Lori Loughlin spent two weeks in ISOLATION before release from prison due to COVID outbreak and then had a 'tearful reunion with daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose'
Lori Loughlin spent her last two weeks in prison in isolation due to a large COVID-19 ouitbreak at the facililty, according to new reports.
The Full House actress served nearly two months at the FCI Dublin in California, before being released in the early hours of Monday morning.
Loughlin, 56, returned to Los Angeles by private jet where she reportedly had a 'tearful' reunion with daughters Olivia Jade, 21, and Bella Rose, 22, and is 'beyond relieved that she can put her prison sentence behind her', a source told People.
The insider added: 'It's the most stressful thing she has ever dealt with. She plans on spending New Year's with Olivia and Bella. She is still worried about Mossimo though, and can't wait to have him home.'
Loughlin's husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, California.
Lori Loughlin shielded her face with a trash bag as she was ushered out a side door and into a waiting van on Monday morning after being released from prison for her role in the college admissions scandal, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show
Loughlin is said to have had an 'emotional' reunion with daughters Olivia Jade, 21, (pictured left) and Bella Rose, 22 (pictured right) after her release on Monday
Despite the prison telling DailyMail.com she would not be shown any special treatment, a guard was seen letting Loughlin exit the building through a rarely used side door
Loughlin had been kept in isolation for two weeks prior to her release due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, pictured above
A source told US Weekly that Loughlin found it 'especially tough' to have spent the last two weeks of her prison sentence in isolation.
'There was a COVID outbreak in the prison, so it was a precaution and not a punishment,' the source said.
As of Friday, a total of 185 inmates and three staffers had been infected, according to ABC 7. The prison has 885 female inmates in total.
Activists in the Bay Area had already sent letters to the facility's managers in August and November warning about the dangers of an outbreak. At this point, there were only 14 confirmed cases among inmates and staff.
Loughlin had also had to undergo a fourteen-day quarantine at the start of her prison sentence and was confined to makeshift quarantine unit before joining the main facility.
Giannulli is also currently in solitary confinement due to COVID-19, according to his son from a previous relationship, Gianni.
In a post on his Instagram page on December 18, Gianni claimed that his dad had 'been locked in solitary confinement for one full month'.
He also claimed his dad was 'supposed to serve his time in a minimum security camp,' but is now in 'quarantine in the MEDIUM security prison in a cell', adding that the 'mental and physical damage being done from such isolation and treatment is wrong'.
In an interview with Red Table Talk on December 8, social media influencer Olivia Jade, the couple's youngest daughter, revealed that she had not had any contact with their parents since they began their prison sentences, ahead of the emotion reunion with Loughlin on Monday.
Loughlin shielded her face with a trash bag as she was ushered out a side door and into a waiting van after being released from prison for her role in the college admissions scandal, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show.
She entered the facility on October 30.
Loughlin, 56, wore a black hoodie covering the top of her head and a white face mask as she ducked her head down, blocking herself with a bag presumably filled with her belongings
As terms of her release Loughlin must complete 100 hours of community service, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release
'She had everything in order, so she decided a couple of days ago to report to prison,' a source told US Weekly. 'She can put this behind her as she goes into 2021.'
Loughlin wore a black hoodie covering the top of her head and a white face mask as she ducked her head down, blocking herself with a bag presumably filled with her belongings.
Despite prison officials telling DailyMail.com she would not be given any special treatment, a guard was seen letting Loughlin exit the building through a rarely used side door, where trash is normally taken out.
As terms of her release, she must complete 100 hours of community service, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release.
'Before she went in, Lori was volunteering with children with special needs and intends to continue doing that, even if it’s not a part of her ordered community service,' the US Weekly insider added.
'It’s hard to be home without her Mossimo of course. They are praying to be reunited on Easter.
'Lori had a very emotional reunion with her daughters this morning at the family home. She was relieved to be out of prison.'
Loughlin and Giannulli were among the highest-profile defendants charged in the scheme, which revealed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universities.
The couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither girl was a rower.
Their guilty plea was a stunning reversal for the couple, whose lawyers had insisted for a year they were innocent and accused investigators of fabricating evidence against them.
Lori Loughlin, pictured with her husband Mossimo Giannulli, left, in August last year, has been released from prison after serving two months over college admissions scandal
The couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters, pictured, into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower
Loughlin and Giannulli were both initially supposed to report to prison on November 19, but prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Loughlin could start her sentence on October 30.
Loughlin also agreed that she would not seek early release on coronavirus-related grounds, prosecutors said. Giannulli is scheduled to be released on April 17, the Bureau of Prisons says.
Giannulli has to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service. The couple paid off their fines already.
The only public comments either Loughlin or Giannulli made about the case since their arrest last year came at their sentencing hearings in August.
Loughlin told the judge her actions 'helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society' and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a 'catalyst to do good.'
Olivia Jade, made her first public remarks about the scandal this month on 'Red Table Talk,' saying she doesn't want or deserve pity.
She admitted she didn't think there was anything wrong with college bribery but now realizes that it's wrong and that her family 'messed up'.
'We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, 'I recognize I messed up.' And for so long I wasn't able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it,' she said.
Of the nearly 60 parents, coaches and others charged in the case, about a dozen are still fighting the allegations. The sentences for the parents who have pleaded so far in the case range from a couple weeks to nine months.
The couple's daughter Olivia Jade repeatedly described feeling 'embarrassment' and 'shame' in the interview.
She said she now wants a 'second chance' and feels she deserves one because she's so young.
Lori Loughlin's daughter Olivia Jade says she didn't think there was anything wrong with college bribery because it was 'what everyone does' but now admits it's wrong
Controversy: In April, prosecutors revealed images of Lori and Mossimo's daughters posing on rowing machines as part of their bid to bribe their way into the prestigious school
The couple's other daughter, Isabella, submitted a similar fake photo
It's unclear if either of them knew whether she was participating in the interview after she revealed she hadn't spoken to them.
Olivia Jade awkwardly admitted that when the scandal first erupted in 2019, she couldn't understand 'why people were mad' that her parents had helped her cheat her way into the top college.
'When all this first happened and it became public I remember thinking, "how are people mad about this?" It sounds so silly but in the bubble that I grew up in, a lot of kids' parents were donating to schools.
'It's not and it's not right but it was happening. So at first I was like, "I don't really understand what's wrong with this. I was like, "this is what everybody does and my parents work really hard"'.
She was savaged by Pinkett Smith's 67-year-old mother Adrienne who admitted at the start of the show she didn't want Olivia Jade to have a seat at their table because she felt she was using 'three black women' for her redemption story.
'There is no justifying or excusing what happened,' Olivia Jade said.
'What happened was wrong. Every single person in my family can be like "that was messed up. That was a big mistake."
'But I think what's so important for me now is to learn from the mistake and not be shamed and punished and never given a second chance.
'I am 21. I feel like I deserve a second chance to redeem myself, to show I've grown.'
'It is wrong': Olivia, seen with her parents at her high school graduation, admits to Jada and her mother Adrienne that she 'understands how wrong it is' that her parents bribed her into USC
The Full House actress had been held in FCI Dublin in California, pictured, since Halloween Eve. She was released from prison Monday
Giannulli and Loughlin's plea deals came after months of them insisting they had done no wrong.
They suddenly changed their tune as COVID-19 swept the prison system and triggered early releases.
Neither of them gave explanations for their sudden change of heart.
Loughlin and Giannulli were among dozens of well-heeled parents who paid for their kids' entry.
The scheme mastermind, Rick Singer. He is yet to be sentenced but he cooperated with the authorities
Prosecutors recorded phone calls and emails showing the couple worked with the mastermind of the scheme, admissions consultant Rick Singer, to get their daughters into USC with fake athletic profiles depicting them as star rowers.
'Fantastic. Will get all,' Giannulli responded and sent Singer the photo, according to the court filings.
Nearly sixty people have been charged in the scheme led by Singer, who secretly worked with investigators and recorded his conversations with parents and coaches to help build the case against them.
Singer, who is expected to testify against any defendants who go to trial, has not yet been sentenced. More than 40 people have already pleaded guilty.
Prison terms for the parents ensnared in the scheme range from nine months to a couple of weeks.
Other parents who've served time behind bars in the case include Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman, who pleaded guilty almost immediately and was sentenced to 14 days for paying $15,000 to rig her daughter's SAT score.
VARSITY BLUES SENTENCES
Lori Loughlin
Two months in prison; two years supervised release, 100 hours of community service, $150,000 fine
Mossimo Giannulli
Five months in prison; two years supervised release, 100 hours of community service, $150,000 fine
Felicity Huffman got 14 days
Felicity Huffman
14 days prison, 1 year supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $30,000
Douglas Hodge
Nine months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $750,000, 500 hours of community service
Douglas Hodge got the longest sentence: nine months
Gregory Abbott
1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $45,000
Marcia Abbott
1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $45,000
Jane Buckingham
3 weeks in prison, 1 year of supervised release, fine of $40,000
Gordon Caplan
1 month prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $50,000
Michelle Janav was sentenced to five months
Robert Flaxman
1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised released, 250 hours of community service, fine of $50,000
Agustin Huneus Jr.
5 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, $100,000 fine
Marjorie Klapper
Three weeks in prison, one year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $9,500
Peter Jan Sartorio
One year probation, 250 hours of community service, fine of $9,500
Stephen Semprevivo
Four months in prison, 2 years supervised release, 500 hours of community service, fine of $100,000
Devin Sloane
4 months in prison, 2 years supervised release, 500 hours of community service, fine of $95,000
Toby Macfarlane
6 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, fine of $150,000
Jeffrey Bizzack
2 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service per year of supervised release, fine of $250,000
Michael Center
Six months in prison, one year of supervised release, $60,000 forfeiture
Michelle Janavs
Five months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $250,000