Oregon real estate investors charged with $18 million fraud

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The owners of a local real estate investment firm were federally charged Monday for allegedly defrauding individual investors and commercial lenders out of more than $18 million.

Robert D. Christensen, 54, of Sherwood, Oregon, and Anthony M. Matic, 55, of Damascus, Oregon, are charged in a 21-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

According to the indictment, from January 2019 through June 2023, Christensen and Matic allegedly devised and carried out a scheme in which they convinced individual investors to finance the purchase and renovation of undervalued residential real estate properties.

Detectives say that after renovating the properties, the pair claimed they would rent them out to generate income and then refinance them to extract the added value from the renovations. Investigators say the pair then tricked investors into believing they would get back their entire principal investment along with interest of between eight and fifteen percent and a large one-time payment, all within 30 to 90 days.

Christensen and Matic’s plan failed to generate the promised returns almost immediately and they began using new investments to pay off earlier investors and keep their business afloat, officials say.

When they were unable to raise enough money from new investors, they allegedly devised a separate scheme to defraud commercial lenders.

In December 2020, the couple began submitting loan applications with false financial information to different commercial lenders and, based on their false statements, received millions of dollars in loans.

Law enforcement officials say the schemes defrauded individual investors of more than $11 million and commercial lenders of more than $7 million.

Christensen and Matic appeared in federal court on Monday and pleaded not guilty. They were released on bail pending a seven-day jury trial scheduled to begin on October 29, 2024.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud are punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. Money laundering is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. All three charges can also result in fines of up to $250,000 or twice the gross profits or losses resulting from the crime.