PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A former Portland-area fitness coach will not serve jail time after pleading guilty to a years-long fundraising scheme.
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, Ryan Andrew Tong was sentenced to five years of formal probation and ordered to provide $24,025 in restitution on Friday. Authorities revealed the ex-Orangetheory Fitness instructor is expected to pay about $200 monthly, in addition to working on a restitution crew for three days per month.
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Tong misused funds that he told customers would go toward charities and be matched by “major companies,” the Oregon Department of Justice previously reported. The department’s Charitable Activities Section determined the 43-year-old man had been sending the money to his personal Venmo account from 2021 to 2024.
ODOJ also cited the DA’s Office, which found that Tong used the scheme to “fuel his cocaine habit.”
“People trusted that when they donated during those workout classes, their money would go to charitable causes they cared about,” Oregon’s Assistant Attorney General Heather Weigler said in a statement last month. “Mr. Tong abused that trust for his personal gain. Our team at ODOJ worked hand-in-hand with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office to hold the instructor accountable and help ensure that those donors’ intent is honored by directing restitution to charitable causes.”
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Tong pleaded guilty to first-degree theft, first-degree aggravated theft and computer crime in late January, after being charged with the felony counts in October 2025.
Multnomah County’s Deputy District Attorney Eric Pickard said the DA’s office wanted to ensure the sentencing in the case “put charities back in the same position they would be in” without the former instructor’s donation scheme. ODOJ revealed it is seeking a resolution involving the civil claims it launched against Tong to ensure he can no longer be involved with charitable activities in the state.
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