Actress Lori Loughlin is reportedly worried about her daughters’ future after federal investigators discovered she and husband Mossimo Giannulli paid bribes to get their children into the University of Southern California.
Loughlin “is mortified and gets the seriousness” of the scandal, a source told Us Weekly.
“But her concern was for her daughters and now, more so than ever. She is really less worried for [herself] and her husband, and really worried for her daughters’ future.”
Another source told the magazine that Olivia Jade, 19, “is not talking to her parents right now” because of the situation. The YouTube star has lost a number of brand partnerships following the conspiracy charges brought against her parents, including TRESemme and Sephora.
“Olivia blames her mom and dad for this scandal and for the downfall of her career,” a third source said.
Us Weekly also reported this week that Olivia Jade is staying with her boyfriend Jackson Guthy as she deals with the fallout of the scandal. While she declines to speak with her parents, her friends “are encouraging her to forgive them,” a source told the magazine.
Loughlin and Giannulli were spotted in public for the first time on Friday, sitting on benches in Orange County as they waited for companions believed to be family members, reported the Daily Mail.
Court appearances for the couple were scheduled for March 23 but a judge approved a delay over “scheduling conflicts.”
EXCLUSIVE: Downcast Lori Loughlin appears tense and bites her nails as she is pictured for the first time since college bribery scandal arrest https://t.co/UNnZdmXq5P
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) March 29, 2019
Loughlin, Giannulli, and actress Felicity Huffman, who was also charged in the scheme, are now slated to appear in Boston federal court on April 3.
Federal officials said that Loughlin and Giannulli paid $250,000 each for Olivia Jade and Isabella, 20, to get into the University of Southern California by being designated recruits for the crew team, despite the girls not rowing at a competitive level.
They paid William “Rick” Singer, who ran a nonprofit and pleaded guilty to orchestrating the nationwide scheme.
Huffman, meanwhile, paid Singer $15,000 in exchange for a third-party, an associate of Singer, to proctor her older daughter’s SAT so the daughter could cheat, prosecutors said. The daughter received a score of 1,420, approximately 400 higher than her PSAT, which was taken one year earlier. Huffman also discussed repeating the scheme for her younger daughter.
Huffman, Loughlin, and Giannulli face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Loughlin Said She’d Lie to the IRS
Singer called Loughlin in November 2018 and said he was being audited by the IRS. He was working with federal investigators at the time. Singer told the actress that tax investigators might call her.
“I wanted to make sure that you knew, as well, if they happened to call you, is that nothing has been said about the girls, your donations helping the girls get into USC to do crew even though they don’t do crew,” Singer told her.
“So we—so we just—so we just have to say we made a donation to your foundation and that’s it, end of story,” Loughlin responded.
“That is correct,” Singer said.
“Okay,” Loughlin said.
“Terrific,” Singer replied.
“Okay,” Loughlin said.
“I just wanted to make sure I touched base because I didn’t want you to all of a sudden what—like what’s this call coming from.”
“Okay, yeah …” Loughlin said. “So it’s the IRS. It’s not anyone from USC, it’s the IRS,” she added.
“That is correct,” Singer said.
“Okay. Very good,” Loughlin said.
