Corvallis man sentenced for religious fraud scheme

A Corvallis man is headed to prison for an investment fraud scheme that claimed to support Christian missionaries and organizations.

Erik J. Hass, 53, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, according to a news release from the Oregon District of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He was also ordered to pay more than $1.75 million in restitution to his victims.

In January 2013, Hass founded Simply Grains Inc., which he claimed supported Christian missionaries and organizations while offering significant returns for investors, according to court documents.

Hass solicited members of his church, coworkers and acquaintances to invest in his organization via self-directed retirement and cash accounts, the news release states, noting that in exchange, he gave investors unsecured promissory notes and promised compounded annual returns of up to 30%.

Although Hass claimed he would only profit if monthly returns topped 2%, he started drawing a salary from investors' funds and using the money for personal expenses, according to the news release. Throughout the scheme, Hass reportedly sent investors account statements showing fictitious gains and account balances and false IRS 1099-INT forms.

Accepting payments well into 2018, Hass knew he couldn't honor his investment claims. Instead, new investments were used to fund Ponzi payments to older investors who had requested withdrawals from their accounts.

In total, at least 20 investors lost more than $1.75 million combined, the news release states.

In 2020, Hass was indicted on eight counts by a federal grand jury in Eugene, including with wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. In February he pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud.

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