Several high profile celebrities, CEOs and college coaches, were indicted in March for reportedly participating in a scheme "focused on getting students admitted to elite universities as recruited athletes, regardless of their athletic abilities, and helping potential students cheat on their college exams."
Among those named in the $25 million college entrance exam cheating scheme were former "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin and "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman. According to a report by TMZ Sports, Huffman recently copped a plea that will enable her to serve as little as four months in prison.
However, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are facing a much stiffer sentence because of the enormous amount of money they paid.
Loughlin and Giannulli reportedly agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team, despite the fact that they weren't on any crew teams.
Per TMZ Sports:
"The problem for Lori and Mossimo is that they paid $500,000 to allegedly bribe the crew coach, and the amount raises the MINIMUM PRISON SENTENCE IN A PLEA DEAL TO A RANGE OF 2 TO 2 1/2 YEARS."
"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."
"The alleged scam centered around a man in California who ran a business helping students get into the college of their choice."
"Authorities say parents would pay him a predetermined amount, with full knowledge of what they were doing. He would then steer the money to one of two places: either an SAT or ACT administrator, or a college athletic coach."
"The coaches would allegedly arrange a fake profile that listed the prospective student as an athlete, and exam administrators would either hire proctors to take the test or correct the answers of a student."