Lori Loughlin's daughter reportedly learned about bribery scandal while on a billionaire's yacht
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Olivia Jade Giannulli's spring break vacation in the Bahamas was interrupted on Tuesday with news that she was in the center of a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal.
Olivia Jade wasn't just hanging around on a dinghy, either — the 19-year-old YouTube personality was staying on billionaire developer Rick Caruso's luxury yacht, TMZ reported Wednesday, along with Caruso's daughter, Gianna, and their friends. Caruso told TMZ they headed down to the Bahamas well before authorities announced that Olivia Jade's parents — actress Lori Loughlin and clothing designer Mossimo Giannulli — stood accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get her and her older sister into the University of Southern California.
Caruso, the chair of USC's Board of Trustees, said that "once we became aware of the investigation, the young woman decided it would be in her best interests to return home." Olivia Jade has not been charged with any crimes. Giannulli was arrested and posted bond Tuesday, and Loughlin, who was filming out of the country, returned to California and turned herself in on Wednesday; she has been released on a $1 million bond.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
