Lori Loughlin appeared to be in good spirits at the court appearance, waving and saying hello to fans.
Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, appeared in court on Wednesday in Boston, Massachusetts, where they stood in front of a judge for their alleged involvement in a massive college admissions cheating scam.
Loughlin appeared to be in good spirits at the court appearance, waving and saying hello to fans before she entered the court. Once inside, she smiled while leaning over to shake hands with the prosecutors. The actress and her husband -- who's also facing charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud -- sat together, before facing the judge separately.
When asked if she understood the charges against her, Loughlin replied, "Yes, Your Honor." Her attorney later confirmed to the judge that her passport has been turned over to her pretrial supervisor in California. When Loughlin was released on $1 million bond on March 13, her travel had been restricted to the United States and Canada, as she was previously filming Garage Sale Mystery, a film series for Hallmark, in Vancouver.
As Loughlin and Giannulli exited the courtroom with their attorneys, the actress thanked court security for holding the door for her and smiled.
Felicity Huffman also appeared in court on Wednesday on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, and was solemn as she sat front row with her brother. Huffman appeared before the judge after Giannulli, and said she understood her right to remain silent, and that she understood the charges against her.
Loughlin and Huffman never made eye contact or spoke to one another in the courtroom.
The U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, tweeted that Loughlin, Giannulli and Huffman were among 10 defendants released on conditions on Wednesday.
The three were among 50 people charged in a college admissions cheating scam last month. Huffman allegedly paid $15,000 so that her 18-year-old daughter, Sofia, could cheat on the SAT in order to help get into an elite college. The former Desperate Housewives star was arrested without incident on March 12 and appeared in court, and was later released on a $250,000 bond. Her husband, actor William H. Macy, was not charged.
Meanwhile, Loughlin and her husband were both indicted and arrested last month for allegedly paying bribes totaling $500,000 to have their two daughters -- 20-year-old Isabella and 19-year-old Olivia Jade -- designated as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team, despite not actually participating in the sport. The two were later released on $1 million bonds.
Ahead of Loughlin's court appearance on Wednesday, a source close to the 54-year-old actress said she was "devastated and frightened." The source also said that while Isabella has stuck by Loughlin, Olivia Jade claims to not have known of her parents' alleged deals, and has actually claimed she never wants to speak to her mother again.
"She's has been doing her very best to hold her head high, but inside she is devastated and frightened," the source said of Loughlin. "Despite this entire ordeal, she and her husband have remained close throughout."
"Lori is scared to death of the outcome of the case but even more frightened regarding the broken trust with her children," the source continued. "Lori wants to focus on rebuilding her family and healing, but with the case and everything that has transpired, she realizes she has a long road ahead. She knows she needs to regain her daughters' trust again."
As for 56-year-old Huffman, a source close to the actress told ET that she's focused on her privacy.
"Things have been very difficult for Felicity," the source said. "This has been one of the most trying times in her life. Felicity has denied any wrongdoing to some of her friends and is just desperate to stay out of the public eye."
The fallout from the college admissions scandal has been swift. Hallmark cut ties with Loughlin, who had lucrative deals with the network thanks to her made-for-TV movies and hit show, When Calls the Heart.
A source also told ET last month that Huffman and Macy's marriage has been under strain since the scandal broke. Huffman and 69-year-old Macy have been married since 1997, and in addition to Sofia, also share 17-year-old daughter Georgia together.
"This situation has been very trying on Felicity and William's marriage," the source said. "They love each other but they've been arguing a lot. Felicity and William have an incredibly strong marriage but this situation has put a tremendous amount of pressure on them."
"Their close friends were stunned by the news because they've always seemed like honest, good people, people who would never lie and cheat to get what they wanted," the source continued. "They almost seemed to pride themselves on their honesty."
Huffman was spotted shopping in West Hollywood, California, on Saturday with Georgia, and appeared to be in good spirits as she flashed a smile. As for Loughlin, she was seen leaving a yoga session in Brentwood, California, on Saturday, where she was polite while briefly speaking with paparazzi who asked her about whether she was afraid of potentially going to jail.
Watch the video below for more:
-- Reporting by Brendon Geoffrion
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