Former ‘When Calls the Heart’ star Lori Loughlin rejected plea deal because she thought prosecutors were bluffing

Apr 11, 2019

Multiple reports suggest that Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli rejected a plea deal because they thought prosecutors were bluffing about the couple facing additional charges.

“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.”

Then, on Tuesday, Loughlin, Giannulli and others were slapped with additional charges like conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering, according to the The Associated Press.

The charges came after other parents involved in the college admissions scandal pleaded guilty to mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, Huffington Post reported.

Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so that their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, could be crew team recruits for the University of Southern California.

The couple reportedly didn’t want to accept any deal because those deals would have included jail time. According to People magazine, the guidelines for the case suggest 18 to 24 months of jail time for the crimes.

“They weren’t ready to accept that,” a source said, according to Yahoo News. “They’re really not seeing how serious this is.”

A source told Entertainment Tonight that the former “When Calls the Heart” star “is beating herself up for not accepting the initial deal.”

“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.”