Actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are due in a Boston courtroom on Tuesday for a hearing in connection with the college admissions bribery scandal.
They are accused of paying crooked college prep expert William “Rick” Singer $500,000 to help get their daughters — Olivia Jade, 19, and Isabella, 20 — into the University of Southern California as crew team recruits, even though neither is a rower.
The “Full House” actress and her hubby, who face up to 40 years behind bars, have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
On Tuesday, a judge will question the couple about conflicts of interests regarding their attorneys, who have previously represented USC, according to CNN.
Both defendants have chosen to be jointly represented by attorneys from the firm Latham & Watkins.
Different attorneys from the firm have represented the university in an unrelated real-estate case, but those representing the couple insist that this has not, and will not affect their case.
The law firm has created an “ethical wall” between the cases, forbidding the attorneys working on the couple’s case from discussing it with those who worked on the USC case, CNN reported, citing court documents.
Loughlin and Giannulli are expected to be asked whether they believe any of these factors could result in conflicts of interest.
The couple is among the 50 parents who have been charged in a nationwide scheme to pay millions of dollars to secure spots for their children at top-ranked schools.
Their daughters have been continuing to attend USC as the probe into the scam continues.
At the time, Olivia boasted 1.3 million followers on Instagram and almost 2 million on YouTube but lost several sponsorship deals over the scandal.
Hollywood actress Felicity Huffman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud for paying a proctor $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT scores.
She faces a recommended four months behind bar under her deal with prosecutors, plus a year of supervised release and a $20,000 fine. Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21.
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