Olympic Figure Skater Scores a Zero with Judge

John Baldwin, Jr, who represented the US in figure skating pairs at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, was indicted with his father, John Baldwin, Sr. by a grand jury on failing to comply with financial reporting obligations from their used car business. Both father and son pled not guilty.

The indictment came after a federal investigation that lasted several years and included a raid on Baldwin Sr.’s home.

The government’s case centers around bank cash deposits from Baldwin Auto Sales. The indictment states that the pair made regular cash deposits under $10,000, which is known as “structuring” as that dollar amount is below the threshold of a bank’s obligation to report the transaction.

According to the government, Wells Fargo Bank shows 194 transactions under $10,000 for a total of $1,060,029. The Baldwin’s state that they have been making the same deposits for years as a majority of their car sales are under $10,000 and 60% of those sales are in cash, and most of their deposits are done at the ATM which only accepts deposits of up to $5,000.

Several plea deals have been offered to the Baldwins’, but they state, “This is extortion from the government, trying to steal money from legitimate citizens knowing that these legitimate citizens just want this to go away…They’ve tried to intimidate us, they’ve harassed us. Now they’re trying to hold us hostage by trying to make deals with us.  If you do this and do that, we won’t take you to court.  The answer is no.”