Getty Lori Loughlin and daughters Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli in February 2019.
New court documents filed by federal prosecutors in the Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli college admissions scandal case show both of their daughters sitting on ERG rowing machines, partial evidence of the couple’s guilt, according to prosecutors. The photos are part of the prosecution’s 387 pages of exhibits against the couple and other defendants in the case.
Fuller House actress Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Giannulli were accused in March 2019 of “agreeing to pay bribes in the amount of $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC,” according to an affidavit filed in the Massachusetts District Court.
The couple has denied any wrongdoing, pleading not guilty to the charges. They are set for trial on October 5.
Court Documents Say the Photos Were Sent to the Man at the Center of the Scandal, Rick Singer
Massachusetts District CourtPhoto filed in court by prosecutors of one of Loughlin and Giannulli’s daughters on an ERG rowing machine.
Court documents claim Rick Singer was behind two organizations that facilitated the alleged bribes: The Key, which provided college counseling and test prep services; and a tax-exempt nonprofit, the Key Worldwide Foundation, which prosecutors allege Singer used to transfer bribe payments from parents to test administrators and coaches, according to Heavy’s previous reporting.
In the newly filed documents, an email from Singer to Giannulli and Loughlin says Singer was putting together one of their daughter’s portfolios. The email says it would “probably help to get a picture with her on an ERG in workout clothes like a real athlete too.”
Massachusetts District CourtEmail from Singer to Loughlin and Giannulli requesting a photo of their daughter on a rowing machine.
When the scandal broke in March 2019, Singer quickly pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, obstruction of justice, money laundering, and tax evasion.
Massachusetts District CourtLoughlin and Giannulli’s daughter on a rowing machine
The Photos Support Email Evidence That Loughlin and Giannulli Were Aware and Complicit
GettyLoughlin and Giannulli at Federal Court in Boston in 2019.
The hundreds of pages of filings include emails, text messages, photos, and copies of checks made out to USC that the prosecution says were bribes.
On April 10, 2017, Giannulli wrote an email saying, “Good news my daughter is in SC…Bad is I had to work the system.”
Court records show an invoice sent to Giannulli and Loughlin on March 30 requesting their $200,000 pledge to Singer’s Key Worldwide Foundation. A thank you was sent to the couple for that pledge in January 2018. In February, an email from Giannulli was sent to the KWF asking if he could write off the last college “donation,” a word he put in quotation marks.
Then there is the testimony of one of the daughters’ college counselors, whose name is redacted in the court documents. She says Giannulli confronted her when she questioned the claim that one of his daughters was a coxswain, the person in charge of steering a boat. Court records show they discussed her impression of the daughter after having seen her on social media, and she backpedaled, ultimately writing him an email reassuring him that the college had no intention of dismissing his daughter and that she verified the girl was a coxswain.
The latest filings come after multiple motions by the defense to dismiss various counts against Loughlin and Giannulli. United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling wrote of the multiple motions, “Criminal defendants are entitled to a vigorous defense. But making baseless claims that evidence was fabricated to frame innocent parties goes too far. For all of the reasons described herein, the defendants’ motion is factually and legally wrong, and should be denied without argument or a hearing.”
On April 9 the judge ordered a final status report due by the end of day May 1.
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