Olivia Jade Giannulli may be ‘forced’ to testify about Lori Laughlin’s alleged bribes, reports say
Olivia Jade Giannulli may be eager to return to her life as a University of Southern California student, or to her once lucrative career as an internet influencer.
But first, the 19-year-old Hollywood heiress will probably have to deal with the criminal case involving her parents’ alleged efforts to bribe her way into USC. That may include being ‘forced’ to testify against her parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, when their case goes to trial, a Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer told Hollywood Life.
That means Olivia Jade Giannulli may have to face questions from federal prosecutors about her own possible complicity, attorney Edward Molari explained. The former “Full House” actress and her fashion designer husband allegedly paid college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer $500,000 to get Olivia Jade and her sister Isabella, 20, admitted to USC by having them falsely designated as crew team athletes.
“If the government has evidence establishing probable cause that the children committed a crime, bringing charges against the children is entirely within the government’s discretion,” Molari told Hollywood Life. “That also means that if the government wants a child to testify against their parent, the government can force them to do so, whether they want to or not.”
Us Weekly recently reported that Olivia Jade was aware of her parents’ efforts to get her and Isabella into USC.
Loughlin, 54, and Mossimo Giannulli, 55, have pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and money laundering in the nationwide college admissions scandal. They face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
“Olivia fully knew what her parents did to get her into USC, but didn’t think there was anything wrong with it,” a source told Us Weekly.
Whether or not Olivia Jade knew that her parents’ alleged activities were illegal, she had to have known her parents were going to extraordinary lengths to secure her a spot at the selective college, news reports and the criminal complaint suggest.
In some of her YouTube posts, Olivia Jade presented herself as an indifferent student in high school who wasn’t that interested in going into college. The Us Weekly source added that Olivia Jade didn’t get into any other California schools.
According to the complaint filed by federal prosecutors, Isabella Giannulli was first admitted to USC in the spring of 2016, after one of Singer’s alleged accomplices, former USC associate athletic director Donna Heinel, falsely presented her to a university subcommittee as a purported crew member.
The following year, Singer allegedly worked out the same scheme with Loughlin and Giannulli on behalf of Olivia Jade. In this case, Giannulli provided Singer with an “action picture” — a photo showing Olivia Jade posed on a rowing machine that would allow her to be falsely presented as a crew coxswain.
Heinel made that presentation on behalf of Olivia Jade to the subcommittee in November 2017, the complaint shows. Two weeks later, Olivia Jade received a conditional acceptance letter to USC.
Molari told Hollywood Life that federal prosecutors would be interested in learning whether Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli asked their daughters to stay quiet their alleged illegal activities. Olivia Jade and Isabella would have no choice but to share what they know, Molari added.
“A child doesn’t have the right to withhold confidential communications made by a parent if asked about them in court,” Molari explained to Hollywood Life. “They also have no right to decline to testify against a parent if subpoenaed to testify.”
Olivia Jade Giannulli already has paid a huge price for her parents’ alleged actions on her behalf. Both she and Isabella still are officially enrolled at USC but are in academic limbo as the school reviews their applications. In addition, since her parents were charged in the scandal, Olivia Jade has become one of the most public and vilified faces in the scandal. Several brands stopped promoting their products on her Instagram or YouTube accounts.
Depending on which report you read, Olivia Jade Giannulli either isn’t on speaking terms with her parents, and blames them for “ruining” her life and influencer career; or, she is worried sick about them. Meanwhile, she has moved out of the family’s Bel Air mansion, and she also has broken up with her musician boyfriend, Jackson Guthy, according to Us Weekly.
Olivia Jade, improbably, wants to go back to USC, a source told Us Weekly. “She didn’t get officially kicked out, and she is begging the school to let her back in,” the source said.
Another insider suggested to Us Weekly that Olivia Jade knows she has little chance of being allowed to return to USC. But she hopes that expressing interest in being a college student again will somehow help her effort to rehabilitate her reputation.
“She knows they won’t let her in, so she’s hoping this info gets out,” the insider told Us. “She wants to come out looking like she’s changed, learned life lessons and is growing as a person, so she for sure wants people to think she is interested in her education.”