PORTLAND, Ore. — The company managing Orangetheory Fitness studios in Portland is asking for Venmo receipts from anyone who donated to OTF Slabtown charity classes as part of its investigation into an instructor's alleged theft.
Members at the Orangetheory Slabtown gym donated thousands of dollars to charity classes, but more than a dozen non-profits confirmed to KGW that they never received the money.
Honors Holdings, the franchisee of Orangetheory Slabtown, suspended head coach Ryan Tong amid allegations that he "mishandled donations" to charity classes that he collected via his personal Venmo account with promises of personal and corporate matches.
Portland Police are investigating the case and Honors Holdings says it is "cooperating with law enforcement." As of May 22, there have been no criminal charges filed.
Now, as part of the company's own investigation into the scandal, Honors Holdings is trying to find out how much money is missing.
In an email to Orangetheory Slabtown members, Honors Holdings asked for Venmo screenshots from the past few years of charity classes:
"If you have ever transferred funds to a Venmo account with the handle @RyRyRainbow to donate to an OTF Slabtown charity class, please email communications@honorsholdingsllc.com with the screenshot(s) of the Venmo transaction(s) by May 31, 2024," regional manager Jordan Thomas wrote in the email.
The Honors Holdings email added that the Venmo screenshot information is "an important step in this process" and the company continues to "take this situation seriously and remain focused on making it right with our members and the impacted organizations."
Longtime Orangetheory member Daniel Borgen described the revelation of missing donations as "devastating and unbelievable" in an interview with KGW.
"I think we all would like to see some accountability, a clear explanation of where the money went, and to work as a community and with Orangetheory to make these charities whole," Borgen said.
LeRae Hunt, another class member who said she donated hundreds of dollars to Tong's Venmo for various charity classes, urged people to check their Venmo history and send screenshots to Honors Holdings to help show the scope of the problem and hopefully make the charities whole.
Hunt previously told KGW that she and other friends have counted more than $10,000 in missing Venmo donations.
Tong and the Slabtown studio had claimed to raise more than $500,000 for charities in an Instagram post, but that number may have included alleged 'matching donations' from Tong himself and corporations like Nike and Adidas — both which denied any involvement in the class fundraisers.
