Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin indicted in bribery case

[Khan]

If only some politicians could deliver such strong statements.

 

But seriously.  FH says what she did was "misguided and profoundly wrong," so why didn't knowing that stop her from doing it in the first place?  (Don't tell me she didn't know bribing a test proctor was wrong.  Her actions -- not to mention, basic common sense -- say otherwise).  As always, I feel like these people are sorry, only because they got caught.

 

Meanwhile, what about Lori?  Has she pled guilty to the charges as well?

Edited April 8, 2019 by Khan

[amybrickwallace]

 

Last I heard, she and her husband had yet to enter pleas. Speaking of husbands, I still find it extremely hard to believe that Felicity's husband was not complicit in all this. 

[Juliajms]

He almost certainly was, but that doesn't mean they have the evidence to charge him.  By complicit, I mean he probably knew about it and didn't turn her in.  It wouldn't be that surprising if he disagreed with the plan, but just went along.  If they could charge him they would. It seems pretty clear they are trying to make an example of these folks, which I'm in favor of TBH.

[ChitHappens]

You think I can get her autograph?

 

 

[Juliajms]

^ Damn. Aunt Becky in prison for two years?  I feel pretty neutral about that. I don't root for non violent criminals to get jail time very often, but what she did was so gratuitous.  There was no good reason for it.  I even found myself feeling sorry for Olivia Jade, the kind of kid I would have avoided like the plague when I was her age.   All that child wanted to do was post her feckless youtube crap and rake in the dough for being pretty and almost famous.  Then her mother decided that wasn't good enough and ruined it for her.

 

I stand corrected. Looks like it's 4 years:

This means if Lori and her husband now want to plea bargain their cases, instead of a minimum range of 2 to 2 and a half years in prison ... prosecutors would recommend to the judge a MINIMUM RANGE OF 4 YEARS AND 9 MONTHS UP TO 5 YEARS AND 11 MONTHS.

There's also a very technical rub. Theoretically by charging CONSPIRACY to money launder, the minimum sentence could go even higher -- way higher.

Short story ... prosecutors are out for blood. 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Juliajms

[DramatistDreamer]

Over the last several years, I've observed zealous prosecutors who have gotten far less than their sentencing ambitions. TBH, I can't remember the last time that a celebrity (especially one charged with a non-violent offense) was charged more than the minimum sentence.

[Juliajms]

Good point. In the end it's always surprising when they do any time at all.  I still can't believe they put Martha Stewart in. I thought she would skate for sure.  I suppose in their favor is that they aren't very likely to commit another crime.

[edgeofnik]

Good. I hope they do get jail time. Funny how these Hollywood elitists preach how regular people should live their lives - no school choice, socialized medicine, green energy, gated communities, armed security guards  - and, yet, they don't follow any of those 'ideals.'

 

Why on earth would these celebrities need to scam these universities? Didn't they have plenty of money to pay for tutors, personal coaches, etc. to give their kids even more advantages? C'mon. If their overprivileged children couldn't get into on their own merits and connections, they shouldn't be there in the first place! 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

The Southern District of New York doesn't play, especially when it comes to financial crimes like insider trading!

[Khan]

 

I've been asking myself those same questions since this scandal broke.  You would think that just KNOWING that such-and-such applicant is the son or daughter of [enter celebrity name here] would push more craven applications committees to consider them over perhaps more deserving (but not necessarily well-connected) candidates.  But, perhaps I'm looking at the situation too simplistically.

[Juliajms]

What kills me as that these kids did not need to go at all. They are already rich as hell.  It's one thing if they are scholars and interested in school, in which case they wouldn't need to cheat. Olivia Jade did not want to go. Her mother forced it and basically ruined her gig. It's crazy!

[DramatistDreamer]

 

From what I've read, many of these elite universities were scrutinizing admissions policies like big donations and legacy approvals and it was no longer a guaranteed way for entry into the ranks of elite higher education, so these parents were looking for a new way that was deemed to be a 'sure bet' for their kids to gain entry.  In other words, they 'kicked it up a notch' in terms of the bribery, fraud and scams.

 

 

They didn't.  I think one of the Hilton sisters attended university but it was well known that higher education was never a priority for them or most heiresses.  Few of these wealthy kids, unless they were going to take over the family business, ever really needed to go to college but somewhere along the line, it became a prestige thing. A must have, like a trek to Europe or a summer holiday in Ibiza.

 

Funny when all of those conservative politicians and pundits were squawking about how college wasn't for everyone and some people ought to attend vocational training, they were specifically talking about the working class but this could really apply to some of the wealthy as well. 

It never occurred to some of those folks that some of the people who might not be academically inclined could also encompass the children of wealthy people.

Edited April 9, 2019 by DramatistDreamer

[Juliajms]

Right. I think I was initially turned off by those comments about kids going to vocational school. It struck me as so condescending, but I've come to realize it's true.  As a parent, I will not be forcing my children to go to college if they aren't interested.  Some children really are better off following a different path. As a society we should be doing a much better job of supporting children who are academically talented and interested. 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Oh, I think those politicians absolutely meant it to be condescending, as if to say that some poor kids shouldn't go if they couldn't afford it but it struck me as ironic that the same could be said for many children of wealthy for a different reason, that many just might not be academically inclined. 

[Juliajms]

Right! Every child that is interested in school and meets the requirements should be able to go regardless of money. We should also be supporting trade schools for people who are interested in that. 

 

I can understand why parents who are middle class try to make college happen.  Having a degree makes life easier more often than not, but for a rich parent to force it is really beyond my understanding.  It's not like their children are going to have to wear out their bodies doing hard manual labor.  We have this strange hyper parenting going on these days that really isn't good for anyone. Lori and Felicity are finding that out the hard way.