Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Giannulli, daughters of actress Lori Loughlin, are still enrolled at the University of Southern California despite a report that they had dropped out and faced a lifetime ban from the campus, the university said.
“We have confirmed that both Olivia Giannulli and Isabella Giannulli still are enrolled,” the university’s communications department told USA Today on March 25.
The latest confirmation directly contradicts a report from TMZ that the sisters had formally withdrawn from the school.
The outlet said that officials from the university, known as USC, said that the sisters had formally dropped out and withdrawn from the school in the wake of their parents being accused of bribing their children’s way into the college.
Sources told TMZ that officials also planned a misconduct hearing that would determine if the girls would be banned from the campus for life.
The communications department didn’t address that claim with USA Today. TMZ has not posted a correction or retraction.
USC said in a statement earlier in March that it placed holds on the accounts of students who may be associated with the alleged admissions scheme.
“This prevents the students from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts while their cases are under review,” it stated. “These students have been notified that their status is under review. Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion.”
Olivia Jade Didn’t Fill Out Her Own Application: Prosecutors
Prosecutors said in the indictment against Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, that Olivia Jade, a YouTube star, didn’t fill out her own application to USC.
The younger Loughlin daughter was the second family member to gain entry into the University of Southern California as a crew recruit despite not rowing competitively, according to the indictment (pdf).
Mossimo Giannulli first arranged with William “Rick” Singer to get his daughter Isabella, 20, designated as a recruit so she could get into the school despite subpar grades.
When it worked, he and Loughlin contacted Singer again to get Olivia Jade into the school the same way.
Singer, who owned a nonprofit and orchestrated the nationwide scheme, created a fake profile presenting Olivia Jade as a crew coxswain for the L.A. Marina Club team, requesting from the family an “action picture” to place in the profile. Twelve days later, Giannulli emailed a picture of Olivia Jade on a rowing machine.
She was presented to the USC subcommittee for athletic admissions and was accepted as an athlete-student. “CONGRATULATIONS!!!” Singer wrote in an email to Giannulli and Loughlin. “Please continue to keep hush hush till March.”
The family paid Singer $250,000 for each child he helped get into USC.
Loughlin emailed Singer about a month later to request guidance on how to complete the formal USC application in the wake of Olivia Jade’s acceptance as a recruited athlete.
“[Our younger daughter] has not submitted all her colleges [sic] apps and is confused on how to do so. I want to make sure she gets those in as I don’t want to call any attention to [her] with our little friend [at her high school]. Can you tell us how to proceed?”
Singer then directed an employee to submit the applications on behalf of Olivia Jade.
Loughlin and Giannulli were both charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and released on bond, with court appearances scheduled for April 3 in a federal courtroom in Boston. They each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
