Former Slovenian Olympic figure skater, Luka Klasinc, 48, is accused of defrauding the U.S. government out of nearly 1.6 million dollars during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Slovenian figure skater was arrested earlier this week on bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges after he attempted to get a hold of funds that were intended as relief for U.S. small businesses that suffered during the pandemic. Klasinc is the owner and operator of BOB77, an event company that operates “ice amusement parks” in various countries. The company has put on events throughout Europe, including Poland, Germany, and Slovenia.

Manhattan District Attorney Audrey Strauss shared in a statement, “As alleged, at a time when U.S. small businesses were struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Klasinc thought he could scam his way to easy money.” Strauss explains, “Klasinc used false documents to try and obtain over a million dollars in funds intended to help hard-working Americans but, thanks to the diligence of the FBI, his plans have been put on ice. He will now be held accountable for his alleged brazen lies.”

According to the Department of Justice, Klasinc opened up three business accounts under his BOB77 company. The business accounts were opened with an international financial institution known as Bank-1. Between July 2020, and September 2020, Klasinc's business accounts received almost $1.6 million from the small business administration. The money came from the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans program. After receiving the money, there were several wire transfers from Klasinc's business account to international recipients. It was not until late September that Bank-1 noticed a suspicious amount of transactions and flagged them as possible potential fraud. After freezing the accounts, Bank-1 got in touch with the figure skater asking for additional information about the suspicious activity. In response to the bank's request, Klasinc provided falsified documentation to show the transfers were legitimate. The documents included the SBA letterhead and a falsified signature. The documents were purported to be from the SBA in an attempt to provide legitimate reasoning for the transactions.

FBI agent Ryan Redel said about the falsified documents, “Based on my conversation with the SBA employee, I have learned that the SBA did not issue the fraudulent SBA letter, nor did the SBA employee affix his signature or give his permission for his signature to be affixed to the fraudulent SBA letter.”

The Department of Justice explains that in early June of 2021, Klasinc traveled to Manhattan to the Bank-1 branch in order to address the matter in person. Once he arrived at the bank, he tried to explain to bank officials that the SBA deposits into his account were not associated with the loan but rather were “payment for property investments" only.

After the FBI's investigation, Klasinc was arrested and charged with one count of bank fraud. The charge carries with it a maximum of 30 years behind bars. Klasinc is also facing one count of aggravated identity theft which comes with a mandatory two-year prison term.