By Collin Binkley, Education Writer
BOSTON (AP) --"Full House" actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband and nine other parents faced new federal charges Tuesday in a scandal involving dozens of wealthy parents accused of bribing their children's way into elite universities or cheating on college entrance exams.
A grand jury in Boston indicted the parents on charges of trying to bribe officials at an organization that receives at least $10,000 in federal funding. In this case, they're accused of paying to get their children admitted to the University of Southern California.
The charge of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Prosecutors are pressuring those who have pleaded not guilty in the college admissions scandal to acknowledge their guilt.
A total of 35 wealthy and celebrity parents have been charged in the scheme that showed how far some will go to get their children into top universities like Stanford and Yale.
Some parents are accused of paying admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer to falsely portray their children as star athletes and then bribe college sports officials to get them admitted as recruited athletes. Others are accused of paying Singer to help cheat on their children's SAT and ACT exams.
Singer has pleaded guilty and agreed to work with investigators in hopes of receiving a more lenient sentence.
Along with the new conspiracy charge, Massachusetts real estate developer John Wilson also was indicted on two new counts of substantive federal programs bribery. Prosecutors said Wilson paid Singer $1 million in hopes of paying bribes to get two of his children into Stanford and Harvard.
It's the second time prosecutors have added new charges for parents pleading not guilty in the case. In April, they added money laundering to the initial charges of fraud and conspiracy.
U.S. District Attorney Andrew Lelling said the latest charges stem from an ongoing investigation. In a statement, he said the new indictment will further his goal "to hold the defendants fully accountable for corrupting the college admissions process through cheating, bribery and fraud."
Lawyers for Loughlin, who starred in the 1980s and '90s sitcom "Full House," and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, did not immediately respond to the charges. The couple is accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into USC as recruits on the crew team, even though neither participated in the sport.
Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty.
The USC said Monday that the couple's daughters are "not currently enrolled." The university's statement said it is "unable to provide additional information because of student privacy laws."
Others indicted on the new charge include William McGlashan, who co-founded an investment fund with U2 singer Bono in 2017, and Robert Zangrillo, a prominent Miami real estate developer. McGlashan and Zangrillo were among four parents also indicted on new wire fraud charges Monday.
The 11 parents charged Tuesday are among 15 who are fighting the charges against them. Four other parents changed their not-guilty pleas Monday and were set to be sentenced next year.
An additional 15 parents already have pleaded guilty in deals with prosecutors.
Of the 10 parents sentenced so far, nine have received prison sentences, ranging from 14 days to five months. "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman was the first parent to be sentenced and is now serving her 14-day prison sentence.
Prosecutors on Tuesday also announced new charges against several former sports coaches and others accused of accepting bribes. The seven defendants are now charged with mail and wire fraud and conspiring to commit that fraud on top of racketeering conspiracy.
Among them are former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst and former USC athletics official Donna Heinel, accused of accepting bribes in exchange for admitting students as recruited athletes. They have pleaded not guilty.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More