Lori Loughlin, 15 others in college admissions scandal indicted on fraud, money laundering charges
The actress is part of a group of 16 people indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston; Molly Line reports on the charges.
Hours after it was revealed that actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted on fraud and money laundering charges in the multimillion-dollar college admissions cheating scandal — social media users took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
On Tuesday, the "Fuller House" star and her husband, along with 14 other parents, were charged in Boston in a "second superseding indictment with conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering," the Department of Justice said in a statement sent to Fox News.
The news comes nearly a month after Loughlin and Giannulli were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The new indictment adds a money laundering charge for all 16 defendants, which garnered a variety of responses online.
Lori Loughlin signs autographs and chats with fans the day before her court hearing in Boston for her alleged role in a nationwide college admissions scam. (Backgrid)
LORI LOUGHLIN, MOSSIMO GIANNULLI INDICTED ON NEW MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL
"Dear Actress Lori Loughlin [and many other entitled parents] Maybe if you have to pay for your child to get in, they don't diserve (sic) to be there, not do they belong there. Sincerely, a student who actually had to work to get here," one Twitter user wrote.
"Time to show some humility Lori. You may be wealthy but no one, not even Aunt Becky, is above the law.. #fromfullhousetothebighouse #CollegeAdmissionsScandal #LoriLoughlin," another individual tweeted, referring to Loughlin's character on "Full House."
One person commented: "I feel sick for the kids of the accused on so many levels. #LoriLoughlin #CollegeCheatingScandal."
Meanwhile, some fans weren't as upset by the news.
"I'll get upset about Actress Lori Loughlin and the others when we go back in time and indict every wealthy parent who ever built a library, remodeled a science lab or donated to a university endowment, to get their kid into school," one social media user tweeted.
Loughlin, 54, and Giannulli, 55, are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as crew team recruits, even though neither of them played the sport.
A rep for Loughlin did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment. She and her husband appeared in a Boston federal court briefly last week and were not asked to enter a plea. The couple has not publicly commented on the allegations.
In this Aug. 13, 2017 file photo, actress Lori Loughlin, center, poses with her daughters Bella, left, and Olivia Jade at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
More than four dozen people have been charged in the nationwide scam, which is alleged to have placed students in top-tier schools like Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, the University of Southern California, UCLA and the University of Texas. A federal investigation into the matter – dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" – has been ongoing for more than a year.
On Monday, fellow actress Felicity Huffman, 12 other parents and a coach agreed to plead guilty — signaling an escalation in the case against the parents who are continuing to fight the allegations against them. Huffman, 56, announced her decision to plead guilty, explaining that she accepts "full responsibility" for her actions.
Fox News' Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report.
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