"Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman apologized for her role in this year's college admissions scandal and accepted her fate. She said she was sorry for paying to get her daughter answers on her standardized tests. Not Lori Loughlin. The "Fuller House" star, accused of shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to get her daughters enrolled at the University of Southern California, rejected a plea deal and is determined to avoid prison time.
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, arrived in Boston court for the first time in months on Tuesday, following their indictment in the college cheating scandal. They officially waived their rights to separate lawyers from the same law firm.
NEW: Actress Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli avoid crowds and enter Boston's federal courthouse through the back door. The pair are two, of the 27, ensnared in the college admissions scandal, still fighting the charges.
— Anaridis Rodriguez (@Anaridis) August 27, 2019
LIVE coverage w/ @Lisa_Gresci on @wbz at 5PM. pic.twitter.com/iFO4GRKswc
#BREAKING: #LoriLoughlin just entered Federal Court ahead of a conflict-of-interest hearing involving her lawyers.
— Eli Rosenberg NBC10 Boston (@EliNBCBoston) August 27, 2019
This is all part of the #collegeadmissionsscandal. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/tHBdxpUr2h
Legal experts like James J. Leonard Jr., Esq. predict that the couple's united effort could do more harm than good for one of the parties.
“The risk with any joint defense is that one defendant may be more culpable than another and the less culpable defendant could suffer as a result of a strategy designed to protect the individual.”
In addition to their not guilty plea in the college bribe scandal, Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded not guilty in a separate indictment charge on fraud and money laundering charges in April.
Huffman is among three parents who will find out their sentences in just two weeks.
She and Loughlin face potential jail time, while Loughlin has already lost her recurring roles on "Fuller House" and the Hallmark Channel's "When Calls the Heart."