LOS ANGELES (WASHINGTON POST) – The daughters of two of the most prominent parents accused in a national college-admissions scandal are no longer attending the University of Southern California (USC), according to university officials.
"Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli are not currently enrolled," USC officials announced in a written statement on Monday evening (Oct 21).
"We are unable to provide additional information because of student privacy laws."
Their parents are actress Lori Loughlin, who gained fame in the 1980s and 1990s TV situation comedy Full House, and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.
The scheme prosecutors named Operation Varsity Blues attracted national attention because it drew on the anxiety many families feel about college admissions, because it showed the lengths some parents were willing to go to get a prestigious education for their children and because prominent people were among those accused.
One family stood out, because several members – including one of the daughters – are well known.
Loughlin and Giannulli were accused by prosecutors of paying a total of US$500,000 (S$680,000) to a college-admissions consultant, William "Rick" Singer, to help their daughters gain admission to USC.
The couple have pleaded not guilty to two conspiracy counts.
An attorney for the couple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Olivia Jade Giannulli was a social-media influencer, with nearly two million YouTube subscribers and more than a million Instagram followers when the scandal broke.
Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli were among dozens of parents accused this year by the US attorney for Massachusetts, who described a scheme in which wealthy parents paid Singer to get fraudulent standardised test scores for their children and, in some cases, present them as athletic recruits to secure their admission to elite schools.
Singer has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other charges in the case.
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