the courts, including Los Angeles marketing guru Jane Buckingham, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson, Bay Area real estate developer, will plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Michael Center, the former men’s tennis coach at the University of Texas at Austin, will also plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.