Days after Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli pleaded not guilty in the college admissions scandal, reports are saying that one of their daughters may be under criminal investigation over alleged involvement in the bribery scam.
The Daily Mail reports that one of the Giannulli sisters received a formal target letter from federal prosecutors in Massachusetts over Operation Varsity Blues.
“It is a not-so-veiled threat,” an anonymous source told Daily Mail. “[The U.S. 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.”
Though Loughlin and her husband reportedly paid a $500,00 bribe to get both daughters into USC, the Daily Mail’s sources only knew of one daughter who had received the letter.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that several students whose parents were involved in the scandal received formal letters from federal investigators informing them that they could also be targeted in the probe. However, the outlet added that the sending of letters doesn’t “mean the students or graduates who received them will face charges.” Federal prosecutors also said back in March when the scandal was first reported that no students would be charged; it has been left up to the universities to decide how to handle those students who benefited from the scam.
CNN also reported that students, as well as graduates and other adults, had received target letters, so it’s entirely possible that Loughlin’s daughter was one of them.
While the Daily Mail doesn’t specify whether it was Olivia Jade or Bella Giannulli who received the letter, some outlets have speculated that it was Bella — mostly due to the fact that she recently deleted her Instagram and has generally been laying low since the scandal broke. Olivia Jade, on the other hand, still has her account up, though she hasn’t posted in six weeks, and disabled comments on her most recent posts.
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Yesterday, People reported that Loughlin is supposedly terrified that her daughters may have to testify against her if the case goes to trial, though a lawyer told InStyle that it wouldn’t be necessary for them to do so. How this will play out, though, remains to be seen.
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