Mossimo Giannulli is begging a judge to release him from prison – saying the eight weeks he spent in solitary confinement were an “extreme” punishment for his role in the college’s fraud, according to newly filed court documents.
Full House actress Lori Loughlin’s husband filed an emergency motion on Thursday to ask permission to serve the rest of her five-month sentence at home.
Giannulli, 57, says he was held in solitary confinement since arriving at the federal closure in Lompoc, California, on November 19 due to COVID restrictions.
“Mr. Giannulli was immediately placed in solitary confinement in a small cell in the adjacent medium security prison, 24 hours a day, with only three short breaks of 20 minutes a week, where he remained 56 days before being finally transferred to camp yesterday (January 13) ”, his lawyers wrote in the federal court case.
They note that the fashion designer has given negative results for COVID-19 at least 10 times and called the conditions “much more extreme than those recommended by the court.”
“After each negative test, without further explanation, Mr. Giannulli was returned to his cell, presumed for another two weeks of solitary quarantine,” the file states.
Lawyers said Giannulli has a release plan that includes spending the rest of his time in jail.
“He has a stable home environment – in which he will travel directly and immediately after his release – with resources that will allow him to quarantine safely and stay home for the rest of his sentence,” they wrote.
Nearly 60 Lompoc detainees tested positive for coronavirus – which killed five detainees, the Santa Maria Times reported on Wednesday.
Giannulli and Loughlin were one of dozens of wealthy parents caught in the widespread college scandal.
The California couple initially fought the charges, then admitted to paying a $ 50,000 bribe to take their two daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, to the University of Southern California. The girls were passed on as crew recruits – even if they were not athletes.
Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison and was released in late December.
Giannulli received a stricter sentence after the judge found that he played a bigger role than his wife in the college scheme.
He was also forced to pay a $ 250,000 fine and work 250 hours for the community.