I Attended Lori Loughlin’s Zoom Court Hearing — Here’s What Went Down

Actress, Lori Loughlin, and fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have asserted their innocence on their participation in the College Admission Scandal for over a year, but have formally pleaded guilty today via Zoom.

This plea comes in shock due to the couple’s vigorous attempts to seek dismissal of their charges, stating that they had believed they were making “legitimate donations” to USC, as opposed to bribes to college officials.

The pair and their respective lawyers were separate participants in the Zoom hearing, which was also accompanied by the press and public. The hearing itself had a late start due to what appeared to be technical difficulties on the district attorney’s end. The couple and their lawyers appeared to be visibly vexed due to this setback, as many muted chuckles and head nods were noted by the defendants whilst waiting for the technical difficulties to subside.

The online hearing was conducted by U.S District Judge Nathaniel Gorton. In the proposed plea agreement, Loughlin pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, while Giannulli copped to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and honest services wire and mail fraud.

On several occasions throughout the Zoom call, Loughlin responded when questioned while on mute, and was reminded by Judge Gorton to unmute herself. There were also bouts of feedback in the audio, which made for an overall difficult listening experience. Both Loughlin and Giannulli were asked to repeat themselves on several instances by Judge Gorton. The press and public were also asked to mute themselves due to the low listening quality during the hearing.

If the proposed sentence is approved by Judge Gorton, Loughlin will serve two months in prison, pay a fine of $150,000, partake in 100 hours of community service, as well as serve two years of supervised release. Giannulli would serve five months in prison, pay a $250,000 fine, partake in 250 hours of community service, and serve two years of supervised release.

Assistant United States Attorney, Eric Rosen, noted during the hearing that based on their calculated offense level, sentence guidelines would suggest that Loughlin should spend 21–27 months in prison, despite the two months the plea asks. Similarly, guidelines recommend Giannulli’s sentence to be 24–30 months in prison, in contrast to the five months his plea asks.

Judge Gorton announced their scheduled sentencing hearing to be on August 21st. Giannulli’s lawyer quickly responded to Judge Gorton suggesting that the hearing be moved up to July 5th. Judge Gorton declined moving up the hearing, noting that the court had been granted additional time due to the current unique climate, which has ultimately caused the court to become “backed-up”.

It can be assumed that perhaps the defendants entered this plea in hopes to be serving their prison time from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Judge Gorton ends the discussion by stating he will notify the counsel of his final decision should the reporting be available at an earlier time. The meeting was then adjourned, lasting approximately an hour long.

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli now await their fate to their final sentencing of the Varsity Blues scandal.