View Comments
Federal prosecutors have released rowing photos of Lori Loughin’s daughter Olivia Jade, which Loughlin reportedly used to help get her daughters into the University of Southern California.
What happened:
- Federal prosecutors filed new court documents that show Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose Giannulli using ERG machines and wearing activewear, according to People magazine.
- According to the court documents, Mossimo Giannulli emailed the photos to William “Rick” Singer, the mastermind behind the college admissions scandal, People magazine reports.
- Mossimo Giannulli reportedly sent the image to Singer after the mastermind said “It would probably help to get a picture with her on an ERG in workout clothes like a real athlete too.”
- Mossimo Giannulli took the photos and sent it, according to People magazine.
- After Isabella Rose earned her acceptance to the school, Mossimo Giannulli then sent an email to his financial advisor, saying “Good news my (older) daughter is in (U)SC bad (news) is I had to work the system.”
- Olivia Jade’s photos were sent to Singer. Loughlin was reportedly copied on the email, according to People magazine.
Why now
- The photos have been released after Loughlin’s defense team filed papers to end the trial in general. Loughlin’s team claimed the FBI told Singer to lie about what happened in the interviews they had with him, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
- The federal prosecutors replied with their own documents. They apologized for not being forthright with all of their information. But, they said, that doesn’t mean crimes didn’t take place.
- Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven E. Frank wrote in the new filing: “Just because neither Singer nor the defendants actually used the word ‘bribe’ to describe the purported donations doesn’t mean that they were legitimate. They were bribes, regardless of what Singer and the defendants called them, because, as the defendants knew, the corrupt insiders were soliciting the money in exchange for recruiting unqualified students, in violation of their duty of honest services to their employer.”
- Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so that their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, would be crew team recruits for the University of Southern California. The couple pleaded not guilty.