Lori Loughlin of “Full House” didn’t believe she would see time in the big house. That’s why she and husband Mossimo Giannulli rejected a plea deal in the college admission bribery scheme, multiple outlets reported, citing unnamed sources.
“She has been in complete denial and thought maybe she could skate by,” an unnamed source told E! on Wednesday. “She refused to accept any jail time and thought the DA was bluffing. She was adamant she wouldn’t do any jail time.”
Federal prosecutors turned up the heat on Loughlin this week, slapping her and others in the case with additional charges of conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering. The superseding charges came after other prominent figures snared in the sting, including “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 so their daughters would be admitted to the University of Southern California under the ruse of being crew athletes.
They faced the original charges in a Boston federal court last week with Huffman, but Loughlin and her husband have not agreed to enter guilty pleas because any deal with prosecutors would have entailed time behind bars, a source close to the case told People. Guidelines call for a sentence of 18 to 24 months, according to the outlet.
“They weren’t ready to accept that,” a source said. “They’re really not seeing how serious this is.”
Only now are the two reportedly coming to grips with the gravity of their predicament. They could face dozens of years in prison if convicted of the more serious charges and sentenced to the maximum (an unlikely scenario).
The former Hallmark actress “is beating herself up for not accepting the initial deal,” a source told “Entertainment Tonight.”
“Lori is finally realizing just how serious this is,” the source said. “She is seeing the light that she will do jail time and is freaking out ... It feels like her whole world is falling apart. She is putting all her trust in her team and her lawyers, and hoping for the best.”
A lawyer for Loughlin didn’t immediately answer HuffPost’s request for comment.