Everything We Know About Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman’s Day in Court Facing Those College Cheating Scandal Charges
It’s been a just under a month since Lori Loughlin, her husband Mossimo Giannulli, and Felicity Huffman—among others—were charged in a widespread college admissions cheating scandal. Today, the trio faced a judge for the first time since being charged in mid-March. When Loughlin, Giannulli, and Huffman showed up to a Boston courthouse to appear before Judge M. Page Kelley, they were forced to turn in their passports and agree to pretrial conditions such as no possession of firearms or travel outside of the country.
Loughlin appeared to be smiling as she arrived at the courthouse, passing by fans who were holding masks of her face. (The night before, when she arrived in Boston, she was seen signing autographs.) She and Giannulli went first before the judge in a six-minute hearing, where they acknowledged that they understood the charges against them, per E! News, and waived their right to a preliminary hearing, as People notes. Afterward, Loughlin reportedly shook hands with the prosecutors.
Huffman, meanwhile, arrived three hours early to the courthouse without her husband William H. Macy, who has not been charged among the 50 people who allegedly “paid bribes of up to $6 million to get their kids into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, and USC.” During Huffman’s three-minute hearing, she agreed to the same pretrial conditions as Loughlin and Giannulli.
During both parties’ hearings, the judge reportedly said that the defendants are allowed to speak to their children and family members about the case. Judge M. Page Kelley also said that Loughlin, Giannulli, and Huffman can petition the court if they end up needing to travel outside of the country for work throughout the course of their legal proceedings.
Interestingly, neither party has entered a plea yet. Right now, it is not known when they will have to go to the courthouse again. In the meantime, they are both being charged with felonies such as conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
