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Lori Loughlin feels pressure to plead guilty in her college admissions scandal in order to protect her daughters according to a new report.

This comes just days after multiple sources told  DailyMail.com that one of the actress’ daughters received a target letter from federal prosecutors in Massachusetts earlier this month regarding the Operation Varsity Blues investigation. 

That letter informed the embattled University of Southern California student that she was the subject of an investigation which could result in criminal charges.

Now People is reporting that a source close to the 54-year-old actress 'has every reason to believe' daughters Olivia Jade, 19, and Isabella Rose, 20, could be the targets of prosecution and they are considering their children's futures in the way the way she and husband Mossimo Giannulli approach the case against them.

Tough times: Lori Loughlin feels pressure to plead guilty in her college admissions scandal in order to protect her daughters - Olivia Jade (left), 19, and Isabella Rose, 20 - according to a new report from People, as the trio are pictured together in February

'Lori will not do anything to put her daughters in harm’s way,' the insider told the weekly publication. 'She is like a mama bear when it comes to the girls, and she will do whatever she has to do to protect them from prosecution, especially malicious prosecution. Her top priority in all of this is to protect her daughters.'

The source explained that it is within the realm of possibility to believe that their kids could be charged 'in an attempt to get them [Loughlin and Giannulli] to plead guilty.'

However the source adds: 'Investigators have not disclosed any information that they may or may not have that would implicate either one of the daughters.'

Moving forward: Loughlin and 66-year-old fashion designer Giannulli plead not guilty to the charges of mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy, as they are pictured leaving federal court in Boston earlier this month

'Lori will not do anything to put her daughters in harm’s way': the insider told the weekly publication, the actress and her daughters are pictured in November 2014

Loughlin and 66-year-old fashion designer Giannulli plead not guilty to the charges of mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

As they face up to 20 years in prison for each charge with the possibility that their daughters can also be dragged into this, the source for People said: 'They feel that they’re in the middle of a squeeze play right now.

'It’s very complex, legally. On one hand, they have pleaded not guilty to the offenses they are alleged to have committed. But on the other hand, they know that pleading guilty could put the matter behind the whole family.

'They are under an enormous amount of pressure, and the idea that the girls could be prosecuted is distressing, as you can imagine.  That just makes the pressure worse.'

People's insider also said that Loughlin is reluctant to go to trail as it is not in their 'best interest.' 

No students have been charged or arrested at this point in the investigation, but court documents make it clear that some of the youngsters were aware of the illegal actions being  carried out in their behalf. 

Fullest house: One of Loughlin's daughters received a target letter from the Department of Justice announcing that they were the subject of a criminal probe (l to r: Olivia, Lori, Massimo and Isabella)

Morning Lori: The sources DailyMail.com spoke with only knew about one of the daughters getting a letter, the tone of which was described as 'ominous' (Loughlin above on April 3 heading into court in Boston) 

'It is a not-so-veiled threat,' said one source to DailyMail.com who has seen the letter. 

'[The US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts] is making it pretty clear that they have evidence that very strongly suggests she knew of the illegal plot.'

The sources DailyMail.com spoke with only knew about one of the daughters getting a letter, the tone of which was described as 'ominous.' 

That letter failed to bring Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli to the bargaining table however, with the pair entering a not guilty plea on Monday to  charges of mail fraud and money laundering. 

A lawyer for Loughlin did not respond to a request for comment, and it is not clear if her daughter has sought separate counsel. 

A spokesperson for the US Attorney's office declined comment. 

Shortly after their not guilty plea, their eldest daughter Isabella Giannulli deactivated her Instagram account. 

One of the sources said that target letters have been going out for the past month as prosecutors work to obtain evidence in the case and pursue additional charges and defendants. 

These latest target letters seem be less concerned with gathering information in the case said that source, who described the notes as 'warning shots' to the students. 

'It is clear that some students are going to be charged,' said the first source.

That individual then added that they know five people who have received letters similar to Loughlin's daughter, noting that in all five cases the parent/s refused a plea deal and later filed a plea of not guilty.       

Loughlin and her husband are facing jail time because they opted to use the athletics route to gain their daughters admittance into University of Southern California.

This required daughters Isabella and Olivia, who had never before rowed in their lives, to pretend they were on crew teams.

In order to sell that, they posed for photos on ergometers, suggesting that they were both aware and willing participants in their parents' plan.

Furthermore, Olivia knowingly had Singer's team fill out her college applications according to the complaint.

'On or about December 12, 2017, Loughlin e-mailed [Singer], copying Giannulli and their younger daughter [Olivia], to request guidance on how to complete the formal USC application, in the wake of her daughter’s provisional acceptance as a recruited athlete,' states the complaint.

'Loughlin wrote: "[Our younger daughter] has not submitted all her colleges [sic] apps and is confused on how to do so. I want to make sure she gets those in as I don’t want to call any attention to [her] with our little friend at [her high school]. Can you tell us how to proceed?"'

In response, Singer wrote an email 'directing an employee to submit the applications on behalf of the Giannullis’ younger daughter [Olivia].

Loughlin and Giannulli 'agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team - despite the fact that they did not participate in crew - thereby facilitating their admission to USC,' according to the documents.

The couple emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU.

Sister, sister: The 'DOJ is making it pretty clear that they have evidence that very strongly suggests she knew of the illegal plot' said another source (l to r: Olivia and Isabella)

Emails obtained by investigators revealed that it was soon decided that bribes would be paid to have the girls recruited as crew coxswains.

A short time after that, photos were taken of older daughter Isabella on an ergometer.

Dr. Donna Heinel, the senior associate athletic director at USC, presented Isabella as a potential athletic recruit a month later and she was approved for conditional admission.

It was then asked that a check be sent to Heinle for $50,000 from Giannulli, who a short time later asked if he could mention the story to the athletic director at USC when the two men were at Augusta, likely playing at the famed golf club.

Singer stated that this was not a good idea because when he discussed the possibility of Isabella's admission with him a year he thought the family 'would be good for a million plus.'

Isabella received her admission letter the following March, which was followed by another note requesting a donation of $200,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation.

After the amount was wired to the organization a note was returned that stated no good or services had been exchanged for the money, which according to the documents is false.

This same exact process was then repeated with the young daughter, Olivia, it is claimed.

Problems arose however when Olivia's guidance counselor became curious as to how she managed to receive admission based on her involvement in crew since she did not row.

At the same time, Loughlin complained that her daughter was having difficulty filling out her other college applications, prompting Singer to ask an employee to take care of that task.

This was done so as not to draw attention to the fact that it was already confirmed that she had received conditional admission to the school.

Then, at some point, there was a very heated and public altercation between Giannulli and the counselor, which elicited an email from Dr Heinel asking that this not happen in the future so as to avoid detection.

This all began to fall apart in October 2018 when the IRS audited Key Worldwide and began to look into donations made by parents whose children were then admitted to USC.

The two were told by Singer to say they had given the money to help 'underserved kids.'

THE FULL LIST OF PEOPLE CHARGED WITH COLLEGE ADMITTANCE SCAM

THE STARS

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli spent $500,000 getting their two daughters into USC, according to prosecutors 

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli

Actress Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo are among the three most well known names on the list. They have two daughters, Olivia, 20, Isabella, 19, and Mossimo also has a son from a previous relationship. It is not clear which of their children is in college.  

Olivia is a YouTube star who has amounted millions of fans online but she is also enrolled at USC, as is their 19-year-old daughter Isabella. 

They allegedly paid $50,000 to get their oldest daughter into USC under the guise that she was a crew coxswain when in fact she does not row crew. 

Felicity Huffman is accused of paying a $15,000 bribe to get her oldest daughter Sofia into USC 

Felicity Huffman 

Huffman is best known for her role on Desperate Housewives. 

She is married to fellow actor William H. Macy but he has not been charged in the indictment. 

The pair have two daughters, Sofia, 18, and Georgia, 16.

Huffman is accused of paying $15,000  to have her daughter's exam proctored by Mark Riddell. 

Riddell was described by authorities as 'just a really smart guy' who would either sit tests for students, change their answers afterwards or help them actively while they took it in one of two test centers that was 'controlled' by the scheme's 'mastermind' Rick Singer. 

Huffman allegedly used the scheme in December 2017 but the indictment does not specify how Riddell allegedly helped her daughter. 

She considered using it for her youngest daughter, Georgia, but decided in the end that she did not need to, according to authorities.  

THE COLLEGE PROFESSORS, COACHES AND 'MASTERMIND'

William Rick Singer, the 'mastermind' 

Rick Singer ran The Key, a college preparation business 

Singer is accused of leading the scam. 

He led a college counseling program and, according to prosecutors, also ran a fake charity through which he funneled bribes.

The scam worked in two ways; he would have people come into the exam to correct students' answers and he also then bribed sports coaches to offer them scholarships, in some cases for sports they did not even play. 

Singer cooperated with authorities as part of the investigation and continued taking bribes after he had been contacted by police. 

Some of his conversations were recorded by police who obtained a wire tap to listen in. He is facing a maximum of 65 years behind bars and has pleaded guilty on all counts he was charged with. 

It remains unclear if he will be given leniency given his cooperation. 

Rudolph Meredith 

Meredith is a women's soccer coach at Yale. In his bio on the college's website, he is heralded as the 'winningest' coach, with 24 seasons under his belt. 

Mark Riddell 

Riddell is the director of IMG Academy , a college entrance exam preparation company.  

Rudolph Meredith, the women's soccer coach at Yale (left) and Mark Riddell, director of IMG Academy 

John Vandemoer 

Vandemoer is the head sailing coach at Stanford.   

Gordon Ernst 

Ernst is the head of women's tennis at the University of Rhode Island. 

He taught at Georgetown in the past and worked as a personal tennis coach for Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, while they were in the White House. 

John Vandemoer (left) is the head sailing coach at Stanford. Gordie Ernst was Michelle Obama's private tennis coach when she was First Lady. He is now the head of women's tennis at the University of Rhode Island.

Houmayoun Zadeg

Homa H Zadeh is a professor at USC. He is the Associate Professor and Director, Advanced Education Program in Periodontology. 

Michael Center

Center is the men's soccer coach at the University of Texas.  

Homa H Zadeh (left) is a professor at USC. Michael Center (right) is the men's soccer coach at the University of Texas.

Donna Heinel 

Heinel is the senior women's athletics director at USC. She is alleged to have accepted a $50,000 from Lori Loughlin and her husband, among others, for admitting fraudulent tests.

Laura Janke 

Janke is a former assistant soccer coach at USC. She allegedly took payment from Loughlin and her husband for their youngest daughter. 

Donna Heinel (left) is the senior athletic director at USC. Laura Janke (right) is a former assistant soccer coach

Ali Khosroshahin 

Khosroshahin is the head women's soccer coach at USC. 

Jovan Vavic

Vavic is the head coach for the men's and women's water polo teams at USC. 

Ali Khosroshahin (left) is the head of women's soccer at USC and Jovan Vavic is the head of the men's and women's water polo teams at USC 

Igor Dvorskiy

Dvorskiy is the president of the West Hollywood College Preparatory School and he worked at the West Hollywood Test Center where he turned a blind eye as the cheating happened for $10,000 at a time. 

Niki Williams 

Williams worked as a test administrator at one of the test centers Singer told parents he 'controlled'. She was a teaching assistant for Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas. 

PARENTS 

Bill McGlashan  

McGlashan is a prolific private equity investor who is the founder and managing partner of the firm TPG Growth. 

He is also at the helm of The Rise Fund, a social impact fund he launched with Bono. 

Gregory and Marcia Abbott 

New York couple Gregory and Marcia Abbott, 68 and 59, were also named. 

Gregory Abbott is the founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corp., a successful food and beverage packaging company. 

The couple, who have homes in New York City and Aspen, Colorado, allegedly paid a total of $125,000 to have someone take the ACT and SAT subject tests for their daughter so she could gain entrance to Duke University. 

Bill McGlashan and Gregory Abbott are pictured

Gamal Abdelaziz

Abdelaziz stepped down as president and COO of Wynn Resorts in 2016.

He is accused of bribing Donna Heinel, the senior women's athletics director at USC, to recruit his daughter for the basketball team in 2017. 

According to court documents, his daughter played high school basketball but was not gifted enough to get recruited as an athlete so he arranged for her to be one.  

He then made a $300,000 'donation' to the fictitious charity run by 'ringleader' Rick Singer and then made monthly $20,000 payments directly to Heinel. 

His daughter got into the college but never joined the basketball team, according to the documents. 

In a phone call with the fixer, they said: 'I’m not going to tell the IRS anything about the fact that your $300,000 was paid to Donna-- Donna Heinel at USC to get [your daughter] into school even though she wasn’t a legitimate basketball player at that level.'   

Jane Buckingham 

Buckingham is the owner of the now defunct market research firm, Youth Intelligence.  She sold the company in 2003. 

She is charged in the scheme for allegedly paying $50,000 to have someone else take her son's ACT exam in July 2018 because he had tonsilitis. 

Buckingham sent a handwriting sample for her son to a test taker and had him take a fake exam at home so he wouldn't know about the fraud, court documents indicate. 

Gamal Abdelaziz, the president and COO of Wynn Resorts (left) and Jane Buckingham, the owner of the now defunct market research firm Youth Intelligence 

Gordon Caplan

Caplan is a financial attorney and partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City. He lives in Connecticut.

He allegedly paid $75,000 to have Singer arrange a proctor to corrected his daughter's answers after she took the ACT in November or December 2018. 

Robert Flaxman 

Flaxman is the CEO, Co-founder, Crown Realty & Development, Inc, a real estate company based in Orange County. 

Gordon Caplan (left) is a financial attorney and partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City. Robert Flaxman (right) is the CEO, Co-founder, Crown Realty & Development

Agustin Huneeus 

Vineyard owner Huneeus owns a range of wines that are produced in Napa Valley. 

He allegedly participated in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter in 2017 and 2018 by conspiring to bribe Heinel and Jovan Vavic, the USC water polo coach, to facilitate his daughter’s admission to USC as a purported water polo recruit, according to the indictment. 

Elisabeth Kimmel is the former president of Midwest Television. She sold it in 2017 for $325million. Agustin Huneeus, whose family owns vineyards in Napa Valley, was also charged 

Elisabeth Kimmel 

Lis and Manuel Henriquez 

Kimmel, of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the former president of Midwest Television. She sold it in 2017 for $325million. 

She allegedly used the scheme to get her daughter into Georgetown and her son into USC by pretending the former was a tennis player and the latter was a pole vaulter. 

Kimmel ultimately facilitated $475,000 in payments to KWF, according to the affidavit.  

Toby MacFarlane 

MacFarlane and his wife Christy are well known on the San Diego social and charity circuit. 

He sits on the board of multiple companies and the family has their own trust but it is not exactly clear what he does. 

Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez

Marjorie Klapper 

Diane and Todd Blake 

I-Hsin "Joey" Chen  

Amy and Gregory Colburn 

Marci Palatella 

Peter Jan Sartorio 

Stephen Semprevivo 

Devin Sloane 

John Wilson

Robert Zangrillo 

Steven Masera 

William Ferguson 

Martin Fox

Jorge Salcedo 

Bruce and Davina Isackson 

Mikaela Sanford

David Sidoo

Michelle Janavs   

Douglas Hodge