Ex-Olympic Athlete Defrauded $10M In COVID-19 Funds, Used Part Of The Money To Fund Ted Bundy Film

A former Olympian medalist has been charged with defrauding the government on Thursday, Dec. 16, after the disgraced athlete allegedly falsified data in order to receive a hefty loan from the small business COVID-19 fund.

Forty-one-year-old Allison Marie Baver, who received a bronze medal as part of the United States’ Olympic 3000-meter women’s relay team in 2010, is also being charged for money laundering relating to her company Allison Baver Entertainment, which she opened in 2019, the New York Post reported.

She allegedly submitted eight Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications in April 2020, asking for and eventually receiving over $10 million from the Meridian Bank. However, some of the statements she made in the form were found to be false, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release.

Baver allegedly claimed to have between 100 to 430 employees under her company, paying monthly wages up to $4.7 million on average. However, an investigation showed that she does not have anyone employed in her company, nor does she have an average monthly payroll, NBC affiliate KFOR reported.

She allegedly transferred the COVID-19 relief loans she received from Meridian Bank into a separate account, using over $150,000 of the money to fund the 2021 Ted Bundy film "No Man of God," which starred Elijah Wood and Emmy winner Luke Kirby.

The film, which she had a small cameo in, appears to have been released in August of this year. It has made over $215,876 in the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

Prosecutors are seeking over $9.7 million of the funds that Baver obtained, with convictions of the charges that could potentially lead her to spend over 40 years in jail.

Fraud cases regarding falsified or misused COVID-19 PPP loans have overwhelmed the system over the past year, with the U.S. Attorney General setting up a separate task force, the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, as a way of prosecuting and investigating possible abuse and fraud of the system.