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Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman, and Others Could Face Prison Time for College Admissions Scam

Fourteen people involved in the massive college admissions scandal have agreed to enter guilty pleas for their role in the scam. Actress Lori Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are not part of that group. According to TMZ, all 37 remaining defendants including Loughlin and Giannulli, have been offered pleas, but prosecutors will only […]

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4 years ago

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  • Fourteen people involved in the massive college admissions scandal have agreed to enter guilty pleas for their role in the scam.
  • Actress Lori Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are not part of that group.
  • According to TMZ, all 37 remaining defendants including Loughlin and Giannulli, have been offered pleas, but prosecutors will only accept ones that include prison time.

Huffman Will Plead Guilty

At least fourteen individuals, including actress Felicity Huffman and one coach, have agreed to plead guilty for their participation in a scheme to get students into elite schools.

Last month, 50 people, including wealthy parents, celebrities, tech executives, college coaches, and test proctors from across the county, were indicted as part of the Justice Department’s massive investigation dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues.”

The admissions scheme centered on William “Rick” Singer, owner of a for-profit Newport Beach college admissions company. Parents are accused of paying Singer and his firm to help their children cheat on college entrance exams and falsify athletic records. The bribes and falsified records allowed their children to secure admission to elite schools like UCLA, USC, Stanford, and Yale.

Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 in bribes so that her daughters SATs could be corrected by a Harvard graduate, giving her a 400 point boost. She agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, according to federal prosecutors.

The maximum sentence for those charges is 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release and fines. However, in exchange for a plea, prosecutors are recommending incarceration at the “low end” of the sentencing range. This means she will likely face anywhere from four to 10 months in prison.

Along with that recommendation, prosecutors will also recommend a $20,000 fine and 12 months of supervised release.

In a statement Monday, Huffman said, “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions,”

“I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”

Huffman went on to apologize for betraying her daughter, who she said knew “absolutely nothing about my actions.”

Over a dozen other individuals also agreed to enter guilty pleas to charges of fraud and conspiracy, including Los Angeles marketing guru Jane Buckingham, Bay Area real estate developer Bruce Isackson, and former men’s tennis coach at the University of Texas Michael Center.

Loughlin and Giannulli Could Face At Least 2 Years in Prison

Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were not part of the group accepting pleas.

However, according to TMZ, they still likely to face prison time. TMZ reported that the remaining 37 people charged in the case, including Loughlin and Giannulli, have all been offered plea deals. but prosecutors will only accept deals with prison time attached.

Each deal includes varying recommendations for prison sentences, which are determined by the amount they paid in bribes, among other factors.

While Huffman’s plea may reportedly allow her to serve as little as four months in prison, Loughlin and Guilianni, who allegedly paid $500,000 in bribes, could face a minimum of two to two and a half years.

According to TMZ, “Our sources say prosecutors have given all defendants an ultimatum … reach a plea deal QUICKLY or else they will go to a Federal Grand Jury and add charges, including money laundering, which significantly raises the low end of prison time.”

Shortly after TMZ’s report, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced a new wave of indictments. Loughlin, her husband, and 14 others were indicted on fraud and money laundering charges.

Netflix Shelves Huffman’s Film

Netflix responded to the news of a planned guilty plea by postponing the release of “Otherhood”, a romantic comedy that was due to be shown on the streaming service on April 26.

The movie, which features Huffman alongside Patricia Arquette and Angela Bassett, does not currently have a new release date scheduled, however, Deadline reported that it may stream in August.

The Central Park Five miniseries, “When They See Us,” in which Huffman stars as a prosecutor, is still set to be released May 31 on Netflix.

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White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

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2 weeks ago

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March 9, 2023

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 “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.

The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL. 

The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents. 

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.” 

The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year. 

White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021. 

Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.

“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”

“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)

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Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

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2 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

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Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

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2 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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98% of nursing homes in the United States are experiencing difficulty hiring staff. 

The Labor Crisis 

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper has offered up a solution to the nursing home labor shortage: immigration. 

According to a 2022 American Health Care Association survey, six in ten nursing homes are limiting new patients due to staffing issues. The survey also says that 87% of nursing homes have staffing shortages and 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) outlined in their paper that increased immigration could help solve the labor shortage in nursing homes. Immigrants make up 19% of nursing home workers.

With every 10% increase in female immigration, nursing assistant hours go up by 0.7% and registered nursing hours go up by 1.1% And with that same immigration increase, short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents go down by 0.6%.

The Solution 

Additionally, the State Department issued 145% more EB-3 documents, which are employment-based visas, for healthcare workers in the 2022 fiscal year than in 2019, suggesting that more people are coming to the U.S. to work in health care. 

However, according to Skilled Nursing News, in August of 2022, the approval process from beginning to end for an RN can take between seven to nine months. 

Displeasure about immigration has exploded since Pres. Joe Biden took office in 2021. According to a Gallup study published in February, around 40% of American adults want to see immigration decrease. That is a steep jump from 19% in 2021, and it is the highest the figure has been since 2016.

However, more than half of Democrats still are satisfied with immigration and want to see it increased. But with a divided Congress, the likelihood of any substantial immigration change happening is pretty slim. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (KHN) (Skilled Nursing News)

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