Lori Loughlin recently pleaded not guilty to her role in the college admissions scam, which will mean that her sentence will be decided in court.
Because of that, it’s possible that Loughlin’s daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, will be called to testify, something Olivia Jade is reportedly “terrified” to potentially do.
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“Olivia’s still mad at her parents,” a source told Entertainment Tonight, adding that the 19-year-old is “terrified at the idea she may have to testify against them.”
The source also revealed how much Olivia Jade and her sister reportedly knew about their parents’ involvement in the scandal. Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were accused of paying $500,000 to have both girls designated as crew recruits to the University of Southern California in order to gain them admission to the university.
According to the insider, while the girls were aware that their parents were allegedly speaking to someone who could help them gain entry into the school, they “didn’t realize the extreme” lengths that the scam ended up taking. The source said that the girls believed the money their parents had allegedly “donated” to the school was going towards scholarships for students on the crew team.
Giannulli also pleaded not guilty, though he and his wife are facing a maximum of 40 years in prison due to the charges they were handed, which include conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
A legal source told PEOPLE that Loughlin is desperate to avoid having her daughters testify should she go to trial.
“It’s not in their best interest for this to go to trial, and Lori knows it. Because if it goes to trial, the girls will have to take the stand, and be cross examined by a prosecution that wants nothing more than to put a notch on their belt,” the source explained. “Lori is very afraid that her daughters will have to testify. That will traumatize them even more.”
“Lori is very concerned about what a trial will do to her daughters,” the source added. “It will undermine every accomplishment they have in the future and it will be part of their story forever.”
After the couple pleaded not guilty, Isabella Rose deleted her Instagram account. Olivia Jade’s account is still active, but she disabled comments on her most recent posts shortly after the scandal was reported.
Loughlin and Giannulli previously rejected a plea deal that would have required prison time, as a source told E! News that Loughlin does not believe her actions were serious enough to warrant a sentence behind bars.
“She doesn’t think that what she did is a criminal act or that she should go to jail,” the source said. “She plans to fight this and won’t give in.”
Photo Credit: Getty / JB Lacroix
