Why You've Never Seen Hallmark Star Lori Loughlin's Mugshot

Lori Loughlin was arrested for her involvement in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal in March 2019. But the public has never seen the Hallmark star's mugshot, and likely never will. According to USA Today, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Marshals Services (both federal agencies) do not release booking pictures for anyone in custody. So, once Loughlin had been arrested, the agencies had no practical reason to release the mugshot beyond public interest, which wasn't a reason to disregard the "Full House" star's right to privacy. Additionally, federal mugshots aren't released anymore through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), though they can be requested if there's a legitimate legal reason to share them.

In 2020, Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for her part in the college admissions scandal, per the DOJ. She also had to pay a fine of $150,000 and complete 100 hours of community service, which she was told to do during two years of supervised release. Her now-estranged husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who pleaded guilty to one count of the same charge plus honest services wire and mail fraud, was sentenced to five months in prison. His fine was $100,000 more than Loughlin's, and he was tasked with 250 community service hours during his two years of supervised release, per the DOJ press release. The "When Calls the Heart" star was released from prison in December 2020 after serving her time. Giannulli served his five-month federal sentence from November 2020 to April 2021.

Lori Loughlin was convicted (along with her estranged husband Mossimo Giannulli and fellow actor Felicity Huffman) for the role she played in the college admissions scandal. The convicted parties paid former college counselor William "Rick" Singer to ensure their children's admission into colleges through cheating on test scores or falsifying students' athletic skills.

Loughlin never directly addressed the college admission scandal after leaving prison, but in her first interview since the scandal, she pivoted a question about the "challenges" she faced in recent years to general life advice she goes by if she doesn't get an acting job. "My advice is to just keep moving forward. Everyone has good times and bad times. That's life. I think you just have to pick yourself up," she told First for Women in 2024. "Nobody said life was going to be a breeze. There's beauty in life, but there's also hardship in life."

She did her community service hours at Project Angel Food, delivering meals to people in need. Since being released from prison, Loughlin got back into acting, including starring in a Great American Family Christmas movie (a network her "Full House" costar and former Hallmark star Candace Cameron Bure often appears on). Loughlin also made appearances on "Blue Bloods" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and the latter cameo helped repair the actor's soured reputation. In December 2025, People reported that Loughlin would return to her former Hallmark series "When Calls the Heart" for six episodes in its 14th season.