Actress Lori Loughlin, best known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson in "Full House," surrendered to federal authorities in Los Angeles Wednesday over her reported involvement in a sweeping college fraud prosecution.
Loughlin is just one of the defendants, along with "Desperate Housewives" actress Felicity Huffman, accused of "spending or laundering millions of dollars to falsify school records of high school students so they could be admitted to elite universities," NBC News reports.
Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to help their two daughters get into the University of Southern California.
The girls gained special athletics admission to USC after their parents passed them off as rowers even though the girls never joined the rowing team or even picked up an oar, prosecutors said.
The elder daughter, Isabella Rose Giannulli, received admission to Arizona State University, but her parents sought a better school for her.
"We just met with (our older daughter's) college counselor this am. I'd like to maybe sit with you after your session with the girls as I have some concerns and want to fully understand the game plan and make sure we have a roadmap for success as it relates to (our daughter) and getting her into a school other than ASU!" Giannulli wrote in an email to ringleader William Rick Singer, according to prosecutors.
Loughlin's younger daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli, has been shamed in the past for expressing her lack of interest in college classes and her focus on the partying aspect.
“But I do want the experience of like game days, partying," she said in one of her YouTube videos. "I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know.”
She apologized two days later saying, "I said something super ignorant and stupid, basically,'' she said. "And it totally came across that I’m not grateful for college — I’m going to a really nice school. And it just kind of made it seem like I don’t care, I just want to brush it off, I’m just gonna be successful at YouTube and not have to worry about school. ... I’m really disappointed in myself."
Loughlin is scheduled to face a federal judge Wednesday afternoon.