Lori Loughlin posts $1MILLION bail and will be released after turning herself into authorities to be charged for her part in the college admissions scam
- Loughlin is among 50 people who were implicated in the admissions scandal
- She and her husband Mossimo Giannulli allegedly paid $500,000 to get their daughters Olivia, 19, and Isabella, 20, into USC
- Allegedly bribed USC athletic director to take their daughters as crew recruits
- Loughlin flew back to Los Angeles from Vancouver on Tuesday, where she was filming for the Hallmark Channel, after news broke
- Her travel has been limited to the continental US and Vancouver for work
- Face 5 years behind bars if convicted of felony conspiracy to commit mail fraud
A federal judge is allowing Lori Loughlin (pictured in 2017) to be released from custody after she posted $1million bail
A federal judge is allowing Lori Loughlin to be released from custody after she posted $1million bail on Wednesday.
Loughlin is among 50 people, including fellow actress Felicity Huffman, who were implicated in a massive college admissions bribery scandal this week.
The Full House star and her husband Mossimo Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California.
Loughlin, 54, stood with her lawyer in the Los Angeles federal courtroom on Wednesday and didn't speak except to answer "yes" to the judge's questions.
Magistrate Judge Steve Kim said Loughlin must limit her travel to the continental US and areas around Vancouver, where she films for the Hallmark Channel.
Loguhlin was in Vancouver on Tuesday when Giannulli was arrested by federal agents at their home and taken into custody.
He was released on $1million bond after putting up their house as collateral.
Loughlin flew back to Los Angeles to face the charges after the news broke on Tuesday.
Loughlin stood with her lawyer in the Los Angeles federal courtroom on Wednesday (pictured in a courtroom sketch) and didn't speak except to answer "yes" to the judge's questions
Loughlin's husband Mossimo Giannulli (pictured) was released on $1million bond on Tuesday
Giannulli was released at the same time as Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman (right on Tuesday), who has also been implicated in the scandal
Prosecutors say Loughlin and Giannulli pretended their daughters Olivia Jade, 19, and Isabella, 20, rowed crew to pass them off as athletic recruits at USC. Neither girl was interested or had participated in the sport.
They were charged along with Felicity Huffman and 47 others as part of an investigation called Operation Varsity Blues.
Loughlin, Giannulli, and Huffman have all been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, a felony which carries a maximum sentence of five years behind bars.
Huffman was released on a $250,000 bond on Tuesday. Her husband, the actor William H Macy, was not charged, although he is described in the indictment as going along with the scheme to get their daughter Sofia into college.
Loughlin and her husband are accused of paying $500,000 to get their daughters Olivia (left) and Isabella (right) into USC
Loughlin's husband put their home up as collateral for his bond to get out of jail on Tuesday
The Loughlins fly a USC flag next to a USA flag at their property. Both their daughters were allegedly fraudulently admitted to the university
Prosecutors allege that Huffman paid $15,000 to have her daughter's SAT test proctored by Mark Riddell, who sat tests for children and sometimes corrected their answers, as part of the scheme.
He also is accused of giving some students the answers while they were sitting the tests themselves.
William Rick Singer, the founder of Key Worldwide Foundation, had been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the scandal.
Rick Singer is the 'mastermind' behind the scheme. He cooperated with the FBI and is facing a maximum of 65 years behind bars
The documents claim that since 2011, Singer has received $25million from parents which was used to payoff or bribe individuals who could 'designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories'.
In his biography on the website for the Newport Beach-based Key Foundation, Singer is heralded for his ability to get children into the college of their choice.
Singer is also praised for 'helping students discover their life passion, and guiding them along with their families through the complex college admissions maze'.
Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters' college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU.
Emails obtained by investigators revealed that it was soon decided that bribes would be paid to have the girls recruited onto the crew team.
A short time after that, photos were taken of older daughter Isabella on a rowing machine.
Dr Donna Heinel, the senior associate athletic director at USC, presented Isabella as a potential athletic recruit a month later and she was approved for conditional admission.
Prosecutors say Loughlin and Giannulli pretended their daughters Olivia Jade, 19, (pictured) and Isabella, 20, rowed crew to pass them off as athletic recruits at USC
Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters' college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU. Loughlin is pictured here with her daughters in February
It was then asked that a check be sent to Heinel for $50,000 from Giannulli, who a short time later asked if he could mention the story to the athletic director at USC when the two men were at Augusta, likely playing at the famed golf club.
Singer stated that this was not a good idea because when he discussed the possibility of Isabella's admission with him the year prior, he thought the family 'would be good for a million plus.'
Isabella received her admission letter the following March, which was followed by another note requesting a donation of $200,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation.
After the amount was wired to the organization, a note was returned that stated no good or services had been exchanged for the money - which according to the documents is false.
This same exact process was then repeated with younger daughter Olivia, it is claimed.
Problems arose however when Olivia's guidance counselor became curious as to how she managed to receive admission based on her involvement in crew since she did not row.
The couple emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU
This same exact process was then repeated with their young daughter, Olivia
Loughlin complained that her daughter Olivia was having difficulty filling out her other college applications, prompting Singer to ask an employee to take care of that task
Then, at some point, there was a very heated and public altercation between Giannulli and the counselor, who had become suspicious after Olivia was named a crew recruit
At the same time, Loughlin complained that her daughter was having difficulty filling out her other college applications, prompting Singer to ask an employee to take care of the task.
This was done so as not to draw attention to the fact that it was already confirmed Olivia had received conditional admission to USC.
Then, at some point, there was a very heated and public altercation between Giannulli and the counselor, which elicited an email from Heinel asking that this not happen in the future so as to avoid detection.
Loughlin and Giannulli were later told by Singer to say they had given the $500,000 to the foundation to help 'underserved kids.'
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Dozens of other wealthy parents were charged including the well-known private equity investor Bill McGlashan, who is said to have used the scheme to get his son into college.
Others include a former Wynn Resorts executive, a New York City lawyer, a Napa Valley vineyard owner, a former TV executive, and a woman who is heralded as a youth branding expert.
Singer has cooperated with the authorities and continued running the scheme under their instruction to implicate others.
He has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Singer faces 65 years behind bars.
THE FULL LIST OF PEOPLE CHARGED WITH COLLEGE ADMITTANCE SCAM
THE STARS
Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli spent $500,000 getting their two daughters into USC, according to prosecutors
Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli
Actress Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo are among the three most well known names on the list. They have two daughters, Olivia, 20, Isabella, 19, and Mossimo also has a son from a previous relationship. It is not clear which of their children is in college.
Olivia is a YouTube star who has amounted millions of fans online but she is also enrolled at USC, as is their 19-year-old daughter Isabella.
They allegedly paid $50,000 to get their oldest daughter into USC under the guise that she was a crew coxswain when in fact she does not row crew.
Felicity Huffman is accused of paying a $15,000 bribe to get her oldest daughter Sofia into USC
Felicity Huffman
Huffman is best known for her role on Desperate Housewives.
She is married to fellow actor William H. Macy but he has not been charged in the indictment.
The pair have two daughters, Sofia, 18, and Georgia, 16.
Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 to have her daughter's exam proctored by Mark Riddell.
Riddell was described by authorities as 'just a really smart guy' who would either sit tests for students, change their answers afterwards or help them actively while they took it in one of two test centers that was 'controlled' by the scheme's 'mastermind' Rick Singer.
Huffman allegedly used the scheme in December 2017 but the indictment does not specify how Riddell allegedly helped her daughter.
She considered using it for her youngest daughter, Georgia, but decided in the end that she did not need to, according to authorities.
THE COLLEGE PROFESSORS, COACHES AND 'MASTERMIND'
William Rick Singer, the 'mastermind'
Rick Singer ran The Key, a college preparation business
Singer is accused of leading the scam.
He led a college counseling program and, according to prosecutors, also ran a fake charity through which he funneled bribes.
The scam worked in two ways; he would have people come into the exam to correct students' answers and he also then bribed sports coaches to offer them scholarships, in some cases for sports they did not even play.
Singer cooperated with authorities as part of the investigation and continued taking bribes after he had been contacted by police.
Some of his conversations were recorded by police who obtained a wire tap to listen in. He is facing a maximum of 65 years behind bars and has pleaded guilty on all counts he was charged with.
It remains unclear if he will be given leniency given his cooperation.
Rudolph Meredith
Meredith is a women's soccer coach at Yale. In his bio on the college's website, he is heralded as the 'winningest' coach, with 24 seasons under his belt.
Mark Riddell
Riddell is the director of IMG Academy , a college entrance exam preparation company.
Rudolph Meredith, the women's soccer coach at Yale (left) and Mark Riddell, director of IMG Academy
John Vandemoer
Vandemoer is the head sailing coach at Stanford.
Gordon Ernst
Ernst is the head of women's tennis at the University of Rhode Island.
He taught at Georgetown in the past and worked as a personal tennis coach for Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, while they were in the White House.
John Vandemoer (left) is the head sailing coach at Stanford. Gordie Ernst was Michelle Obama's private tennis coach when she was First Lady. He is now the head of women's tennis at the University of Rhode Island.
Houmayoun Zadeg
Homa H Zadeh is a professor at USC. He is the Associate Professor and Director, Advanced Education Program in Periodontology.
Michael Center
Center is the men's soccer coach at the University of Texas.
Homa H Zadeh (left) is a professor at USC. Michael Center (right) is the men's soccer coach at the University of Texas.
Donna Heinel
Heinel is the senior women's athletics director at USC. She is alleged to have accepted a $50,000 from Lori Loughlin and her husband, among others, for admitting fraudulent tests.
Laura Janke
Janke is a former assistant soccer coach at USC. She allegedly took payment from Loughlin and her husband for their youngest daughter.
Donna Heinel (left) is the senior athletic director at USC. Laura Janke (right) is a former assistant soccer coach
Ali Khosroshahin
Khosroshahin is the head women's soccer coach at USC.
Jovan Vavic
Vavic is the head coach for the men's and women's water polo teams at USC.
Ali Khosroshahin (left) is the head of women's soccer at USC and Jovan Vavic is the head of the men's and women's water polo teams at USC
Igor Dvorskiy
Dvorskiy is the president of the West Hollywood College Preparatory School and he worked at the West Hollywood Test Center where he turned a blind eye as the cheating happened for $10,000 at a time.
Niki Williams
Williams worked as a test administrator at one of the test centers Singer told parents he 'controlled'. She was a teaching assistant for Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas.
PARENTS
Bill McGlashan
McGlashan is a prolific private equity investor who is the founder and managing partner of the firm TPG Growth.
He is also at the helm of The Rise Fund, a social impact fund he launched with Bono.
Gregory and Marcia Abbott
New York couple Gregory and Marcia Abbott, 68 and 59, were also named.
Gregory Abbott is the founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corp., a successful food and beverage packaging company.
The couple, who have homes in New York City and Aspen, Colorado, allegedly paid a total of $125,000 to have someone take the ACT and SAT subject tests for their daughter so she could gain entrance to Duke University.
Bill McGlashan and Gregory Abbott are pictured
Gamal Abdelaziz
Abdelaziz stepped down as president and COO of Wynn Resorts in 2016.
He is accused of bribing Donna Heinel, the senior women's athletics director at USC, to recruit his daughter for the basketball team in 2017.
According to court documents, his daughter played high school basketball but was not gifted enough to get recruited as an athlete so he arranged for her to be one.
He then made a $300,000 'donation' to the fictitious charity run by 'ringleader' Rick Singer and then made monthly $20,000 payments directly to Heinel.
His daughter got into the college but never joined the basketball team, according to the documents.
In a phone call with the fixer, they said: 'I’m not going to tell the IRS anything about the fact that your $300,000 was paid to Donna-- Donna Heinel at USC to get [your daughter] into school even though she wasn’t a legitimate basketball player at that level.'
Jane Buckingham
Buckingham is the owner of the now defunct market research firm, Youth Intelligence. She sold the company in 2003.
She is charged in the scheme for allegedly paying $50,000 to have someone else take her son's ACT exam in July 2018 because he had tonsilitis.
Buckingham sent a handwriting sample for her son to a test taker and had him take a fake exam at home so he wouldn't know about the fraud, court documents indicate.
Gamal Abdelaziz, the president and COO of Wynn Resorts (left) and Jane Buckingham, the owner of the now defunct market research firm Youth Intelligence
Gordon Caplan
Caplan is a financial attorney and partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City. He lives in Connecticut.
He allegedly paid $75,000 to have Singer arrange a proctor to corrected his daughter's answers after she took the ACT in November or December 2018.
Robert Flaxman
Flaxman is the CEO, Co-founder, Crown Realty & Development, Inc, a real estate company based in Orange County.
Gordon Caplan (left) is a financial attorney and partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City. Robert Flaxman (right) is the CEO, Co-founder, Crown Realty & Development
Agustin Huneeus
Vineyard owner Huneeus owns a range of wines that are produced in Napa Valley.
He allegedly participated in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter in 2017 and 2018 by conspiring to bribe Heinel and Jovan Vavic, the USC water polo coach, to facilitate his daughter’s admission to USC as a purported water polo recruit, according to the indictment.
Elisabeth Kimmel is the former president of Midwest Television. She sold it in 2017 for $325million. Agustin Huneeus, whose family owns vineyards in Napa Valley, was also charged
Elisabeth Kimmel
Lis and Manuel Henriquez
Kimmel, of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the former president of Midwest Television. She sold it in 2017 for $325million.
She allegedly used the scheme to get her daughter into Georgetown and her son into USC by pretending the former was a tennis player and the latter was a pole vaulter.
Kimmel ultimately facilitated $475,000 in payments to KWF, according to the affidavit.
Toby MacFarlane
MacFarlane and his wife Christy are well known on the San Diego social and charity circuit.
He sits on the board of multiple companies and the family has their own trust but it is not exactly clear what he does.
Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez
Marjorie Klapper
Diane and Todd Blake
I-Hsin "Joey" Chen
Amy and Gregory Colburn
Marci Palatella
Peter Jan Sartorio
Stephen Semprevivo
Devin Sloane
John Wilson
Robert Zangrillo
Steven Masera
William Ferguson
Martin Fox
Jorge Salcedo
Bruce and Davina Isackson
Mikaela Sanford
David Sidoo
Michelle Janavs
Douglas Hodge
