Lori Loughlin's daughter under criminal investigation over her role in the US college admissions scandal
It looks like it is going to be an empty house for disgraced star Lori Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli as a third member of their family of four becomes the focus of a Department of Justice probe.
According to DailyMail, sources revealed that one of the daughters of the actress — Olivia Giannulli or Isabella Giannulli — had received a target letter from federal prosecutors earlier this month regarding the Operation Varsity Blues investigation. The letter informed the University of Southern California student that she was the focus of an investigation which could possibly lead to criminal charges against her. Till now, no students have been charged or arrested but the court documents make it clear that some of the youngsters were well aware of the illegal actions taking place.
A source who saw the letter, shared, "It is a not-so-veiled threat. [The US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts] is making it pretty clear that they have evidence that very strongly suggests she knew of the illegal plot." The sources also added that they only knew about one of the daughters receiving the letter and described the letter as "ominous." However, the letter was unable to get Loughlin and Giannulli to the bargaining table as they both pleaded not guilty to the charges of mail fraud and money laundering on Monday.
A little after they had pleaded not guilty, their oldest daughter Isabella Giannulli decided to deactivate her Instagram account. According to one of the sources, the target letters have been circulated for the last month while prosecutors attempt to obtain evidence in the case and also pursue additional charges. The latest target letters seem to be a lot less concerned with gathering information but are more like "warning shots" to the students. The source further added, "It is clear that some students are going to be charged." The source also shared how they are aware of five other people who have also received letters which are similar to Lori's daughter.
Both Lori and her husband Mossimo are currently facing time in prison as they decided to use the athletics route to gain their daughter's admittance into the University of Southern California. Neither Isabella nor Olivia had ever rowed before but pretended they were crew teams.
They also posed for pictures on ergometers which seems to suggest that both the girls were aware and also actively participated in their parents' plan. As per the complaint, Olivia knowingly had Singer's team fill out all of her college applications. "On or about December 12, 2017, Loughlin e-mailed [Singer], copying Giannulli and their younger daughter [Olivia], to request guidance on how to complete the formal USC application, in the wake of her daughter’s provisional acceptance as a recruited athlete," the complaint states.
Loughlin and Giannulli also agreed to pay $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team even though the girls did not row. The entire scandal began to fall apart in October 2018 when the IRS decided to audit Key Worldwide and investigated the donations made by parents whose children were admitted to USC.