Former Olympic Speed-Skater Found Guilty of Pandemic Loan Fraud in Utah

Blank checks are seen on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center in Philadelphia, on May 8, 2009. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

A federal jury found a former Olympic speedskater guilty of fraud Thursday, ruling that the Utah native gave false information to banks to receive a fraudulent $10 million small business loan from government pandemic relief funding.

Allison Marie Baver, 42, a retired Olympic short track speedskater who was on a team that won a bronze medal in the 2010 Olympic Games, was found guilty of two counts of making false statements to influence a bank, one count of money laundering, and one count of contempt on Thursday.

According to court documents, Baver provided false information on loan applications for her company, Allison Baver Entertainment LLC, and submitted eight fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program for her small company, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hold the signed American Rescue Plan Act after the House Chamber voted on the final revised legislation of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan at the U.S. Capitol, on Mar. 10, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)

“Baver’s false statements influenced Meridian Bank to fund her requested $10 million PPP loan,” the press release stated. “After receiving the loan proceeds, she transferred $150,000 to invest in a movie.”

Baver’s loan applications said she had 430 employees and an average payroll each month of up to $4,770,583 — but a statement from the department said she had no employees and no average monthly payroll.

Many Americans have taken advantage of the billions of dollars in COVID-19 aid since the pandemic began in 2020.

The federal U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general, in a released report (pdf), showed that the most significant amounts of cash were stolen via the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.

The inspector general’s report stated that “at least 17 percent of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors,” referring to the programs.

“Using investigative casework, prior OIG reporting, and advanced data analytics, we identified multiple schemes used by fraudsters to steal from the American taxpayer and exploit programs meant to help those in need,” the report said. “We believe loans identified as potentially fraudulent as part of our review warrant investigation by OIG and its investigative partners.”

NASA executive, Andrew Tezna, pleaded guilty to submitting fraudulent loan applications to PPP and EIDL and sought some $350,000 before spending that cash on personal expenses.

“Despite holding a senior executive position at NASA, the defendant applied for over $350,000 in fraudulent loans and benefits,” Raj Parekh, acting U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, said in a statement. “In doing so, he essentially treated COVID-19 relief programs as a personal piggy bank, using funds intended to provide pandemic relief for small businesses and the unemployed to pay down his credit card debt, pay off loans for a residential pool and minivan, and pay a dog-breeder, among other personal expenses. EDVA will continue to hold accountable individuals who exploit a national economic crisis to unlawfully enrich themselves at the expense of those in genuine need due to the pandemic.”

Oversight failures by state officials resulted in the misallocation of more than $29 million in federal pandemic relief funds that may now have to be repaid by taxpayers, according to Oklahoma state Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd.

Byrd’s office released a report (pdf) on June 27 from an audit that reviewed about $14 billion in Oklahoma state spending in the fiscal year 2021, with the bulk of it related to COVID-19 relief funds.

“The State of Oklahoma dropped the ball on compliance and oversight,” Byrd said in a statement.

Oklahoma received around $1.1 billion in CARES grants, with the audit finding $12.2 million in questioned costs because state authorities failed to obtain proper documentation to ensure that the payments were made for pandemic-related expenditures.

“Oklahoma has systemic issues that make me very concerned for taxpayers,” Byrd said in a statement, noting that the federal government has the authority to demand repayment of misspent funds.

“If the federal government decides the State must pay back these questioned costs, you and I will end up paying the bill. If that happens, gross mismanagement and lack of compliance and oversight will be blamed.”