Lori Loughlin pleads not guilty to new charges in Varsity Blues case

Lori Loughlin is not taking the Felicity Huffman approach to the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal.

The Fuller House actress and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, both plead not guilty to the latest charges, which stem from federal prosecutors in October slapping “conspiracy to commit federal program bribery” onto the laundry list of offenses.

Loughlin had already been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The couple previously pled not guilty to fraud and money laundering.

On Friday, lawyers for Loughlin and Giannulli submitted court documents that announced their plans to plead not guilty to the newer charges, according to the Associated Press.

Loughlin and her husband were accused of paying $500,000 to pass off their non-athletic daughters as athletic recruits in order to secure their admission to the University of Southern California. Their daughters don’t currently attend USC.

Huffman was one of a number of other wealthy parents who were accused of performing similar acts to fake their kids’ way into various colleges. Court documents chronicled the Desperate Housewives star’s efforts to pay William Rick Singer, who used his foundation to, among other shady acts, hire individuals to take admission tests for the children of these families.

Huffman, unlike Loughlin, pled guilty to charges in May and subsequently served 14 days in jail at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. She was released early on Oct. 25, due to the prison’s policy on weekend releases.

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