Olympic Gold Medalist Marion Jones-Thompson Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements in Two Separate Federal Criminal Inve...( NEW YORK Oct. 5 -- Marion Jones-...),Health

NEW YORK, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Marion Jones-Thompson, 31, of Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty today to charges of making false statements to federal agencies in connection with two investigations conducted out of the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of California, respectively; Michael J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; and Scott N. Schools, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, announced today.

Jones-Thompson pleaded guilty before Kenneth M. Karas, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, to a two-count Superseding Information filed earlier today. According to the Superseding Information and other documents filed in Manhattan, White Plains and San Francisco federal court, as well as statements made during today's guilty plea proceeding: An elite, professional track and field athlete, Jones-Thompson's achievements include winning five medals while representing the United States, including three gold medals, at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Jones-Thompson lied to New York federal agents investigating a sprawling check fraud/money laundering scheme involving, among others, Timothy Montgomery, a former Olympic gold medalist and 100 meter record holder, and Steve Riddick, a 1976 Olympic gold medalist and Jones-Thompson's former track coach. Additionally, Jones-Thompson falsely denied to federal officials in California that she had taken performance enhancing drugs, and made other false statements during their investigation into the activities of Balco Laboratories, Inc. ("BALCO").

The New York Investigation

The co-conspirators orchestrated a scheme to defraud numerous banks out of millions of dollars by laundering stolen, altered and counterfeit checks by depositing those checks into various bank accounts they controlled, among other methods. The investigation has resulted in the convictions
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