Lori Loughlin was ‘in denial’ about going to prison when she rejected a plea deal and thought she could ‘skate by’ without going to jail, it was claimed on Thursday as the Hallmark Channel cut her out of its new show.
The Full House star and her husband are facing up to 40 years in prison for allegedly paying $500,000 to get her daughters into USC.
They turned down a plea deal which would have drastically reduced their sentences because, it is claimed, they thought prosecutors were ‘bluffing’ when they said they could end up behind bars.
Now, sources say she is ‘freaking out’ while the prospect of jail time becomes more realistic.
‘She has been in complete denial and thought maybe she could skate by.
‘She refused to accept any jail time and thought the DA was bluffing. She was adamant she wouldn’t do any jail time.
Lori Loughlin, shown on Wednesday, was in denial about going to jail when she turned down a plea deal, it has been claimed
‘Lori is finally realizing just how serious this is. She is seeing the light that she will do jail time and is freaking out,’ a source told E! News.
The Hallmark Channel has edited Loughlin out of When Calls The Heart, the show she appeared in.
It went on hiatus when the scandal broke but it has now officially cut ties with her after ‘creatively retooling’ the final episodes.
‘Life throws all of us painful curveballs, and the only way to survive is to walk right through them with courage, grace, a forgiving spirit, and most of all, hope.
‘Many of you have wondered what the future holds for our cast and crew, and for the citizens of Hope Valley.
‘Your care and concern means the world to us, and the best way we can thank you is to encourage you the way you encourage us because… Hope always lives here,’ show creator Brian Bird said in an Instagram post.
Loughlin is also in discussions with Lindsay Lohan’s former crisis manager, according to Page Six.
The star was approached by Hunter Frederick after her indictment but it is not clear if she has decided to work with him or not.
Separately, it has been claimed that prosecutors want to make an example of the pair.
‘They really want to make sure that there isn’t this perception that these people are able to skate by because they’re rich.
They want to make sure everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. They know this is a high profile case and they want to make an example of the defendants,’ a source told People.
The 54-year-old actress was spotted on Wednesday visiting an orthopedic center in Santa Monica on Wednesday.
Loughlin, who was dressed in a lilac sweater, blue jeans and patterned Birkenstock sandals, bore a grim expression as she headed into her appointment.
Her outing came just one day after Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli were hit with new charges in the college bribery scheme.
The couple is facing 40 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines for allegedly paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as fake crew recruits.
They were already charged with mail and mail fraud but federal prosecutors added money laundering to the list of accusations against them on Tuesday.
Loughlin, her husband and 19 other parents who have not admitted guilt in the scheme were hit with the additional charge.
A day earlier, 13 other parents – including actress Felicity Huffman – entered guilty pleas to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters – Olivia (left) and Isabella (right) – into USC as crew team recruits, even though neither of them can row
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli arriving in court in Boston on April 3
Other parents indicted on the new charge on Tuesday include Michelle Janavs, whose family developed the microwave snack line Hot Pockets before selling their company, and William McGlashan, who co-founded an investment fund with U2’s Bono in 2017.
The parents charged in the case are accused of paying an admissions consultant, Rick Singer, to cheat on their children’s college entrance exams and get their children admitted as athletic recruits at schools including Georgetown and Yale.
It is the largest such scheme ever prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters – Olivia and Isabella – into USC as crew team recruits, even though neither of them can row.
The couple appeared in Boston federal court briefly last week and were not asked to enter a plea.
Huffman, the 56-year-old Emmy winner who stared in Desperate Housewives, was accused of paying $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to have a proctor correct the answers on her daughter’s SAT.
Loughlin posed for photos and signed autographs when she was greeted by fans in Boston last week ahead of her first court appearance
Prosecutors say they will seek a prison sentence that’s on the low end of between four and 10 months for Huffman after she agreed to plead guilty.
Huffman is scheduled to appear in Boston’s federal court on May 24 to enter her plea.
In her first public comments since her arrest, Huffman on Monday took responsibility for her actions and said she would accept the consequences.
‘My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life,’ she said after her plea deal was announced.
‘My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.’
It is not clear if Loughlin’s daughters were aware of their parents’ alleged meddling.
Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty on Monday to mail fraud after she paid $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to have a proctor correct the answers on her daughter’s SAT. She shares her daughter with actor husband William H Macy (pictured right on Wednesday)