Federal prosecutors submitted Olivia Jade’s alleged fake rowing resume as evidence in the college admission scandal and a Boston criminal attorney is telling us why those documents were likely turned over.
Federal prosecutors submitted an alleged fake resume that lied about the athletic achievements of Olivia Jade Giannulli, 20, on Feb. 7 as part of the ongoing national college admissions scandal. The rowing resume shows the daughter of Lori Loughlin, 55, as an accomplished crew team member that had won multiple gold medals in famed competitions, according to the documents released by the US Department of Justice. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Edward Molari, Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer, who explained why prosecutors may have waited until now to release this document after Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, 56, were initially indicted in March 2019.
“Apparently the document was published in response to a demand for documents by the defense,” Molari explained. “It appears that the defense was insisting that the government produce specific evidence of fraud, and the government appears to believe that this document is responsive to that request.” In Dec. 2019, lawyers for Lori and Mossimo had claimed that federal prosecutors were withholding evidence that could prove the couple’s innocence. Their lawyers asked a judge to force the Justice Department to turn over certain FBI records and other evidence that could be used to mount a defense for them. Although this piece of evidence could be used to put added pressure on Lori and Mossimo to enter a plea, Molari said, “In this case, though, it appears that the government’s motivation is simply to respond to a demand by the defense.”
Despite Olivia’s name being dragged into this court case once again, Molari explained it doesn’t necessarily mean this could serve as evidence to charge the YouTube star. “I assume Olivia Jade didn’t write the document or transmit it. It is possible that the government picked this document because the most obvious defense Lori and Mossimo could raise is to say they didn’t author it, but that raises the question of who did,” he added. “It is possible the government is sending a signal that their defense requires the jury to believe that it is their daughter who committed a crime and not them, but if that’s what’s going on I would infer the point isn’t that the government actually wants to charge their daughter, but rather to make Lori and Mossimo see how difficult their defense is to believe.”
Olivia Jade Giannulli’s rowing resume, which claims she’s a gold medal winner with years of experience (U.S. Department of Justice)
Lori and Mossimo were indicted as part of the FBI’s college admissions scandal for allegedly paying bribes totaling $500,000 to have Olivia and their other daughter, Isabella Giannulli, 20, admitted to USC as crew team recruits. Both pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges in April 2019, as well as to bribery charges filed against them in October 2019.
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
