Why Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli Are Selling Multi-Million Dollar Mansion Ahead of Criminal Trial
As their criminal trial looms, Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli are putting their multi-million dollar mansion on the market.
The couple, who could end up facing years in prison for their alleged involvement in the scandal, are selling their home for almost $28.7 million but it is not because they are looking to make a quick buck ahead of their upcoming trial, a source tells PEOPLE.
“They don’t need the money,” the source says. “They are stressed about a lot of things, but money isn’t one of them.”
Another source close to the couple also stressed the sale of the home, which was used for collateral for their bail, “has nothing to do with the trial.”
“Mossimo has been buying, refurbishing and renovating and selling houses for over 20 years,” another source noted.
Loughlin and Giannulli are also in no rush to sell the home, a real estate insider tells PEOPLE, so the pair are “quietly shopping their house to pre-screened and qualified buyers. They will only sell for the right price.”
As for what they are looking for in their next home, that’s simple — privacy.
“They would love to get more of a private property but are in no rush. Their current property is spectacular and overlooking the golf course at the Bel-Air Country Club,” adds the real estate source.
While now seeking a little under $28.7 million, in 2017, they tried to sell the home for $35 million, Variety reported at the time, about two years after purchasing it for $13.995 million.
“They hired a new real estate agent who believes he can get them the price that they want,” the source says, adding that Giannulli hired Listing Impossible star Arvin Haddad.
A rep for the couple did not comment on the home’s sale.
The 12,000 square-foot mansion features six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two living rooms, a formal dining room, an eat-in chef’s kitchen, and an outdoor courtyard complete with a massive pool.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to admissions consultant Rick Singer and his nonprofit organization, Key Worldwide Foundation, to falsely designate daughters Olivia Jade Giannulli, 20, and Isabella Rose Giannulli, 21, as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team, despite the fact that neither of them ever participated in the sport.
It has also been alleged that the family even took photos of Olivia and Isabella on rowing equipment to further perpetuate the ruse.
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The parents were charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services mail and wire fraud.
Both Loughlin and Giannulli used the Bel Air property as collateral for their $2 million bail for the fraud charges, PEOPLE reported in March of last year.
At the time, U.S. District Judge Alexander MacKinnon reportedly told Giannuli in court that the government could foreclose on the residence if the terms of his release were violated, the New York Daily News reported.
In October 2019, the parents were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery in addition to their previous charges.
Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutors proposed an October trial date for Loughlin and Mossimo on Thursday, though an official date has not been set, CBS reported.