Lori Loughlin's daughter vacationed on USC trustee's yacht as scandal broke

The daughter of actress Lori Loughlin reportedly was vacationing in the Bahamas on the yacht of Rick Caruso, chairman of the University of Southern California Board of Trustees, as her parents were named Tuesday in a federal indictment accusing them of scamming to get their daughters into the school.

Loughlin’s daughter, USC freshman Olivia Jade Giannulli, was spending a holiday break with Caruso’s daughter, Gianna, also a USC freshman, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Caruso owns a 216-foot vessel called Invictus.

Neither the students nor Caruso are accused of any wrongdoing, but Loughlin and her husband are among dozens of well-heeled people federal authorities charged with paying up to $6 million in bribes to get their offspring into elite schools. Loughlin, a Hallmark regular and star of the sitcom “Full House” and its sequel series “Fuller House,” and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters fraudulently accepted by USC. Each were freed on $1 million bond Wednesday.

“My daughter and a group of students left for spring break prior to the government’s announcement yesterday,” Caruso, a billionaire developer, told TMZ on Wednesday. “Once we became aware of the investigation, the young woman decided it would be in her best interests to return home.”

Reps for Caruso and Loughlin didn’t immediately return HuffPost’s requests for comment.

Giannulli, a social media influencer with millions of followers on YouTube and Instagram, attracted further scrutiny this week with a video she posted before she began the fall semester last year, saying she didn’t care about school and was just there to experience the game days and the “partying.” She also turned her life as a student into a marketing opportunity, posting branded entries for Amazon and other companies.

Caruso has condemned USC employees implicated in the scheme, which included the creation of fake recruiting profiles that made Loughlin’s daughters appear to be crew athletes.

“The charges filed today against employees of USC are disturbing and the alleged activity is absolutely wrong,” Caruso said Tuesday in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “I am saddened for any innocent students that may be impacted. There is no option other than zero tolerance for this type of behavior, and everyone involved will be held accountable.