Judge Refuses to Toss Lori Loughlin Case In Admissions Scandal

LOS ANGELES, CA — A judge refused Friday to dismiss federal charges against Malibu resident Lori Loughlin, the actress' fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli and other parents accused of cheating the college admissions process but claim they were entrapped by federal authorities.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston rejected a defense motion to toss the indictment over allegations of misconduct by FBI agents. The judge also denied a bid to block prosecutors from presenting secretly recorded phone calls for the jury.

Gorton wrote in the ruling that the court is "satisfied that government's counsel has not lied to or attempted to mislead the court or fabricated evidence."

In court papers, lawyers for the "Full House" actress and her husband argued that the couple believed the $500,000 they paid to admitted scheme mastermind William "Rick" Singer's purported charity was a legitimate donation to USC's athletics program -- and not a bribe to a rowing coach to ensure their daughters' admission to the school as crew recruits.

Loughlin's attorneys allege that FBI investigators asked Singer to lie in 2018 by telling parents in recorded calls that their money would be used for donations, not bribes.

According to a February defense filing, Singer wrote in his notes: "Loud and abrasive call with agents. They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where their money was going -- to the program not the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment."

Gorton also rejected a defense request to postpone the forthcoming trial of the celebrity couple and six other parents accused of bribing officials at USC.

He set an Oct. 5 trial date for Loughlin, Giannulli, Gamal Abdelaziz, Diane and Todd Blake, John Wilson, Dr. Homayoun Zadeh -- a USC professor of dentistry -- and Robert Zangrillo.

Jury selection is scheduled to start Sept. 28.

Seven other parents are set to go to trial Jan. 11, federal prosecutors said.

Loughlin and Giannulli, who have pleaded not guilty to federal conspiracy, bribery and money-laundering charges, allegedly paid $500,000 as part of a scheme with Singer and a USC athletics official to get their two daughters into the university as members of the crew team, even though they did not participate in the sport.

As part of the scheme, the parents sent Singer, a Newport Beach businessman, photos of their daughters on a rowing machine, according to the criminal complaint.

Loughlin and Giannulli's daughters were accepted at the university, although they are no longer enrolled.

Singer, who ran a for-profit college counseling business called The Edge College & Career Network, also known as the Key, pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government's investigation.

Dozens of parents and college athletic coaches were implicated in the 52-defendant scandal. Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Huffman was released Oct. 25 from a low-security federal prison camp in Northern California 11 days into a 14-day sentence handed down last September for paying to have a proctor correct her daughter's answers on a college-entrance exam.

Huffman was also ordered to spend a year on supervised release, pay a $30,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service. The "Desperate Housewives" actress was the first parent to be sentenced in connection with the wide-ranging college-admissions cheating scandal, a probe dubbed "Varsity Blues."

City News Service