Not Guilty? Lori Laughlin Makes Disturbing Allegations On College Admissions Scandal
Lori Laughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli have made new claims about the government's involvement in the College Admissions scandal.
They said that government agents forced Rick Singer to lie about the couple's involvement in the scandal.
State Witness Coerced?
Lori Laughlin claimed that Rick Singer is lying about her and husband Mossimo Giannulli's knowledge about the bribes paid to get their daughters to USC. They claimed that government agents forced him to do it.
In the memo obtained by PEOPLE, the defendants alleged that the government agents expressed their strong desire to entrap defendants and nail them at all cost. They also claimed that the government belatedly disclosed notes from Singer, the man in the middle of this scandal.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gordon released his response to the motion, calling the allegations made as "serious and disturbing."
"In those notes, Singer describes a troubling conversation," Gordon wrote in the memo.
Singer cooperated with the investigation of the FBI, but he said that the agents aggressively pressured him. They instructed him to lie to elicit incriminating information from potential defendants, including Laughlin and her husband.
"The court considers the allegations in Singer's October notes to be serious and disturbing," the judge wrote in response.
"While government agents are permitted to coach cooperating witnesses during the course of an investigation, they are not permitted to suborn the commission of a crime."
Last month, the lawyers for the "Fuller House" actress filed a motion to dismiss the the College Admissions Scandal case involvingn them. The 55-year old star and her 56-year old fashion designer husband were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in October 2019.
Additional charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and honest services and wire fraud have also been filed against them. The two have pleaded not guilty.
Judge Gordon, who has been set to rule on the case, has provided the prosecutors until May 1 to respond to the allegations.
Not Guilty?
In response to the motion to dismiss the case, federal prosecutors released photos of Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose rowing. They claimed that the photos were given by Loughlin and husband to Rick Singer to help their children get into the University of Southern California.
According to the prosecutors, the fashion mogul Giannulli sent the photos after Singer told him, "It would probably help to get a picture with her on an ERG in workout clothes like a real athlete too."
However, Lori continues to claim that she was hoodwinked by Singer.
"There's no other way to put it. She was convinced that she was making a donation, just like parents have been doing for years," the source said.
The source added that Lori did not have the intent to commit fraud.
"She did not have any intent to do something illegal, and in fact, she thought she was doing the right thing," the source furthered.
Loughlin and Giannulli, along with other defendantsm were accused of paying $500,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation and Singer to falsify documents to get their daughters recruited to the USC's crew team. Neither of their girls reportedly participated in such sports.
