Lori Loughlin Faces New Charges in College Admissions Scandal

Bad news for 'Full House' star Lori Loughlin:

Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are now facing an additional federal bribery charge for their alleged involvement in the nation's largest college admissions scandal.

The US Attorney's Office (from Boston) filed a charge called "Federal Program Bribery" on Tuesday (October 22), NBC News reports.

In simple terms, TMZ says that this means they're alleging that Lori (and her husband) bribed officials of a university that receives federal funding. The new charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.

The couple was already facing additional charges in the case that could carry up to 40 years in prison. Prosecutors allege that Loughlin and Giannulli paid $500,000 to the scheme's mastermind, Rick Singer, to get their daughters into USC. Fifteen parents were charged in the case in total.

Actress Felicity Huffman is currently serving a 14-day sentence for her involvement in the case as well. In fact, we have photos of her in prison on the 94.5 PST app right here. 

Today's charges were filed against the parents who have not accepted a plea deal or pleaded guilty in the case.

Andrew E. Lelling, a U.S. Attorney involved in the case, says that it's likely Loughlin could face more severe sentencing than Huffman did.

"If she's convicted ... we would probably ask for a higher sentence for her than we did for Felicity Huffman," Yahoo! News reports that Lelling said in an interview earlier this month. "I can't tell you exactly what that would be."

Lelling elaborated that if the case goes through a longer trial, they are likely to ask for even harsher penalties.

So in the words of Michelle Tanner: "You're in Big Trouble, Mister!" (And by mister... we actually mean Aunt Becky).