Former Olympic speedskater Allison Baver has been indicted by a federal grand jury on nine counts of fraud that accuse her of lying to obtain $10 million from the Paycheck Protection Program.
According to the federal indictment filed Wednesday in Salt Lake City, Allison Baver Entertainment claimed in a PPP application that it had 430 employees and a monthly payroll of $4 million. However, FOX 13 reported, the indictment states the company and Baver had no employees and no payroll.
A company with 430 employees would be among Utah’s larger employers. In an email to The Tribune last year, Baver, 41, claimed her company had “several projects in development” with each requiring a “substantial number of employees,” though she did not specify what those projects were.
“Due to the need for large crews in close proximity, these types of productions have been particularly disrupted by the pandemic, and we recognize our responsibility to put these professionals back to work as soon and as safely as possible,” she said. “We hope to set a good example as the entertainment industry gets back on its feet.”
The indictment was filed Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City. A docket shows Baver has not yet entered a plea, but she has been issued a summons to be arraigned Jan. 18 at the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City.
The Tribune has previously reported that little information is available about Allison Baver Entertainment. The company’s listed address is the same as Baver’s home address in Taylorsville. According to her website, employees of Allison Braver Entertainment “are champions of equality, entrepreneurship, empowerment, and human elevation, proponents of personal performance, and advocates for those who aim high and break the glass ceiling.”
Baver made an uncredited appearance in the 2021 movie “No Man of God,” according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). The indictment alleges that Baver Entertainment transferred $150,000 to the film’s production company.
She also appeared as “Thug #4″ in the 2020 movie “Adverse,” according to IMDb, and worked as a stand-in in the television series “Yellowstone.”
Allison Baver Entertainment launched in October 2019, The Tribune has reported. The PPP program was meant to help businesses retain employees and pay expenses they had before the pandemic. Nearly 51,000 Utah businesses and nonprofits got loans through PPP, totaling more than $5 billion overall. But Baver’s company was one of just 41 among the 6,737 loans issued that was for $5 million or more.
Baver, a short-track speedskater, competed in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympics. In 2010, she won a bronze medal in the women’s 3000m relay. Born in Pennsylvania, she moved to Salt Lake City to train. She announced her speedskating retirement in 2017.
See more at FOX 13.
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