A former Olympic speedskater was accused of illegally obtaining millions in coronavirus relief money and investing part of it in a movie about serial killer Ted Bundy, federal authorities said Thursday.
Allison Baver, 41, was charged with eight counts of making a false statement to a bank and one count of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah said in a news release.
Baver won a bronze medal for the women’s 3000m relay in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, a win that came roughly one year after she shattered her ankle and broke her leg in a world cup meet in Bulgaria.
She later started Allison Baver Entertainment, a company that claims to empower “visionaries, creators and entrepreneurs to achieve greatness” in film and television.
In an indictment filed Wednesday, authorities said that Baver claimed in eight applications for Payroll Protection Program funding filed with two banks last year that the company had an average monthly payroll of $4 million.
In some applications, she said the company had 105 employees, according to the indictment. In others, she said there were 430.
The company had no employees and no monthly payroll, the indictment says.
On May 11, 2020, one of the banks, Meridian, funded Allison Baver Entertainment with a $10 million loan, the indictment says. Two months later, the document says, she transferred $150,000 to the production company behind "No Man of God," a film released in August about serial killer Bundy starring Elijah Wood.
It isn't clear if Baver has a lawyer. Court records don't list one. Her company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman for the film also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Baver's arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 18.
