Published: Monday, April 11, 2011, 2:34 PM    

Updated: Monday, April 11, 2011, 2:46 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/west-linn/index.ssf/2011/04/west_linn_ultimate_fighter_chael_sonnen_fined_10000_for_money-laundering.html

A West Linn man who grabbed headlines as an "ultimate fighter" and Oregon House candidate has been sentenced to two years' probation and fined $10,000 for money-laundering.

Chael Patrick Sonnen, 33, was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Portland. The sentencing follows his conviction in January, stemming from a 2006 home sale in which Sonnen steered a $69,091 kickback to the homebuyer.

Sonnen previously forfeited his state real estate license as part of his plea agreement.

According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton, the money-laundering scheme also involved employees of the Vancouver-based Crown Point Enterprises, doing business as Lighthouse Financial Group. Working with two Crown Point employees, Sonnen diverted $69,000 from a loan intended for plumbing repairs as an incentive to a potential homebuyer. Both the Crown Point employees and Sonnen knowingly falsified paperwork and withheld information in order to collect the money, only $65,000 of which made it back to the buyer, according to the press release.

Sonnen, a West Linn native, was a star wrestler at the University of Oregon. He was an All-American, the university's last before it eliminated the wrestling program. He was also a two-time University National Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and a U.S. Olympic Team alternate.

In recent years, he competed in Ultimate Fighting, a cross-discipline combat that incorporates boxing and wrestling in a caged ring. He lost a title shot last year against middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

In 2010, he threw his hat in the ring for the 2010 Republican primary in House District 37, which encompasses West Linn and parts of Tualatin and Lake Oswego. However, he withdrew when federal investigators closed in.