Not Aunt Becky! Lori Loughlin and Other Wealthy Parents Are Charged in Alleged College Cheating Scam

“Full House” actress Lori Loughlin, who played the role Aunt Becky, was just indicted into the biggest college cheating scheme in the U.S. Another actress that may look familiar that is tied into this scam is Felicity Huffman, who played Lynette on Desperate Housewives.

Those indicted in the investigation, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” allegedly paid bribes of up to $6.5 million to get their children into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southern California, federal prosecutors said.

“This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth combined with fraud,” Andrew Lelling, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said at a news conference.

Here’s a clip of the press conference:

Here’s the report via TMZ:

Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin have been charged along with 48 others in a massive bribery scam involving some of the most elite colleges in the country.

Court records show the actresses and others allegedly paid hefty bribes — as much as $6 MILLION — to get their kids into various schools, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.

The charges include conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. We’ve learned Felicity was released on a signature bond … which essentially is a promise to appear in court.    

The alleged scam was reportedly unearthed after authorities found a California businessman who ran an operation helping students get into the college of their choice. Authorities say parents would pay the man a predetermined amount which he would funnel to an SAT or ACT administrator or a college athletic coach.

The feds say if the money went to a college coach … the coach would arrange a fake profile that listed the student as an athlete. If the money went to an exam administrator, the administrator would either hire a proctor to take the SAT/ACT or correct the student’s answers.

As for Loughlin, she and her husband — Mossimo Giannulli, the founder of Mossimo clothing — allegedly paid $500,000 to have their 2 daughters designated as recruits for the crew team at USC … despite the fact they did not actually participate in crew. However, the feds say Mossimo sent action photos of their daughters on rowing machines.

What makes matters worse, a YouTube video of Mossimo and Lori’s 19-year old daughter surfaced of her sharing her lack of enthusiasm for school.

Mossimo and Lori are expected to turn themselves in on Wednesday. Felicity was released on a $250,000 bail.

Wealthy parents, Hollywood actresses, coaches and college prep executives have been accused of carrying out a nationwide fraud to get students into prestigious universities, according to a federal indictment. They have even been accused of using Photoshop to paste rich kids heads on athletes’ bodies.

According to the D.A., the ringleader of the scam is William Singer, owner of a college counseling service called Key Worldwide Foundation and a company called Edge College & Career Network. Singer allegedly accepted bribes totaling $25 million from parents between 2011 and 2018 “to guarantee their children’s admission to elite schools,” Lelling said.

ABC News reports that Singer of Newport Beach, California, pleaded guilty in a Boston federal court on Tuesday on charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice, Lelling said.

Via ABC News:

Steven Masera, 69, the accountant and financial officer for the Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation, was also indicted, according to court documents. Masera and Mark Riddell, a private school counselor in Bradenton, Florida, allegedly worked closely with Singer in the scam, according to the indictment.

Mikaela Sanford, 32, of Folsom, California, another employee of the Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation, and David Sidoo, 59, of Vancouver, Canada, were also indicted for allegedly working closely with Singer to facilitate the scam, according to the indictment.

Singer would allegedly instruct parents to seek extended time for the children to take entrance exams or obtain medical documentation that their child had a learning disability, according to the indictment. The parents were then told to get the location of the test changed to one of two testing centers, one in Houston and another in West Hollywood, California, where test administrators Niki Williams, 44, of Houston and Igor Dvorskiy, 52, of Sherman Oaks, California, helped carry out the scam, the indictment alleges.

Riddell, 36, allegedly either took ACT and SAT tests for students whose parents had paid bribes to Singer, according to the indictment.

“Singer typically paid Riddell $10,000 for each student’s test,” according to the indictment.

Those charged in the probe include nine coaches at elite schools, two SAT and ACT exam administrators, one exam proctor, a college administrator and 33 parents, including Huffman and Loughlin.

What a mess! It’s heartbreaking that children who are truly qualified to study at these schools didn’t have the opportunity to attend because of this scam. Hopefully justice will be served and this situation will be made right. Now you all are officially in the know!