Former UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen dodged a bullet on Friday after the US District Court delivered their sentence concerning money laundering charges. Sonnen could have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, but only received 24 months of probation and a $10,000 fine, as well as forfeiting his real estate license.
The sentence was delivered by Judge Michael W. Mosman today at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in downtown Portland, Ore.
Sherdog.com had a summary of the whole case.
On Dec. 28, the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Oregon charged Sonnen with one count of money laundering which allegedly occurred in 2006. Sonnen plead guilty to the charge on Jan. 3, as outlined in a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office:
“Sonnen, a licensed realtor in the State of Oregon, admitted that a financial transaction he conducted was designed to conceal or disguise the ownership and control of the proceeds of wire fraud.”
According to the release, Sonnen, who acted as the real estate agent for the buyers of a Portland home, allegedly worked in conjunction with two other men to submit a mortgage loan application to Decision One Mortage, asking the lending institution to pay over $69,000 to a plumbing company for repairs on the home. The release explains:
“In fact, Sonnen knew and had negotiated…that no repairs would be performed on the home and the funds designated to the plumbing company would instead be paid to the buyer as a cash incentive to purchase the home. This agreement was not disclosed to Decision One Mortgage.”