The actress Lori Loughlin has reportedly been training in martial arts to prepare for the possibility of a prison sentence in the college-admissions scandal.

Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 to guarantee their daughters' admissions to the University of Southern California as row recruits.

Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to three charges, and if they're convicted, they could face up to 50 years in prison each.

Two prison consultants, Justin Paperny and Michael Frantz, told Insider that Loughlin appeared to be getting bad advice from a prison consultant, calling the reported martial-arts training "ridiculous."

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As Lori Loughlin gets ready for her trial in the college-admissions scandal, she is said to have hired a prison consultant who's teaching her martial arts to prepare for the possibility of prison, a move other experts in the industry have called absurd.

Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have pleaded not guilty to accusations that they paid the college-admissions scheme's ringleader, William "Rick" Singer, $500,000 to guarantee their two daughters' admissions to the University of Southern California as coxswain recruits for the school's crew team.

Radar Online reported in December that Loughlin had hired a consultant to teach her prison slang and martial arts ahead of her trial.

But Insider spoke with two prison consultants who criticized such guidance.

Justin Paperny, who served 18 months in prison for a felony security-laws conviction, is the founder of White Collar Advice, which advises people facing federal prison sentences for nonviolent and financial crimes. He described the reported martial-arts training as "ridiculous" and "absurd."

Michael Frantz, who served 36 months in prison, is the founder of Jail Time Consulting, which provides services to defendants facing incarceration. He agreed with Paperny, suggesting whoever was advising Loughlin "doesn't know a thing about federal prison."

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"Martha Stewart didn't take martial arts. She wasn't bullied by the inmates," Frantz told Insider, adding: "Who came up with that idea? To show how tough she is? Please, be serious."

If Loughlin does go to prison, she would most likely be incarcerated at a minimum-security camp, designed for offenders who don't pose a risk of violence.

"There's as much violence in a minimum-security camp as there is in your local doughnut shop," Paperny told Insider. "If you act like a fool in the local doughnut shop, you're going to get punched. No different than prisons."

He said there's very little violence overall, especially compared with higher-security prison facilities.

"That's all sensationalized because it makes good headlines," he said. "It attracts attention. It's not realistic. It's not what happens on the inside."

Frantz and Paperny said that should Loughlin go to prison, she would be better off learning prison etiquette and information about how the facility worked, such meal times. Paperny also said it helped to find a routine while incarcerated and to focus on the positives.

Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

If convicted, they face up to 50 years in prison, but the sentence would most likely be much lower, perhaps closer to two years, Frantz said.

"Theoretically she could get 40, 45 years, but that's not going to happen," Frantz said. "You know that. I know that. The judge knows that. Everyone knows that. That's just not going to happen."

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