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Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli Tried to Hide College Admissions Scam From Guidance Counselor, Feds Claim

By Paige Gawley‍ 8:58 AM PDT, August 19, 2020

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Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli tried to hide their role in the college admissions scandal from their daughter's school counselor, prosecutors allege in new court documents.

The couple paid $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits for the crew team, though neither of them had ever participated in the sport. They initially pleaded not guilty to all charges leveled against them, claiming their payments were donations to the school and not bribes.

Loughlin, 56, has since pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, while Giannulli, 57, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.

The documents allege that, in January 2018, the couple and their youngest daughter, 20-year-old Olivia, discussed "how to avoid the possibility that a high school counselor would disrupt their scheme."

When Olivia asked if she should list the University of California as her top choice school, prosecutors allege that Loughlin replied, "Yes... but it might be a flag for the weasel to meddle" and advised her daughter not to "say too much to that man."

Prosecutors also claim that Giannulli said "f**k him" in reference to the counselor before calling him a "nosey bastard."

Two months later, when Olivia was "flagged" as a "recruit for the crew team," prosecutors allege that the teen's high school counselor told a USC admissions official that he had "no knowledge of [her] involvement in crew and based on what I knew of her video blogging schedule [I] highly doubted she was involved in crew."

In response, prosecutors claim that Giannulli confronted the counselor and, according to notes of the meeting, "aggressively asked what [the counselor] was telling USC about his daughters and why [the counselor] was trying to ruin or get in the way of their opportunities."

Prosecutors also allege that Giannulli "bluntly stated that [Olivia] was a coxswain," which refers to the person who sits in the stern of the ship while rowing crew.

Loughlin and Giannulli are set to be sentenced on Friday. In the same documents, prosecutors suggested a sentence of two months in prison and two years of supervised release, a $150,000 fine, and 100 hours of community service for Loughlin and five months in prison, two years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and 250 hours of community service for Giannulli.

Last month, a source told ET that waiting for her sentencing has been "painfully stressful" for Loughlin.

"She is exhausted and is ready to get past this point. She's spending time with her family and trying her very best not to think about what lies ahead, because she realizes at this point it’s out of her hands," the source said. "Her focus is to spend as much quality time with her daughters as possible as she knows she might not see them for a while."

"They don’t want to focus on the negative and are doing their very best to avoid spending the last days in fear of what's to come," the source added. "The family is actually doing well despite what they are going through. This is the biggest challenge they have ever faced, and Lori hopes it makes them stronger in the end."