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wo business partners in Oregon are facing serious charges for allegedly defrauding investors and lenders out of more than $18 million in a real estate scam. Robert Christensen and Anthony Matic are accused of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering in a federal indictment unsealed this week. According to the indictment, the pair allegedly misled investors in their residential real estate business for over four years, starting in 2019. They claimed that money was being used to purchase undervalued Midwest properties for renovation and rental purposes, but in reality, they were using new investments to pay off earlier ones.

    Investors were allegedly bilked out of $11.4 million, while commercial lenders lost more than $7 million. The indictment states that Christensen and Matic promised investors they would be repaid their principal contributions plus interest of up to 15% within 30 or 90 days, but this was not possible as their business was in "survival mode" and "underwater." Christensen boasted about his 20 years of experience in real estate, while Matic had been a licensed real estate agent for over 15 years. They operated several businesses: The Commission PDX LLC, Foresee Inc., The Policy PDX LLC, and Innings 150 LLC.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Christensen and Matic for violating federal securities law, resulting in a complaint against them last year. The two agreed to pay $5.4 million in settlements with the SEC but did not admit to any wrongdoing. Christensen and Matic both pleaded not guilty in their first appearances before the judge in the criminal case, and a trial is scheduled to begin in late October.