Over the past week, Allison Baver, a former Olympic athlete from Berks County and well-known producer, was found guilty of deliberately lying to get her hands on $10 million worth of government pandemic relief funds. The judgement was carried out in a Utah federal courtroom. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Having graduated from Wilson High School, Allison Baver was found guilty on charges of fraud. A federal jury made the decision following their observation that she had given misleading details to banks in the hopes of securing a $10 million small business loan, which was sourced from government pandemic relief funds.
The judgement delivered in Salt Lake City’s federal courthouse accused Baver of two counts of making deceptive statements to manipulate a bank, one count of money laundering, and one count of contempt. She originally faced these charges in December 2021.
Aged 42, Baver is a retired Olympic athlete who won a bronze medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics as part of a speed skating team. She also participated in the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2006. Moreover, she lists on her website her other ventures, including acting, modelling, motivational speaking and fashion designing.
She currently resides in Taylorsville, Utah.
In accordance with a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice:
During her trial, Baver was found to have submitted eight fraudulent loan applications via the Paycheck Protection Program for her media venture, Allison Baver Entertainment LLC. The loans under the PPP program were designed to help small businesses continue paying their staff amidst the Covid-19 crisis.
In April 2020, Baver submitted the fraudulent PPP loan applications to Northeast Bank and Meridian Bank. The applications claimed she had 430 employees and a monthly payroll averaging to $4,770,583. However, according to departmental records, no employees or an average monthly payroll were under Baver’s name.
The fraudulent details listed in the applications convinced Meridian Bank to process the entire $10 million loan requested by Baver. Subsequently, Baver gave $150,000 to the production company of actor Elijah Wood to help fund the 2021 movie “No Man of God.”
Her sentencing is slated for October.
The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the IRS’s Criminal Investigations Unit worked in collaboration to investigate the case.
### Frequently Asked Questions
**Who is Allison Baver?**
Allison Baver is a 42-year-old retired Olympic athlete who took part in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the latter games as a speed skater. She later ventured into acting, modelling, fashion designing and motivational speaking.
**What was Allison Baver convicted for?**
Baver has been found guilty of fraud. A federal jury made this decision after it was found that she manipulated factual details to secure a $10 million small business loan through the government’s pandemic relief funds.
**What will happen to Allison Baver now?**
She is now set to be sentenced in October, where the penalties for her fraudulent actions will be laid out. The fraudulent details listed in her loan applications played a key role in influencing Meridian Bank’s decision to grant her the requested loan worth $10 million. Following the approval of the loan, Baver allocated $150,000 to Elijah Wood’s production company, SpecterVision, supporting the filming of the 2021 movie “No Man of God.”
