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 Crown Media Family Networks, the company that owns the Hallmark
cable channel, cut ties with Loughlin, its "Garage Sale
Mysteries" star, after she was charged in the scandal, it said
on Thursday.
"We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped
development of all productions that air on the Crown Media
Family Network channels" involving the actress, the company said
in a statement.
Hallmark's announcement followed an earlier one from LVMH's
Sephora beauty chain, which said it was ending its partnership
with Loughlin's daughter, Olivia.
Olivia Giannulli, the 19-year-old daughter of the "Full House"
star and designer Mossimo Giannulli, is a social media
"influencer" who goes by the name Olivia Jade online.
Products from her makeup collaboration had been removed from
Sephora's website by Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately
clear whether her products were available in stores.
A representative for Olivia Giannulli could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Loughlin and her husband were accused on Tuesday of paying
$500,000 in a scheme that involved cheating on college entrance
exams and bribing athletic coaches to help Olivia and her
sister, Isabella Giannulli, get into the University of Southern
California (USC), according to court documents.
Loughlin and her husband were taken into federal custody and
later released on separate $1 million bonds on Wednesday.
DENIED A FAIR SHOT
Lawsuits began emerging on Wednesday, a day after federal
prosecutors said a California company made about $25 million
from parents seeking spots for their children in top schools,
including Georgetown University, Stanford University and Yale
University.
Fifty people, including 33 parents and athletics coaches, have
been criminally charged in the nation's largest known college
admissions scandal. The accused mastermind, William Singer,
pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
In one civil lawsuit, Stanford students Erica Olsen and Kalea
Woods said they were denied a fair opportunity to win admission
to Yale and USC because of alleged racketeering, and said their
degrees from Stanford will be devalued.
Singer and eight colleges were named as defendants in the
lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages including refunds of
application fees paid to the schools over seven years by
unsuccessful applicants.
Another lawsuit filed by Joshua Toy and his mother said he was
denied college admission despite a 4.2 grade point average, and
seeks $500 billion of damages from 45 defendants for defrauding
and inflicting emotional distress on everyone whose "rights to a
fair chance" to enter college was stolen.
The defendants in that case include Singer and accused parents,
including "Desperate Housewives" actor Felicity Huffman,
Loughlin and Giannulli, and TPG Capital private equity partner
William McGlashan Jr., who was fired by the firm on Thursday.
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"These class-action cases are opportunistic creatures of lawyers
trying to obtain a windfall," Donald Heller, a lawyer for Singer,
said in a phone interview.
Lawyers for the other plaintiffs did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Both lawsuits were filed in California. More lawsuits are likely.
Prosecutors said Singer used his Edge College & Career Network and
an affiliated nonprofit to help prospective students cheat on
college admission tests and bribe coaches to inflate or create
athletic credentials.
The Stanford case is notable because it is among the country's most
prestigious and selective universities, admitting just 4.3 percent
of its applicants last year.
But Olsen and Woods said their degrees are "now not worth as much"
because prospective employers might question whether they were
admitted on merit or through bribes by parents.
A Stanford spokesman said the university is reviewing the lawsuit.
TIP THAT LED TO FRAUD DISCOVERY
The original tip that led to uncovering the college scandal stemmed
from an unrelated securities fraud probe into Morrie Tobin, a Los
Angeles resident who prosecutors said engaged in "pump-and-dump"
stock market schemes, a person familiar with the matter said on
Thursday.
Tobin, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 27 to conspiracy and securities
fraud charges, told authorities a Yale University women’s soccer
coach had sought a bribe in exchange for helping his daughter get
into the Ivy League school, the person said.
That now-former coach was Rudy Meredith, who agreed to plead guilty
to conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
The FBI after receiving the tip secretly recorded a meeting between
Meredith and Tobin in which he sought $450,000 in exchange for
recruiting her for a spot on the soccer team, according the person
and related court records.
At the meeting, Meredith accepted $2,000 cash as a partial payment,
according to charging documents.
Brian Kelly, a lawyer for Tobin, declined to comment. Meredith's
lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Jonathan Stempel in New
York; additional reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by
Bill Tarrant and Bill Berkrot)
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