PORTLAND, Ore. — A former head trainer at a Portland Orangetheory fitness studio was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to felony theft charges for stealing more than $24,000 in charity donations from gym class participants over several years.
Ryan Tong, who worked as a coach at the Orangetheory Slabtown location, accepted many donations to his personal Venmo account — promising that he and large companies like Nike and Adidas would provide matching contributions. Instead, court records show, Tong pocketed the money to support a cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The scheme, first exposed by a KGW investigation in 2024, involved monthly charity fitness classes where participants donated money to various causes…