Lori Loughlin Maintains That She Doesn’t Think She Committed a Crime

Earlier this summer, Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli turned down a plea down when they were indicted on charges pertaining to Operation Varsity Blues, the sting operation that targeted wealthy parents who bribed their children’s way into elite universities. Loughlin and Giannulli reportedly paid over $500,000 in bribes to “admissions consultant” Rick Singer, who falsified USC applications for their daughters Isabella Rose and (the now infamous influencer) Olivia Jade, falsifying documents that made the girls seem like crew recruits. Loughlin and Giannulli face decades of prison time if convicted on charges of conspiracy and money laundering.

But according to a new report from People, Loughlin still doesn’t really think she committed a crime. “Lori is remorseful, and she has definite regrets,” a source told the magazine. “She’s embarrassed and hurt, and she knows that her reputation has been ruined for life. But she also believes the allegations against her aren’t true.”

“She honestly didn’t think what she was doing was any different than donating money for a library or athletic field,” the source continued. “That’s the crux of why she pleaded not guilty.”

Loughlin and Giannulli are due back in court on August 27th. “Lori is ready for this to be over,” the source said. “They all are. At this point, it would be better to spend a few months in jail—because she’s been spending the last several months in her own prison.”

Let’s go with Loughlin on this for argument’s sake. Loughlin and Giannulli are obviously fun to mock, but there’s not really a substantive difference–beyond WASP-y class markers–between them and a legacy family writing a check to get an underperforming teen into Harvard. And you can’t exactly accuse them of spending wisely. We all know that Olivia Jade “doesn’t really care about school.”