Apparently, Mossimo Giannulli Lied About Attending USC, Kept Parents’ Money Instead
NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 06: Designer Mossimo Giannulli attends Target’s model-less fashion show at Vanderbilt Hall Grand Central Terminal on November 06, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)
Mossimo Giannulli, husband of Lori Loughlin and former fashion designer, was reportedly telling lies related to USC long before the feds arrested him for it.
According to a newly-resurfaced interview with the activewear designer, Giannulli, who is currently charged in a massive nationwide college admissions scam, lied to his parents in the 1980s about attending USC and instead pocketed the tuition money for his business.
“SC was expensive, so that was how I was starting my company. I used all that cash,” Giannulli told the fashion site, The Hundreds.
“I used to have hundreds of thousands of cash in my top drawer in my fraternity house,” he added. “And I was like, ‘this is kind of too easy. I need a bigger platform. If I had a bigger account base, I could really kill it…’”
404525 02: Actress Lori Laughlin and husband/designer Mossimo Giannulli arrive April 26, 2002 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. A 21st birthday party for Harry Morton, son of Peter Morton, owner of the Hard Rock Hotel, was attended by many celebrities. (Photo by Scott Harrison/Getty Images)
According to CNN, USC confirmed that Giannulli was a student in 1984 in their non-matriculating program, which was open to anyone with “no formal admissions requirements.”
Olivia Jade, one of the daughters he and wife Loughlin are accused of paying $500M in scams to get into USC, recently confirmed the same news in an interview.
She said on a podcast called The Zach Sang Show, “I don’t know if I am supposed to say this, sorry dad. But (her father) was like never enrolled in college, he faked his way through it. Yeah, so then he started his whole business with tuition money that his parents thought was going to college.”
She added, “Mostly my parents really wanted me to go because both of them didn’t go to college… I think they did fine. Hypocrites. But I am so happy they made me go. That sounds so terrible, they didn’t make me.”
Olivia and her sister Isabella have since left USC following their parents’ federal charges, although the girls are still reportedly enrolled.
Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges. The two are facing up to 20 years in prison for their alleged crimes.
