Whatever happened to predictability? She’s been laying low since pleading not guilty in the college admissions scandal, but Lori Loughlin snuck out for a rare public outing with friends in Los Angeles on July 15. The Fuller House star, 54, grabbed lunch with the ladies. and was later spotted shopping for groceries, too. Lori attempted to go incognito during her day out by wearing an oversized, wide-brimmed hat and huge sunglasses, but we’d recognize the When Calls the Heart actress anywhere. Lori also donned an all-white outfit: a gauzy blouse and slim jeans. She paired it with Birkenstocks and carried two large tote bags, while also wearing armfuls of bangles. She didn’t appear to notice the paparazzi taking her pictures as she strolled down the street.
We haven’t seen too much of Lori since she and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted in Operation Varsity Blues by the FBI. Lori and Mossimo are accused of bribing college admission officials at the USC with $500,000 to get their daughters into the elite college as crew team recruits. Neither daughters are rowers. They were both charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in the scandal that named 38 other individuals, including Desperate Housewives alum Felicity Huffman. While Felicity admitted guilt, Lori and Mossimo both pleaded not guilty. As a criminal defense expert told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY at the time, it’s unlikely that they’ll avoid prison time.
Lori, of course, is hoping her ragtag team of lawyers pull off a miracle and get the case dismissed. “Lori and Mossimo are depending on their lawyers to get them out of this mess,” a source close to the actress told us EXCLUSIVELY. “Lori feels confident that her lawyers will find some loophole or some mistake made by the authorities.”
“Lori and Mossimo are looking for a Hail Mary when it comes to their case and fighting it will buy them some time to have their lawyers figure something out to get them out of it all,” the source continued. “It’s an uphill battle for sure, but they are confident after speaking with their team that they will win. And if all else fails, they can still do the whole appeal process.” We’ll just have to wait and see what happens during the trial in September, won’t we?