Dark Secrets Of '80s Sitcom Stars

A late but ultimately permanent addition to the show, Lori Loughlin joined "Full House" in 1988 as Becky Donaldson, girlfriend and then wife of "Uncle" Jesse Katsopolis, thus forever becoming "Aunt" Becky, both for the remainder of the series and in fans' eyes. But to the federal government, Loughlin was just one part of a massive criminal conspiracy.

In 2019, the FBI arrested 50 individuals as part of an investigation and sting called "Operation Varsity Blues." The agency alleged that many well-off and famous parents paid William Rick Singer to juice their children's odds of acceptance at prestigious universities. Among his reported tactics: paying proxies to take entrance exams, paying off test proctors, and giving cash to collegiate coaches to say that the celebrity kids were athletes, when they were not, in order to fast-track their applications. Singer pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice charges.

Loughlin (and her husband, clothing designer Mossimo Giannulli) was accused of paying about $500,000 in bribe money to get their two daughters admitted to USC, in part by falsifying their status as elite crew team members. Both Loughlin and Giannulli entered not-guilty pleas on various counts of mail and wire fraud. Their daughters were subsequently removed from the student rolls at USC, and Loughlin was convicted, receiving a sentence of two months in prison, 100 hours of community service, and a $150,000 fine.

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