Lori Loughlin Doesn't Think She'll Get Jail Time in the College Admissions Scandal — But These Lawyers Say She Will

Lori Loughlin is confident she and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, will not be charged in the college admissions scandal — but what leads her to believe that?

According to two high-profile attorneys who spoke to Personal Space about her case, things are not looking good for the Fuller House actress. 

Matthew M. Maddox, of The Maddox Law Firm, based in New Canaan, Connecticut said, "The chances that Lori will face jail are substantial."

"This is a federal prosecution," he explained. "What that means is that indictments are generally obtained after very lengthy, and what defendants later discover, are shockingly detailed investigations. What they then discover is that federal sentencing guidelines place them on a calculation grid, which includes multiple factors such as the monetary size of the alleged fraud. The larger that number, the farther the sentencing guidelines can push someone into a significant jail sentence."

What could be convincing her that she's not facing jail time?

"She may have an impression that her public image and a theory that she was not an active participant in the admissions counseling process will insulate her," Maddox said. "If this is her thinking, I expect that her attorneys have been trying to disabuse her of that perspective for some time now."

Silva Megerditchian, a former public defender with the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office, seconds that. 

"I find it highly likely she will do some custody time, especially because everyone who plead thus far —the prosecutor has sought jail time in their sentencing memos to the judge," she told Personal Space. 

She blames Loughlin for having "arrogance, entitlement, denial, and money."

"The fact is the federal government wins 97 percent of the cases they bring forward. Maybe they know something nobody else does, maybe the media has it all wrong. But to be convinced she’s getting off scot free seems like a fantasy at best," she added. "Maybe she truly believes they did nothing wrong. But ignorance unfortunately is not a defense for these charges."

An insider had recently told Us Weekly that Loughlin thinks she's not going to jail. 

“They believe they’ll be exonerated,” the unnamed source said, adding that Loughlin "won't even talk about taking any type of" plea deal and they're "actively engaged in their defense."

The couple pleaded not guilty to money laundering and fraud charges, believing they broke "rules, not laws," when they paid a middleman to pretend their daughters were crew recruits to get into University of Southern California.