By Rose Gaudiani

The 2019 college admissions scandal, aka “Operation Varsity Blues” as some have coined it, has continued with Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli’s trial. She and Giannulli paid $500,000 to a fake charity to get their two daughters accepted into the University of Southern California, falsely designating them as crew recruits. As of Monday, April 15th, the couple pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy. According to court documents, they also waived their right to appear in court for an arraignment on a money laundering charge. Loughlin’s not guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering is her first concrete response in the case. Pleading guilty leaves them facing up to forty years in prison. Actress Felicity Huffman, however, was one of thirteen other parents who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud last week. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors said they will recommend imprisonment at the very low end of the sentencing spectrum and will not bring further charges against her.