Saying goodbye to social media. Lori Loughlin deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts on Tuesday, March 12, amid news of her involvement in a nationwide college admissions scam.
Loughlin, 54, and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli allegedly “agreed to pay bribes totaling $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 court documents obtained by ABC News earlier on Tuesday.
The pair’s daughters, Bella Giannulli, 20, and Olivia Jade Giannulli, 19, both currently attend the University of Southern California, which was supposedly their father’s alma mater. However, the YouTube star recently revealed that her fashion designer father, 55, “faked his way through” college.
“He, like, built his whole entire brand [Mossimo Supply Co.] and he wasn’t actually, like, ever … enrolled in college,” the influencer said on the Zach Sang Show on Friday, March 8. “He started his whole business with tuition money that his parents thought [was] going to college.”
Actress Felicity Huffman was also allegedly involved in the scandal. The Desperate Housewives alum, 56, supposedly “made a purported charitable contribution of $15,000 … to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter.” She also allegedly “made arrangements to pursue the scheme for a second time” to help her younger daughter get into a prestigious school, but decided “not to do so.”
Huffman shares Sofia, 18, and Georgia, 16, with Shameless actor William H. Macy.
Mossimo and Huffman were both arrested on Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s L.A. Public Affairs specialist, Laura Eimiller, confirmed to Us Weekly. According to Eimiller, a warrant for Loughlin’s arrest was served at her California home as well, “but she was not there” and has not yet been taken into custody.
Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokesperson for the United States Attorney in the District of Massachusetts, explained to Us that the Summerland alum “is out of the country” but “was contacted by federal authorities and told to turn herself in.”
Us Weekly has reached out to reps for Huffman and Loughlin.
