Just days after wife Lori Loughlin’s ‘tearful’ reunion with their daughters, it has been revealed that Mossimo Giannulli is struggling with prison life as he serves a longer sentence.
The 57-year-old fashion designer is ‘having a rough time in prison’ according to a source for Us Weekly on Wednesday. The insider explained: ‘He is allowed to call his daughters and son; those are the only good parts of his day.
‘He tries to sound strong for his children, but because of fear of a COVID outbreak, he has been spending almost all his time in his cell, which has been very mentally taxing.’
People added that Lori is ‘very relieved and happy to be home’ from prison but ‘has felt stressed about Mossimo.’ The insider added that she then ‘got an update that he is doing okay.’
The People source then said that ‘the whole nightmare won’t stop completely until Mossimo is released too. But Lori still seems positive. She spent yesterday with her girls and she is looking forward to the new year. She spent yesterday with her girls and she is looking forward to the new year.’
Giannulli began his five-month prison sentence just last month at the Federal Correction Institution, Lompoc on November 19 just three months after pleading guilty to fraud charges connected to the college admissions scandal.
He has been keeping his mind busy in his prison cell as the source said: ‘Mossimo is spending his time reading, writing letters to his family and planning future business ventures.
‘Mossimo is also a man of God and has been turning to prayer when he feels weak.’
This comes amid news of his wife Loughlin’s ‘tearful’ reunion with her daughters Olivia Jade, 21, and Bella Rose, 22, amid her release from prison after serving two months over the college admissions scandal.
The 56-year-old actress was emotional as she returned to her children in Los Angeles on Monday and is ‘beyond relieved that she can put her prison sentence behind her’, a source told People.
The insider added: ‘It’s the most stressful thing she has ever dealt with. She plans on spending New Year’s with Olivia and Bella. She is still worried about Mossimo though, and can’t wait to have him home.’
This came after Loughlin shielded her face with a trash bag as she was ushered out a side door and into a waiting van this morning after being released from prison for her role in the college admissions scandal, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show.
The Full House actress served nearly two months at the FCI Dublin in California, being released in the early hours of Monday morning. She entered the facility on October 30.
Loughlin, 56, wore a black hoodie covering the top of her head and a white face mask as she ducked her head down, blocking herself with a bag presumably filled with her belongings.
Despite prison officials telling DailyMail.com she would not be given any special treatment, a guard was seen letting Loughlin exit the building through a rarely used side door, where trash is normally taken out.
As terms of her release, she must complete 100 hours of community service, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release.
Loughlin’s husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, California.
Loughlin and Giannulli were among the highest-profile defendants charged in the scheme, which revealed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universities.
The couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither girl was a rower.
Their guilty plea was a stunning reversal for the couple, whose lawyers had insisted for a year they were innocent and accused investigators of fabricating evidence against them.
Loughlin and Giannulli were both initially supposed to report to prison on November 19, but prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Loughlin could start her sentence on October 30.
Loughlin also agreed that she would not seek early release on coronavirus-related grounds, prosecutors said. Giannulli is scheduled to be released on April 17, the Bureau of Prisons says.
Giannulli has to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service. The couple paid off their fines already.
The only public comments either Loughlin or Giannulli made about the case since their arrest last year came at their sentencing hearings in August.
Loughlin told the judge her actions ‘helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society’ and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a ‘catalyst to do good.’
Their younger daughter, social media influencer Olivia Jade, made her first public remarks about the scandal this month on the series ‘Red Table Talk.’ Olivia Jade said she doesn’t want or deserve pity.
She admitted she didn’t think there was anything wrong with college bribery but now realizes that it’s wrong and that her family ‘messed up’.
‘We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, ‘I recognize I messed up.’ And for so long I wasn’t able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it,’ she said.
Of the nearly 60 parents, coaches and others charged in the case, about a dozen are still fighting the allegations. The sentences for the parents who have pleaded so far in the case range from a couple weeks to nine months.
The couple’s daughter Olivia Jade repeatedly described feeling ’embarrassment’ and ‘shame’ in an interview with Red Table Talk earlier this month.
She said she now wants a ‘second chance’ and feels she deserves one because she’s so young.
It’s unclear if either of them knew whether she was participating in the interview – she said she hadn’t spoken to either of her parents since they went into prison.
Olivia Jade awkwardly admitted that when the scandal first erupted in 2019, she couldn’t understand ‘why people were mad’ that her parents had helped her cheat her way into the top college.
‘When all this first happened and it became public I remember thinking, “how are people mad about this?” It sounds so silly but in the bubble that I grew up in, a lot of kids’ parents were donating to schools.
‘It’s not and it’s not right but it was happening. So at first I was like, “I don’t really understand what’s wrong with this. I was like, “this is what everybody does and my parents work really hard”‘.
She was savaged by Pinkett Smith’s 67-year-old mother Adrienne who admitted at the start of the show she didn’t want Olivia Jade to have a seat at their table because she felt she was using ‘three black women’ for her redemption story.
Olivia said then that she hasn’t spoken to either of her parents since they began their sentences because they are quarantining for COVID.
‘There is no justifying or excusing what happened.
‘What happened was wrong. Every single person in my family can be like “that was messed up. That was a big mistake.”
‘But I think what’s so important for me now is to learn from the mistake and not be shamed and punished and never given a second chance.
‘I am 21. I feel like I deserve a second chance to redeem myself, to show I’ve grown.’
Giannulli and Loughlin’s plea deals came after months of them insisting they had done no wrong.
They suddenly changed their tune as COVID-19 swept the prison system and triggered early releases.
Neither of them gave explanations for their sudden change of heart.
Loughlin and Giannulli were among dozens of well-heeled parents who paid for their kids’ entry.
Prosecutors recorded phone calls and emails showing the couple worked with the mastermind of the scheme, admissions consultant Rick Singer, to get their daughters into USC with fake athletic profiles depicting them as star rowers.
‘Fantastic. Will get all,’ Giannulli responded and sent Singer the photo, according to the court filings.
Nearly sixty people have been charged in the scheme led by Singer, who secretly worked with investigators and recorded his conversations with parents and coaches to help build the case against them.
Singer, who is expected to testify against any defendants who go to trial, has not yet been sentenced. More than 40 people have already pleaded guilty.
Prison terms for the parents ensnared in the scheme range from nine months to a couple of weeks.
Other parents who’ve served time behind bars in the case include Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman, who pleaded guilty almost immediately and was sentenced to 14 days for paying $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT score.
Lori Loughlin
Two months in prison; two years supervised release, 100 hours of community service, $150,000 fine
Mossimo Giannulli
Five months in prison; two years supervised release, 100 hours of community service, $150,000 fine
Felicity Huffman
14 days prison, 1 year supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $30,000
Douglas Hodge
Nine months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $750,000, 500 hours of community service
Gregory Abbott
1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $45,000
Marcia Abbott
1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $45,000
Jane Buckingham
3 weeks in prison, 1 year of supervised release, fine of $40,000
Gordon Caplan
1 month prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $50,000
Robert Flaxman
1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised released, 250 hours of community service, fine of $50,000
Agustin Huneus Jr.
5 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, $100,000 fine
Marjorie Klapper
Three weeks in prison, one year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $9,500
Peter Jan Sartorio
One year probation, 250 hours of community service, fine of $9,500
Stephen Semprevivo
Four months in prison, 2 years supervised release, 500 hours of community service, fine of $100,000
Devin Sloane
4 months in prison, 2 years supervised release, 500 hours of community service, fine of $95,000
Toby Macfarlane
6 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, fine of $150,000
Jeffrey Bizzack
2 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service per year of supervised release, fine of $250,000
Michael Center
Six months in prison, one year of supervised release, $60,000 forfeiture
Michelle Janavs
Five months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $250,000