Lori Loughlin was released from prison Monday after serving two months for her role in a national college admissions scandal.
The Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, where Loughlin was confined, confirmed Loughlin’s release to several media outlets.
Loughlin’s fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, is continuing to serve his five-month prison sentence. The two were sentenced in August.
The “Full House” alum was originally given a release date of Sunday, Dec. 27, prompting speculation she would be released a few days early. However, her release date was pushed to Monday.
The couple’s sentencings brought to a close the legal saga for the highest-profile parents ensnared in the college admissions bribery scheme, a scandal that rocked the U.S. educational system and laid bare the lengths some wealthy parents will go to get their kids into elite universities.
In her lawyer’s own words, Loughlin became the “undisputed face of the national scandal” thanks to her fame. Her arrest shattered her clean image and destroyed her acting career.
“Lori lost the acting career she spent 40 years building,” attorney BJ Trach said. “She has become intertwined with the college admissions scandal.”
The famous couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower. Their guilty plea was a stunning reversal for the couple, whose lawyers had insisted for a year were innocent and accused investigators of fabricating evidence against them.
Attorneys for the couple described them as devoted parents motivated by a love for their children. Trach alluded to bullying endured by their daughters, including Olivia Jade Giannulli — a social media star who has a popular YouTube channel — since the charges were made public. The bullying forced the family to hire security for their daughters, Trach said.
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton expressed outrage at the couple’s greed, calling Loughlin’s life “charmed” and a “fairytale,” with success and plentiful wealth.
“Yet you stand before me a convicted felon and for what? For the inexplicable desire to grasp even more,” Gorton said.
The only public comments either Loughlin or Giannulli made about the case since their arrest last year came at their sentencing hearings in August. Loughlin told the judge her actions “helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society” and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a “catalyst to do good.”
Their younger daughter, social media influencer Olivia Jade, made her first public remarks about the scandal this month on the series “Red Table Talk.” Olivia Jade said she doesn’t want or deserve pity.
“We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, ‘I recognize I messed up.’ And for so long I wasn’t able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it,” she said.
Of the nearly 60 parents, coaches and others charged in the case, about a dozen are still fighting the allegations. The sentences for the parents who have pleaded so far in the case range from a couple weeks to nine months.
Under the plea deals with prosecutors — unusual because the proposed terms were binding once accepted, instead of granting the judge sentencing discretion — Giannulli will also pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service. Loughlin will pay a $150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.
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