Lori Loughlin’s daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, could also face charges in the college admission scam, a former federal prosecutor explained.
“At a minimum the [Loughlin’s] daughters will be witnesses in a trial against their parents, but they could also be charged as defendants,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told People magazine in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: Report: Felicity Huffman Deletes Post About Being A ‘Good Enough’ Mom Following College Admission Scam Arrest)
Olivia Jade Giannulli, Lori Loughlin and Isabella Rose Giannulli… on February 28, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
“The government has made it clear that they are going to keep increasing pressure on both Lori [Loughlin] and Mossimo [Giannulli],” she added. “By not pleading, Lori and Mossimo are exposing their children to being charged.” (RELATED: Lori Loughlin’s Daughter Bragged About Going To School To Party)
However, a source close to the “Full House” actress disagreed with that assessment. (RELATED: Felicity Huffman Pleads Guilty In College Admissions Scandal)
“If Lori had any indication that the girls were at risk, she’d want to plead guilty — even though she believes that she did nothing wrong,” the insider close to the 55-year-old actress explained. “She is not going to let them spend time in jail for something that they didn’t do.”(RELATED: Report: Felicity Huffman Deletes Post About Being A ‘Good Enough’ Mom Following College Admission Scam Arrest)
“Lori is a fantastic mother who would take the fall for the girls even if it cost her everything,” the source added.
It comes following the addition of bribery charges against Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer, Mossimo Giannulli who “conspired to commit federal program bribery by bribing employees of the University of Southern California (USC) to facilitate their children’s admission,” per a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The new charges comes on top of previous charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for their part in the college admission scam, Operation Varsity Blues, which they pleaded not guilty to.
“It just gets worse and worse for her,” the source shared. “And you have to remember: nothing new has happened. They could have charged her with all of this last spring. But they waited. She feels like she is a scapegoat.”
As previously reported, prosecutors say that Loughlin and her husband allegedly paid $500,000 to get both of their daughters, Isabella and Olivia Jade, into USC by pretending they were competitive rowing recruits.
She’s facing a maximum of 40 years behind bars if convicted. If the bribery charge sticks too, she faces an additional maximum of five years behind bars.