Isabella Rose Giannulli — the 20-year-old daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, who have been charged in the college admissions bribery scandal — on Wednesday deleted her “Bella” Instagram account, just two days after it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that some students received so-called “target letters,” notifying them that they could be a focus of a criminal investigation.
While it is not clear whether Isabella received one of the letters, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday that, earlier this month, one of the Giannulli daughters did receive a target letter from federal prosecutors in Massachusetts.
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Loughlin and Giannulli were initially charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud for paying $500,000 through a college prep business to ensure their two daughters’ admission to the University of Southern California as recruits to the college’s crew team, even though they did not participate in the sport. Both daughters are still technically enrolled at USC.
On April 9, the couple was among several parents charged with money laundering and other crimes in “Operation Varsity Blues.” Both Loughlin and Giannulli are out on $1 million bonds and have pleaded not guilty to the charges. (Thirteen other parents, including Felicity Huffman, have indicated that they will plead “guilty” to charges in the case; Huffman also issued a statement on April 8 in which she apologized to her daughter.)
Isabella’s 19-year-old YouTube star sister Olivia Jade Giannulli, who counts 1.4 million Instagram followers, still appears to have her account mostly intact, although she previously deleted an Instagram video of herself making cookies with her mother that was tagged to Hewlett Packard, according to CNN, and has also deleted a number of YouTube videos and tweets (including some indicating her lack of interest in school and studying). HP, Sephora, hair care brand TRESSeme, The Estee Lauder Companies and others have all dropped endorsement deals with the influencer since news of the scandal broke.
The younger Giannulli sister has not posted anything publicly on Instagram since Feb. 28, although Us Weekly reported that she has been privately communicating with friends on Instagram using the “close friend list.”
In light of the charges, Hallmark Channel has pulled Loughlin from roles in the series When Calls the Heart and Garage Sale Mystery and has cut ties with the actress.
