People Magazine’s cover story this week about Lori Loughlin is an absolutely psychopathic display of narcissism and white privilege. Lori – or “sources close to Lori” – can NOT believe that the FBI and Department of Justice are making such a big deal about a little family matter of multi-state fraud, money laundering, tax fraud and more. Lori is apparently convinced that if she simply wallows in her privilege and pretends like this is something that can be waved away, all of the federal charges will be wiped clean somehow. Well, funny story: now one of the Giannulli daughters is likely being investigated by the FBI. LMAO.
It could soon be a very empty house for Lori Loughlin and her designer husband as a third family member is now the focus of a Department of Justice probe for her involvement in the college admission scandal that ensnared the actress. Multiple sources tell DailyMail.com that one of the actress’ daughters received a target letter from federal prosecutors in Massachusetts earlier this month regarding the Operation Varsity Blues investigation.
That letter informed the embattled University of Southern California student that she was the subject of an investigation which could result in criminal charges. No students have been charged or arrested at this point in the investigation, but court documents make it clear that some of the youngsters were aware of the illegal actions being carried out in their behalf.
‘It is a not-so-veiled threat,’ said one source who has seen the letter. ‘[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 DailyMail.com spoke with only knew about one of the daughters getting a letter, the tone of which was described as ‘ominous.’
That letter failed to bring Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli to the bargaining table however, with the pair entering a not guilty plea on Monday to charges of mail fraud and money laundering. A lawyer for Loughlin did not respond to a request for comment, and it is not clear if her daughter has sought separate counsel.
Both the Giannulli daughters knew what was happening – they actively posed for those fake-ass crew photos and they had their mommy organize all of their college applications with all of the faked information. If I had to guess, I would say Olivia Jade is the one being targeted because it seems like she was the one who needed the most “help” from her parents and their criminal conspirators. Meanwhile, Olivia Jade is living with her boyfriend in Malibu and doing Jell-O shots as we speak. She couldn’t care less. If push comes to shove and the feds offer Olivia a deal, you know she’ll roll on her parents so hard too.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I wonder if they would plead guilty if it meant their daughter wouldn’t be charged, for some reason I don’t think they would
I think it’s too late for them to plead guilty, that deal is off the table
Oh I know, I’m just thinking hypothetically. If they were given the opportunity to plead guilty so their daughters wouldn’t be charged, would they? They seem kind of delusional.
@Bryn, yea I don’t understand how they see things. It seems like they think they can just lawyer up and fight this out. And who knows, sometimes a good lawyer is all you need.
There will be another deal. This is similar to how they got Manafort to plead out. They threatened his wife and son in law.
This is a tactic to strong-arm them into pleading guilty. There is always going to be a deal on the table, just not as good as the first one that she turned down.
Prosecutors will offer plea deals up to and even during trial – they really don’t like letting things go to jury if they can avoid it especially with a defendant people might find sympathetic like this – but the *offers* get less generous (usually) the closer you get to trial and the more evidence is developed.
But people regularly plead out during trial, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they plead out once they come to terms with the fact that Yes Virginia, There Is Going to Be Jail Time.
@anony83, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that. We shall see how this all plays out!
Yeah, I think they are depending on their lawyer to get them out of their mess. They can afford a good lawyer and sadly, that can make a huge difference. I wouldn’t be too surprised if their attorneys could convince a jury to find them not guilty. And that whole family seems delusional.
With the way she’s shooting off her mouth to the press, I don’t think any good lawyer can help her. Her entire press tour isn’t helpful.
I bet that is what the Federal Prosecutor on this case is banking on.
Do these idiotsthink those teams don’t have access to Google or social media accounts.
Yeah, she will roll and probably find a sponsor to help her do it.
Unfortunately, you are spot on about her daughter. She will find a sponsorship. I’ve become cynical of late.
Me too. And Lori will write a teary memoir when she’s released from prison (with a 10 million dollar deal) and become a serene yoga instructor or something.
Wow. That’s all I can say. To have your world turned upside down. I don’t think any of them have the coping mechanisms in place to assist with how this will ultimately affect them.
And of course they both knew about what was going on. I am curious to see if she does throw her parents under the bus. But if she’s partying while her parents face 20 years, I am willing to bet she will do all she can to save herself.
I think she will. Every sound bite from her has been all about her rotten parents. Her parents are rotten, but hearing their daughter throw them under the bus so willingly sits poorly with me.
I guess I’m an awful person, but…I will LMFAO when Olivia Jade throws her parents under the bus and leaves skid marks (runs and hides). I just CAN’T with Mrs Hallmark’s arrogance and entitlement.
I like the other daughter, she’s quiet and not in the spotlight like the idiot parents. I’m still loving this story though, truly dumb idiots and hypocrisy
I love this story too. Their hubris is off the charts. I want to see LL without her perky Jesus loving Aunt Becky grin.
The IRS announced a 5 year audit of both her and hubbie’s taxes. I imagine that news wiped the smile off her face.
You love that someone dragged their children into an illegal scheme and now one of the children may be facing jail time?
The daughters were not dragged into the illegal scheme, they were willing participants. Both daughters knew they were not active in crew.
We have no idea what pressure was placed on them to cooperate. Gossip yesterday was that Lori was obsessed with getting them in USC.
+1 Kylie. One daughter used her dorm room as a set, to shill products. She wasn’t exactly practicing rowing.
Conspiracy charges can arise from merely knowing about an illegal scheme/activity, but not reporting it.
@Megan
So? Both daughters had a chance to do the right thing. Instead they made the choice to do something illegal. Olivia Jade is on record saying she had no true interest in school, so she definitely should have refused.
Megan keep your pants on, I love that these people are so vapid and dumb and yet still unaware. Do the crime, do the time!
“Conspiracy charges can arise from merely knowing about an illegal scheme/activity, but not reporting it.”
Agreement and an act in furtherance of the conspiracy are likely both required. The “agreement” prong can be satisfied by action, so posing for crew pictures (assuming they knew what they were for), and/or submitting applications with false information are likely enough to satisfy the conspiracy requirements. But definitely more than knowledge and failure to report are required.
When Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty, I wondered if part of the deal was that no charges would be brought against William H. Macy, this is seeming to confirm (to me at least) that no charges against possible co-conspirators was part of the deals the other parents took.
My reference is a two-year long white collar fed case where numerous execs, board members and two attorneys served prison time. Nearly all were charged with conspiracy, among other things.
My comment was based on trial commentary by the prosecutors. The bar for charging conspiracy is not as high or involved as one might think. My understanding is that when one person commits an overt act in support of the conspiracy, it can result in others being charged or identified as non-indicted co-conspirators.
Board members would have had a fiduciary duty to their company/shareholders, so they would have a duty to act or report. That’s different from a typical situation, such as here, where nobody has a duty of care.
Generally speaking, a failure to act is only a crime if there is a pre-existing duty to act.
@Megan – not so obsessed that she urged them to get in the right way.
Yes!
Can I just say that I am proud of the US Attorneys Office in Boston and our local FBI? This investigation began under Carmen Ortiz and continued under Andrew Lelling. When we think of bringing about justice, people tend to focus on violent crime or drug offenses but white collar crime hurts everyone too, hurts our society as a whole. Education is how we can pull ourselves out of whatever our origins were to a better life and it hurts all of us when access to education is denied because people like Lori Loughlin cheated.
The Boston office should be commended for pursuing this.
The last sentence of your comment is why I have no sympathy for these cheaters. There are less fortunate kids who are studying hard and juggling jobs to try to get into college the honest way.
There are over 17 million college spots in America. Less than three dozen people were charged in this scandal. Let’s not pretend less fortunate students were denied college spots en masse.
The numbers game of who is charged here, does not negate the core problem. People with connections can get ahead of deserving applicants.
They weren’t, but the way these guys went about getting these test scores – exploiting loopholes, utilizing disability clauses, etc. will have ramifications down the lines. I’m one of those people with a neurological disorder that counts as a learning disability. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to get clearances for that sort of thing when it comes to major exams like the SAT. It’ll likely only get harder after this. THAT will definitely have more impact down the line, which is why I care about it more than the actual buying-in of the college placement.
The system has been rigged to favor the rich from day one, but this scandal is about fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion, not justice for poor students. If you are looking for justice for less fortunate students, there are plenty of scholarship funds you can donate to.
Megan, there were not 17 million college spots at USC. A few of those that applied and had a legitimate shot at acceptance lost their opportunity because of people like Loughlin and Huffman. If this was someone’s top choice of school, they certainly have a right to be angry at this situation.
Megan, I never knew there were scholarship funds. Thank you for enlightening us on that. However, I prefer to help students directly instead of relying on someone else to pick and choose the recipients.
@Christin – a very large scholarship fund is a client of mine. Scholarship decisions are made by educational professionals who have the skills, knowledge, and experience to evaluate students. But if you think you know better, that’s fine, too.
@Megan, but it did stop someone who wanted into USC and worked for it from getting in.
@Swack – a student who can get in USC can get into a lot of schools. The assumption that the student denied a spot at USC was denied an education is just silly. They went somewhere else. If you want to have a conversation about how rich people game the system that makes sense, but it shouldn’t be done on the backs of poor students.
less than 3 dozen charged. that doesn’t include all of those who perpetrated this BS.
this further doesn’t include those who didn’t do anything illegal, but DID “donate” a bunch of money for a new building, or new gym, or new dorm, etc…that a less fortunate BUT MORE DESERVING person’s parents couldn’t do.
stop caping for the privileged people who don’t give a sh*t about anyone but themselves and what they can get for their money.
ETA: and a scholarship cannot GET someone IN to a school like donating a new building can. a scholarship for a poor student does NOT equal $$$ from your parents that GET YOU IN. two different things.
“Let’s not pretend less fortunate students were denied college spots en masse.”
Who cares if it was 1 student or thousands? There were high school students who worked hard in school, studied their butts off on the SATs, denied themselves “fun time” in order to get into their *school of choice* and were cheated out of that spot at *USC*. This family engaged in criminal acts to get their lazy, non-qualified children to take those spots. I have no sympathy for them. I too was once one of those high school kids that devoted all my time in high school to be a great student, actually played sports, dealt with the injuries and post game bruises, etc. Lost sleep studying for months for the SAT’s in addition to my weekend volunteering and job. I was rewarded with getting into my schools of choice but you better believe I would have been so disappointed and cynical early in life knowing students of these parents took the spots I worked hard for. And yes when I signed my college applications at age 17, I took seriously signing my name to confirm that everything in my application was truthful. My parents only contribution was the application fee.
People defending these two students and their parents really need to read the blogs and letters to the editors of kids 17-21 currently in college. They are angry as hell and do not give a fork for excuses being made for this privileged family. Stop talking to other adults and listen to their outrage if you don’t understand why people are pissed!
@Original – I am objecting to disingenuous comments that less fortunate students were denied an education because they didn’t get into USC. If they were qualified for a spot at USC, they were qualified for a spot at many prestigious schools. There is no defense for breaking the law to get your kid into college, but a lot more than two students were denied admission to USC because the process favors the donating potential of legacies and kids who can pay full tuition.
@megan i think cheating is actually pretty popular. I’m sure plenty of rich people have people fill out the applications and write the essays for their children; this is fraud. This scandal was just a lot more intricate with a charity fraud involved. If the actual number of people cheating would be revealed it would be a lot higher than 50 in 17mil.
@Megan, are you being willfully obtuse? You seem to be missing the point completely.
Interesting choice to go all-in defending this family, though.
@Lorelai – Please tell where I defended this family? I guess you are willfully misreading what I wrote.
Just read the Caitlin Flanagan article in The Atlantic, “They Had It Coming”. She was a teacher, then college admissions counselor, at a private school in LA 25 years ago, has read the indictment transcripts, and relates her experiences in light of the current situation.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/what-college-admissions-scandal-reveals/586468/
@Lightpurple – she notes the FBI paid the parents involved the compliment of taking their investigation as seriously as the parents took their children’s college admissions.
The public face of the scandal has been Lori and Felicity. We hear little about the other parents. Ms. Flanagan makes very succinct point, worth quoting.
“…think about the kinds of jobs that the indicted parents held. Four of them worked in private equity, a fifth in the field of ‘investments’, others in real-estate and the most senior management of huge corporations. Together, they have handled billions of dollars worth of assets within heavily regulated fields – yet look how easily and how eagerly they allegedly embrace a crooked scheme…”
She doesn’t explicitly say so, but the obvious conclusion – not the first experience these powerful people have with skirting rules/laws, in life and likely also in business. Not exactly news, but depressing to see it laid out so blatantly as described in the transcripts.
Great piece in the Atlantic- especially the shout-out to Tom Wolfe
I think it could go either way with the daughters. They both knew what they were doing. Olivia made it clear that she was forced to go to college before the scandal even broke. They might be looking at her as a minor who was forced into it. She’s already thrown her parents under the bus about it all as well. The older daughter seems to have actually wanted to go to college. Making her a willing participant in the crime.
I think Olivia because they have on record her asking how to complete her application to not give away the scam and someone completed and submitted it for her. I didn’t see any comments of the staff completing the older daughters application.
But would intent really play into this? Olivia, not wanting to go to USC, is just as guilty as the other sister by her actions.
I agree that she is just as guilty as her sister. That was why I was wondering if it had something to do with her age and being forced into it. Olivia would never have done it at all without her parent’s insisting. However, it could also be that they have no physical proof that her sister knew but they have Olivia’s e-mail asking about it, as @Eliza pointed out. Although, I thought her sister was also “on the crew team” and therefore in faked photos. So?
LATimes says Lori’s defense is “parenting on steroids”. I’ve been curious how she is going to fight this, and she is saying that she was just doing her best as a parent, and she didn’t know she was doing anything illegal. The delusion is strong with this one.
I can’t stand the kind of parents who do these types of things “for the best” of their children. It would have been better if you had taught them to work for the things they wanted, and not forcing them to go to post secondary school when they obviously have no interest
Did she also have a bad case affluenza?
I gotta imagine that anyone close to the family IRL side-eyed the hell outta LL every time she bragged about Olivia Jade’s acceptance to USC.
And why was she proud of that fact when she broke the law to get her kids in? Lori is messed up.
Oh, yes, she’ll roll.
As awful as they are, I still think making them the face of our rigged “meritocracy” allows so many who’ve done so much worse and have hurt so many to hide in plain sight…cough Supreme Court…cough White House…cough Entertainment…etc.
Olivia Jade has herself to blame on this one. Her leaks are all over the place. I haven’t heard one peep from any other kid in this nightmare.
I know all the stuff going on with the Giannulli’s is a very serious matter. However, all I can think about when I see photos of them is, “How did this family get so wealthy from owning a fashion company?”. Does Mossimo not stop them before they leave the house??
The Boston Herald published last week that the FBI is sending target letters to *all* children of non-plea bargaining parents if the children were 18 or older and participated in the fraud. Both of Lori’s daughters qualify.
This is only a tactic to put additional pressure on the parents to plea bargain.
You would think a devoted mom like Lori would do anything to keep her kids out of trouble. She is also whining to People Magazine about how her precious daughters might need to testify against her at trial. You know how to avoid that, Lori? Don’t go to trial.
Yes, to all of this.
I think it’s either an attempt to step up the pressure to get them to plead out, OR that the real reason they didn’t take the plea is because prosecutors wouldn’t agree not to pursue the kids. I don’t want to suggest that these privileged a-holes did something on principle, but they have really good counsel and this would at least make sense from a legal standpoint.
Has anyone seen the latest? Hubby Mossimo faked going to USC, sent his parents forged tuition bills and pocketed the money they sent him. Said he used the money to start his “fashion” business.
Olivia Rose should have followed in his footsteps. She’d have been way better off.
I saw that story alleging he scammed his own parents. He sounds like a trustworthy kind of guy, doesn’t he.
Haha, wow, what a winner. Wonder how many generations of garbage are coming down the line to Olivia Jade and her sister.
There’s so much schadenfreude…I can’t even. I have memories if stressing over college applications and essays and recommendations and interviews. And tests! It was an entire process. A growth period. Stress and worry. And pride! Screw cheaters.
Right. And pride! The real deep-down fulfilling type, not *gee, I look good in that selfie* type. These parents really failed their girls.
I would feel differently about all of this with LL, Mossimo and their girls if LL & he had chosen to take the Felicity Huffman approach… but given their poor decision making due to being in such an extreme state of denial mixed with arrogance and entitlement, I hope she and her husband get the fullest extent of time in prison and I hope it’s an awful experience for them. They seriously need to be humbled. As for Olivia Jade, I see both sides; yeah she was complicit, but as a teen, you are advised by your parents and tend to go along with trusting that what they are advising you to do is the best option. I do think she and the other daughter should have to do some legit community service or something that would genuinely teach them to be appreciative and that the silver spoon doesn’t always deliver.
Don’t count the Laughlin-Giannulis out yet.
Remember how the Kardashians started their crawl to fame- their father was OJ’s bagman. As in, got rid of the weapon and the bloody jumpsuit. While the white Bronco chase was running endless loops on your TV, Kris Jenner was thinking, ‘I can work with this!’
Just watch- five years from now, Lori, Olivia Jade, and the other one (my fave description) will be in the front row at Paris fashion week, plotting their next marriage/reality series/product endorsement.
This brings to mind the very first time I ever saw Kris on television. She was giving interviews as Nicole’s “friend”, with Bruce by her side (he was the well-known one).
Lori’s first husband is an ex-banker and current studio honcho. She may very well be able to call in some favors, career-wise, if she gets cleared. Yet I think it will take time for the dust to settle.
Lets be real if Lori could have called in favors from her Ex she would have been doing more then Hallmark. Why would her Ex husband help her in the first place.
@Raven – Stranger things have happened. She’s playing the victim, so who knows who might have sudden sympathy. She went from wealthy husband to another wealthy husband, and maybe hasn’t been as concerned with her own income to this point.
Were any of these kids the age of majority by the time they were applying? Them being minors seems like a potentially big wrinkle. Like it’d be a lot easier to use them as leverage to get plea bargains out of parents than it would be to actually charge them.
A hefty number of people reach eighteen before graduating high school because of where their birthday falls on the school year calendar. I graduated at seventeen because I was on the cusp as a September baby, but my brother was of legal age when he did because his was in November. They can technically be held legally accountable if they engage in known illegal activities at that point.
This being said, I don’t think any of the kids will actually see jail time unless they have significant input in continued fraud. I think it’s more or less a warning move on their part to force the parents’ hands.
It’s been an insane effort to try to wrap my head around the behavior of LL and her designer husband. Then I stumbled across this incident, A Bad Case of Do You Know Who I Am? Youtube. I’m only learning of this now?! If you have 16 minutes to waste . . .
I can’t imagine having obsessive parents pressuring kids to participate in illegal activities. Yes they knew it was wrong but do you really think they knew the dumb ass parents would commit tax fraud by claiming it as a donation? At 17 or 18 having to tell your parents no, I’m not doing this is a huge burden on a child.
With that said, Olivia never wanted to go to college, why bother?
What kind of grades did they get? How were they not flunking out, especially Olivia Jade?
And if anyone thinks these few Indictments are the sum of the scamming that goes on, I have a bridge to sell you?
Wow. They didn’t even plead guilty to keep their child out of jail? Parents of the year! I hope their daughter rolls on them.