Lori Loughlin in FBI custody, to face college bribery scandal charges in court – Fox News
A day after being fingered in a bombshell college admissions investigation, actress Lori Loughlin has been taken into custody in connection with a scheme in which wealthy parents paid bribes to get their children admitted into top colleges.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told Fox News in a statement that Loughlin was taken into custody Wednesday morning in Los Angeles. She will be booked at the Metropolitan Detention
Center and is expected to appear before a federal magistrate at the U.S. District Court in downtown L.A.
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A rep for Loughlin told Fox News she had “no information regarding her client.” The actress’ attorney did not respond to our multiple requests for comment.
Loughlin, who was reportedly filming in Vancouver, Canada when the massive sting unfolded on Tuesday, is expected to face charges in connection with a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal involving wealthy individuals and celebrities who allegedly paid millions and carried out fraud to place their children in elite universities.
Federal law enforcement officials went to Loughlin’s home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, when they discovered she was out of the country, according to TMZ. She faces charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, according to a criminal complaint.
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Designer Mossimo Giannulli and wife Lori Loughlin attend LACMA’s 50th Anniversary Gala sponsored by Christie’s at LACMA on April 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
Loughlin’s fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, was arrested on the same charges and posted a $1 million bail on Tuesday.
Fellow actress Felicity Huffman — an Academy Award nominee — was also arrested at her home Tuesday for her alleged involvement in the scheme. She appeared in a Los Angeles federal court Tuesday looking visibly tired before posting $250,000 bail and surrendering her passport.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of agreeing to pay $500,000 in bribes to have their two daughters designated as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team despite that fact that neither child participated in the sport. Their daughter, famous YouTube star Olivia Jade, attends USC. It is not clear if their other daughter, Isabella, attends the university.
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More than four dozen people are charged in the nationwide scam, which is alleged to have placed students in top-tier schools like Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, the University of Southern California, UCLA and the University of Texas. A federal investigation into the matter — dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues” – has been ongoing for more than a year.
Loughlin became famous as the wholesome Aunt Becky in the 1980s and ’90s sitcom “Full House.” She has lately become the queen of the Hallmark channel with her holiday movies and the series “When Calls the Heart.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Jennifer Girdon contributed to this report.
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