Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, as well as 14 other parents, were indicted Tuesday for their alleged involvement in a massive college admissions scheme.
A federal grand jury in Boston indicted the 16 parents, including Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, on charges of conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced Tuesday.
The 16 defendants were already charged last month with conspiring with William Rick Singer, who co-founded a for-profit college admissions company that masqueraded as a charity, to bribe elite university coaches and administrators to admit their children to the schools.
Tuesday’s superseding indictments also charge Loughlin and the 15 other parents with conspiring to launder the bribes by funneling them through Singer’s purported charity.
The indictments come a day after actress Felicity Huffman and 13 other defendants pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and fraud in the same scheme.
Though Loughlin and the other 15 defendants have not taken a plea deal, Tuesday’s indictments do not prevent them from doing so, the Los Angeles Times reported. But the added charges could result in more substantial sentences than what Huffman and others who have already pleaded guilty might receive.
The new charges ― conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering ― carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison each.
Loughlin, best known for her role as Aunt Becky on “Full House,” is one of the dozens of parents, celebrities, CEOs, coaches and others charged last month in what the FBI called a “nationwide conspiracy” to secure students’ admission to elite universities through fraudulent means.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to have their two daughters recruited by the University of Southern California crew team, though the girls didn’t even participate in the sport.
The actress appeared in federal court last month and was released on a $1 million bond.