Lori Loughlin, Husband Sentenced To Prison

BOSTON — "Full House" star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are headed to prison.

A Boston federal court judge on Friday agreed to plea deals for the couple in separate videoconference hearings, sending Giannulli away to prison for five months and Loughlin for two.

Loughlin and Giannulli expressed regret for their roles in a college admissions scandal in which they paid $500,000 to bribe their daughters' way into the University of Southern California as recruits to a sport they didn't play.

"We can only hope that you will spent the rest of your charmed life, as you have said you will, making amends to the system you have harmed," U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton told Loughlin.

Loughlin, 56, wiped away tears as she apologized.

"I made an awful decision," Loughlin said. "I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process."

Giannulli, 57, added: "I deeply regret the harm my actions have caused my daughters, my wife and others."

The couple had been quiet since being charged with bribing their daughters' way into the USC. Federal prosecutors said they paid $500,000 to get their two girls into the school as crew recruits — despite neither having been involved in the sport.

Loughlin and Giannulli's attorneys went on the offensive following the charges, declaring their innocence and accusing prosecutors of withholding evidence. But after the judge refused to dismiss their case, the couple accepted plea deals.

Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and Giannulli admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.

Loughlin and Giannulli are the 21st and 22nd parents to plead guilty in the far-reaching scandal dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues." Actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced to two weeks in prison for paying $15,000 to falsify her daughter's exam score.