Allison Baver Explained

Allison Baver
Sport:Short track speed skating
Event:Women's 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m relay
Pb:500 m: 44.535 (2008)[1]
1000 m: 1:31.151 (2008)1500 m: 2:20.015 (2008)
Birth Place:Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Retired:2014

Allison Baver (born August 11, 1980) is an American retired short track speed skater. A member of the U.S. short track speed skating squad beginning in 2002, Baver earned multiple medals in ISU World Cup competition.[2] Baver competed in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m relay events and trained with the US permanent winter sports Olympic team in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the 2005–2006 season, she was ranked third overall in world rankings. In 2010, she won a bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Baver was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on August 11, 1980. At age eleven, Baver competed in the National Roller Skating Championships in Philadelphia. At Wilson High School, she was a soccer player and cheerleader. She did not take up short track speed skating until her junior year of high school.[2] In 2003, Baver graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing and management.[3] Baver earned an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology.[4]

In December 2021, Baver was indicted for allegedly defrauding the U.S. government during COVID-19 with fraudulent business claims in order to receive $10 million. According to the indictment, she claimed that her company, which she formed in 2019, had as many as 430 employees and a monthly payroll of over $4 million.[5]

On June 29, 2023, a federal jury convicted Baver of two counts of making false statements designed to influence a bank, one count of money laundering, and one count of contempt. Her sentencing is set to take place in August 2024. She faces up to 40 years in prison.[6]

Athletic career

Baver competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy, Baver finished seventh in the Women's 500 m competition, following a third-place finish in Semifinal A and a collision with the Czech Republic's Kateřina Novotná in Final B, which took her out of the race for fifth place.

On February 25, 2007, Baver won her first U.S. National Championship.[7] Between 2008 and 2010, Baver was represented by Wilhelmina Sports.[8]

On February 8, 2009, Baver and teammate Katherine Reutter collided on the third lap of the 1500 m race in Sofia, Bulgaria. Baver fractured her leg in multiple places.[9]

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Baver competed in three events. In the 1500 m, Baver did not make it past the semifinals.[10] In the 1000 m, Baver was disqualified in the heats.[11] In the 3000 m relay, Baver's U.S. team finished fourth but were awarded the bronze medal after one of the teams was disqualified for an infraction. Baver competed in the relay heats and qualified for a medal.[12] [13]

Baver in 2016 was elected to a four-year term as one of seven vice presidents of the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association.[14]

Film industry

On December 1, 2020, Variety reported that Baver's production company announced an upcoming slate of movies, television shows and documentaries. In addition to executive producing and acting, Baver serves as a series creator.[15]

Baver appeared as a nurse and stand-in actress on Season 3 of Yellowstone, released in 2020, with Kevin Coster.[16]

In 2020, Baver appeared as Summer Sanders, a reporter, in the film, Six Feet Apart.[17] It was filmed and took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

In 2021, Baver appeared in an uncredited role as Marsha Tanner in the film, No Man of God. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021, and was released in the United States on August 27, 2021, by RLJE Films. It was also executive produced by Allison Baver Entertainment.[19]

Arrest, trial and conviction

On December 15, 2021, Baver was charged with fraudulently applying for $10 million in COVID relief payments and funneling some of the money to Elijah Wood's production company SpectreVision to fund the 2021 film, No Man of God, starring Wood. Prosecutors said Baver submitted eight Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in April 2020 seeking $10 million for her entertainment firm. In each request, Baver said her average monthly payroll was as much as $4.7 million, but she actually had no payroll at all, court documents show.[20] Her criminal case is filed as United States v. Baver (2:21-cr-00520).[21]

On January 18, 2022, Baver pled "not guilty" to nine federal charges.[22] Following two postponements, her trial began on June 26, 2023.[21] On June 29, 2023, a federal jury convicted Baver of two counts of making false statements to a bank, one count of money laundering, and one count of contempt.[23] She will remain out of custody until her sentencing, which is scheduled for October 15, 2024.[24] Baver could spend up to 40 years in prison.[25]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Biographical data for: Allison BAVER . February 4, 2021. ShorttrackOnLine.info .
  2. Web site: Allison Baver | Speaking Fee | Booking Agent. www.allamericanspeakers.com.
  3. Web site: 2017 Power Women Conference to feature Olympic speed skater Allison Baver, CEO of Deloitte. Lauren. Lee. April 20, 2017. The Daily Collegian.
  4. Web site: Allison Baver (M.B.A. '07) | Profiles | NYIT . NYIT.edu . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100323023447/http://www.nyit.edu/profiles/details/allison_baver/. March 23, 2010 . 2014-08-04.
  5. Web site: Scholl. Jacob. December 16, 2021. Former Olympian who received millions in PPP loans indicted for financial crimes in Utah. 2021-12-16. KSL.com. en.
  6. Web site: Allison Baver verdict: Former Olympic speedskater guilty on all counts related to $10M PPP loan. The Salt Lake Tribune.
  7. Web site: 2007 US Short Track Championships . 2007-02-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070818105041/http://www.ohiospeedskating.com/final_results.htm . 2007-08-18 . dead.
  8. Web site: WILHL INT : Wilhelmina Announces P&G Sponsorship of Allison Baver, Olympic Speed Skater. October 5, 2009. www.marketscreener.com.
  9. Web site: Baver breaks leg during race . https://web.archive.org/web/20090210010047/http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=3665459 . dead . 2009-02-10 . 2009-02-09 .
  10. Web site: Ladies' 1500 m - semifinals results. 2010-02-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20100219005318/http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-short-track-speed-skating/schedule-and-results/ladies-1500-m-semifinals_stw015200se.html. 19 February 2010 . live.
  11. Web site: Ladies' 1000 m - heats results. 2010-02-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20100218183534/http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-short-track-speed-skating/schedule-and-results/ladies-1000-m-heats_stw010900iN.html. 18 February 2010 . live.
  12. Web site: Stamm . Dan . Baver's Beautiful Bronze | NBC 10 Philadelphia . Nbcphiladelphia.com . 2010-02-25 . 2014-08-04.
  13. Web site: Ladies' 3000 m relay - finals results . 2010-02-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100219005330/http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-short-track-speed-skating/schedule-and-results/ladies-3000-m-relay-finals_stw430100jr.html . 19 February 2010 . dead .
  14. Web site: U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association elects new officers for 2017-2020 quadrennial . 2017-09-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170929232641/http://www.teamusa.org/US-Olympic-and-Paralympic-Foundation/News/2016/November/04/US-Olympians-and-Paralympians-Association-elects-new-officers--for-2017-2020-quadrennial . 2017-09-29 . live .
  15. Web site: Variety.com. Olympian Allison Baver Sets Film and TV Slate for Her New Production Company (EXCLUSIVE). Rebecca . Rubin . December 1, 2020. 2022-04-17.
  16. Web site: IMDB.com. Yellowstone (2018-) Full Cast & Crew. 2022-04-17.
  17. Web site: IMDB.com. Six Feet Apart Full Cast & Crew. 2022-04-17.
  18. Web site: HollywoodReporter. How Coronavirus Inspired a Socially Distanced Rom-Com: "It Became the Thing That Got Me Through" . Katie . Kilkenny . July 2, 2020 . 2022-04-17.
  19. Web site: No Man of God (2021) Full Cast & Crew. IMDB.com. 2022-04-16.
  20. Web site: Ex-Olympian charged with falsely obtaining $10M in COVID-19 relief funds . 20 December 2021 .
  21. Web site: United States v. Baver (2:21-cr-00520) District Court, D. Utah. Court Listener. Free Law Project. 2023-01-13.
  22. Web site: Olympic medallist pleads not guilty in COVID-19 fraud and money laundering case. Geoff. Berkeley . 20 January 2022. 2022-04-17.
  23. Web site: Utah jury convicts former Olympian in pandemic bailout trial. June 29, 2023. Nate. Carlisle. Adam. Herbets. FOX13. Salt Lake City, Utah. 2023-06-29.
  24. Web site: United States v. Baver, 2:21-cr-00520 - CourtListener.com. CourtListener.
  25. Web site: Olympic medalist accused of stealing millions in COVID-19 relief money . 21 January 2022 .