Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli filed a Hail Mary motion to postpone their trial in the college admissions scheme, claiming they had unearthed “exonerating” evidence. As many will recall, the pair are accused of shelling out $500K in bribes to get their daughters Olivia and Bella into the University of Southern California under false pretenses.
Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty.
In the court docs, their lawyers wrote: “The government is trying to benefit from withholding information in violation of its obligations and the defendants constitutional rights, but then force trial as quickly as it can. The government should not be rewarded, nor the defendants punished, for this kind of egregious lack of candor and violation of its obligations.”
Their team claimed that the government withheld information found Rick Singer‘s iPhone during the discovery process. The information was released a day before the setting of the trial date, and it proves, the lawyers say, that the government was “bullying” Singer into lying.
Singer is considered to be the mastermind of the nationwide college scam, in which dozens have been charged. Singer allegedly helped students cheat on ACTs or SATs and helped students fudge fake athletic profiles.
In one note, Singer wrote: “They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where their money was going —to the program not the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment.”
Their lawyer claimed the notes are “precisely the kind of exculpatory — and indeed, exonerating — information Loughlin and Giannulli have been seeking.”
Loughlin and Giannulli have been charged with conspiracy and money laundering. All told, the charges could send them to prison for 40 years.
Despite their last-minute wrangling, a trial date of October 5th has been set.