Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum announced today that Randy Gray of Albany, Oregon has been sentenced in Linn County Circuit Court to 36 months in prison after a jury convicted him of 16 counts of aggravated theft by deception.  Gray was also ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution to his 16 victims. Gray will not be eligible for early release.

Gray was a licensed investment advisor who persuaded victims to withdraw savings from their Individual Retirement Accounts and invest in a speculative real estate scheme to build houses in Albany. In fact, however, no houses were built.  Instead, nearly all of the money went to pay off the debts of a co-defendant, real estate developer Derek Dunmyer. Gray withheld information from his victims, including the actual intended use of the money and the dire financial status of Dunmyer’s company, Absolute General Contracting. Nearly all of Gray’s victims were retired or nearing retirement. Several lost their entire life savings.

“Randy Gray used his position as a financial advisor to take advantage of his victims’ trust. Instead of leading them toward safe retirement investments, he led many of them to financial ruin,” said Rosenblum.

The Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities initiated the investigation in 2009, and assisted in DOJ’s prosecution of the case. Two co-defendants, Dunmyer and Scott Whitney, entered guilty pleas related to the case.

“Serious financial crimes often destroy lives and cause permanent, irreparable harm,” said Rosenblum. “Protecting the elderly remains a top priority for the DOJ.” Attorney General Rosenblum praised the work of DFCS investigators and the two DOJ co-prosecutors, Dan Wendel and Simon Whang.​

Contact:

Kristina Edmunson, Department of Justice, Kristina.Edmunson@doj.state.or.us, 503-378-6002