Crime

Parents In College Admissions Scandal Ask Judge To Dismiss Charges

One motion says the charges can't stand because the mastermind behind the scandal was pressured to lie in recorded calls with the defendants.

Parents In College Admissions Scandal Ask Judge To Dismiss Charges
AP / Steven Senne
SMS

Actress Lori Loughlin, her husband and a dozen other parents have asked a judge to dismiss charges against them in the college admissions scandal case.

The parents are charged with conspiracy for their alleged participation in a national college entrance bribery scheme. Prosecutors say Loughlin and her husband agreed to pay $500,000 to get their daughters fraudulently recruited as athletes by the University of Southern California.

The motions filed Wednesday accuse the prosecutors of "extraordinary misconduct." One says the charges can't stand because the mastermind behind the scandal — Rick Singer — was pressured to lie in recorded calls with the defendants.

They also argue that money laundering charges should be dropped, because they couldn't control what Singer did with the money after they gave it to him. One motion argues the parents believed the money they sent to the university was a legitimate donation, not a bribe.

The case is expected to wrap up before Thanksgiving.