In an era when investment scams tend toward the exotic — crypto-currencies, wonder drugs, cannabis — Oregon residents Robert D. Christensen and Anthony Matic are accused of running an operation that was decidedly low–tech.
Christensen, a former mortgage lender from Sherwood, and Matic, a former real estate agent from Damascus, allegedly told investors they intended to buy rental homes in the Great Lakes region.
What’s more, they promised to repay investors in a matter of months with interest in the 9 to 15% range . Investors gave the duo more than $10 million.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the duo Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland, accusing them of running a Ponzi-like scheme. “From the outset,” the agency said, “the plan was not financially viable.”
Christensen and Matic did buy 34 homes in the region, But, the SEC claims they repaid early investors with money provided by other investors. They also paid themselves “significant sums of money from these promissory note funds for their personal expenses and entertainment,” according to the lawsuit.
The duo accepted money from investors regardless of their financial position, the complaint claimed. In some cases, the SEC alleges, Christiansen convinced people to sell their homes and invest the proceeds in the promissory notes.
Today, all of the outstanding promissory notes are long past due. With interest continuing to accrue, Christensen and Matic now owe investors nearly $20 million, according to the SEC.
— Jeff Manning, jmanning@oregonian.com