Lori Loughlin and 15 Others Face New Charges in College Admissions Scandal - The New York Times

Federal prosecutors brought new money laundering charges against the Hollywood actress Lori Loughlin and 15 other parents in the college admissions case on Tuesday, raising the legal stakes for parents who have not said they would plead guilty in the case.

Prosecutors said on Monday that 13 of the 33 parents charged in the case, including the actress Felicity Huffman, would plead guilty. In all but one case, those parents will plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest service mail fraud.

On Tuesday, the prosecutors indicted most of the other parents on the fraud charge but also on an added charge of money laundering conspiracy.

[Read more about Ms. Huffman’s guilty plea in the case.]

Ms. Loughlin and her husband are accused of conspiring with a college consultant, William Singer, to pay $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits to the women’s crew team, even though neither of the girls actually participated in the sport.

Ms. Loughlin, best known for her role as “Aunt Becky” on the television show “Full House,” has already suffered some professional consequences of the charges. The Hallmark Channel said that it would stop development of shows that feature her.

Her daughters, both current students at U.S.C., have also faced repercussions, as U.S.C. has placed an academic hold on students tied to the scandal, preventing them from registering for classes.

[Read about the impact of the case on Ms. Loughlin’s career.]

Most of the parents in the case, including Ms. Loughlin and Mr. Giannulli, were originally charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Prosecutors had a limited period of time in which to formally indict them or the complaint would be dismissed.

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