Prosecutors release rowing photos Lori Loughlin used to try and get her daughters Olivia and Isabella into USC in the college bribery scam
- Photos of Olivia Jade Giannulli, 20, and sister Isabella Giannulli, 21, posing as rowing recruits on ERG machines were released by prosecutors Thursday
- Federal prosecutors released the photos after parents Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli filed a motion to dismiss the college bribery case
- Prosecutors blurred the faces of the two girls, but court papers identify them as the two depicted in the telling photos
- Loughlin and her husband are accused of paying $500,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits
- However, the girls were never on any actual rowing teams
Photos of actress Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli’s daughters posing on rowing machines in their bid to allegedly scam their way into the University of Southern California as athletes have finally been revealed.
Photos showing Olivia Jade, 20, and her sister Isabella, 21, rowing on ERG machines were released to the public on Thursday by federal prosecutors after Loughlin and Giannulli filed a motion to dismiss the bribery case.
Prosecutors blurred the faces of the two girls, but court papers identify them as the two depicted in the telling photos.
The photos of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli’s daughters posing on rowing machines in their bid to bribe their way into the University of Southern California as athletes have finally been revealed. In this image released by prosecutors Olivia Jade appears to be posing on an ERG machine
In this photo released by prosecutors Isabella Giannulli appears to be posing on an ERG machine
Last year the family became embroiled in the Varsity Blues scandal after it was revealed Loughlin and Giannulli allegedly paid $500,000 to get their two daughters admitted to the University of Southern California on phone athletic credentials.
The couple along with 12 others have been charged in the massive college admissions scandal.
Loughlin and Giannulli had pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Their request for a case dismissal was tossed out by federal prosecutors after their legal team claimed entrapment by the FBI.
The move prompted prosecutors to unleash those staged rowing photos the girls used to boost their college applications.
Prosecutors showed e-mail transcripts that show Mossimo Giannulli sent Rick Singer, the mastermind of the college admissions scandal, an email with the photo of Olivia rowing attached to it on September 7, 2016.
Singer had emailed Loughlin and Giannulli in August saying he was creating a coxswain profile for her and requested a picture of her posing as a rowing athelete.
‘It would probably help to get a picture with her on an ERG in workout clothes like a real athlete too,’ he wrote in the e-mail.
According to prosecutor evidence released Thursday Varsity Blues mastermind Rick Singer e-mailed Mossimo Giannullo on August 18, 2016 saying: ‘I need a PDF of her transcript and test scores very soon while I create a coxswain portfolio for her. It would probably help to get a picture with her on an ERG in workout clothes like a real athlete too’
Prosecutor evidence shows Mossimo Giannulli sent Rick Singer, the mastermind of the college admissions scandal, an email with the photo of Olivia rowing attached to it on September 7, 2016
Prosecutors released this e-mail exchange from April 2016 showing Singer e-mail Giannulli saying: ‘If you want SC I have the game plan ready to go into motion. Call met o discuss’
Misso sent another e-mail to Singer on July 28, 2017 with a picture of Isabella rowing, and Loughlin was cc’d on that e-mail.
However, neither Olivia Jade or Isabella were ever on their high school or extracurricular crew teams.
Prosecutors also pointed out that Loughlin and Giannulli paid $200,000 to Singer’s foundation, which they claim was the fee for his scamming services.
However, the Hollywood couple have claimed that those checks were donations to both parties, not bribes to get their daughters into the prestigious school.
Loughlin and her husband are accused of paying $500,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits. The Hollywood couple claim the payment was a donation to the school, not a bribe. Mom Lori Loughlin pictured with daughters Olivia Jade left and Isabella Giannulli right on red carpet in February 2019
In March Loughlin, Giannulli and other defendants filed a motion to dismiss the charges alleging prosecutorial misconduct.
They claimed that government mishandled and withheld evidence – specifically recordings of Singe speaking with defendants and his complaints that the government was pressuring him to call the payments bribes.
In response prosecutors acknowledged they should have turned over their notes on Rick Singer’s interactions with clients earlier but say it was ‘simply a mistake’.
They claim that Singer’s notes don’t exonerate the couple and they had alleged criminal intent long before Singer turned into a government informant.