While the Bend couple who pleaded guilty Tuesday in a real estate fraud scheme must wait until April for sentencing, their guilty pleas brought a small sense of justice to one of the victims.

“I was grateful mostly that the fraud and the lies that the Sawyers told their victims was brought out so clearly,” said Anne Marie Whitney, who invested more than $900,000. “I was really thankful for that.”

On the day the trial was set to begin, former real estate broker Tami Sawyer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Eugene to 21 counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, while her husband, retired Bend Police Captain Kevin Sawyer, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a financial institution.

The couple reached plea agreements with federal prosecutors after the judge ruled their lawyers could not present the defense they had planned.

The plea agreements do not contain any sentencing recommendations or reductions, said Gerri Badden, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon. But, Badden said, if the judge sentences either to any prison time, they must begin serving that time on the day of their sentencing, which is currently set for 9 a.m., April 30.

They face the greatest maximum penalty — 30 years — on the charge of making a false statement to a financial institution.

A federal grand jury indictment issued in October 2010 alleged the couple had solicited more than 20 people to invest more than $7 million for real estate projects in Oregon and Indiana between 2004 and 2009. They used the money to pay car and credit card payments, build a $2.2 million vacation home in Mexico and pay off earlier investors, according to the indictment.

All told, investors lost more than $4 million in the scheme, according to court documents.

As part of their plea agreement, the couple agreed to forfeit much of their property, including the Cabo San Lucas home.

When the Sawyers pleaded guilty, they reserved the right to appeal the judge’s ruling. Chief District Judge Ann Aiken ruled the Sawyers’ intent or ability to repay their investors could not be used as a defense in the trial, because it did not negate the fraud they were alleged to have committed.

The Sawyers must serve any prison sentence they receive while an appeal is under way. Badden also said the couple cannot seek release while an appeal is pending.

According to court documents, the Sawyers and their lawyers met with prosecutors in a settlement conference Monday, the day before their trial was slated to start, but no agreement was reached. It was the only settlement conference scheduled or conducted since the indictment in 2010, Badden said.

To determine the couple’s sentences, a presentencing report will likely be ordered that will take into account federal sentencing guidelines, any previous criminal history, and the particular circumstances of the crimes to which they pleaded guilty. The report will also include restitution recommendations, which are based on financial records and interviews with victims who were part of the criminal investigation.

Badden said the restitution requirements ordered by the federal government will have no effect on any open civil cases or judgments filed in state courts.

Being convicted of a crime does not preclude Kevin Sawyer from collecting the pension earned during his more than 29 years as a police officer in Bend, said David Crosley, spokesman for the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System.

On Wednesday, some victims of the Sawyers’ fraud spoke about the couple’s guilty pleas.

Whitney, who lives in Terrebonne and served as a dance instructor for one of Tami Sawyer’s daughters, said much of her investment with the Sawyers’ companies was for work on a project in Greensburg, Ind. Tami Sawyer told Whitney the project would include housing for employees of a new Honda plant being built there.

In return for one of her investments, Whitney was to receive part ownership of a mobile home park in the Indiana town. In August 2009, after the Sawyers failed to answer a lawsuit, Whitney was awarded a $2.5 million judgment against the couple and their companies, and was to receive ownership of the mobile home park. Whitney said on Wednesday that that never happened.

While it took four years, she said, she feels like justice is finally being served.

“The truth and justice I’ve been praying for, I feel like it’s happening. I can see it and feel it. It feels like (justice) is going to happen; it’s been so long,” Whitney said. “I think in my heart I knew the truth would come out, and I can see it happening now.”

Whitney said she plans to attend the Sawyers’ sentencing and make a statement.

Dr. David Redwine, who invested about $800,000 with the Sawyers’ companies, wrote in a statement that while the couple had conceded guilt, the damage was still done.

“The Sawyers’ plea deal was inevitable but cannot reverse the harm they have done to me, my wife, and women’s health care around the world,” Redwine wrote.

Redwine, who worked as a gynecologist, was reprimanded and placed on a one-month suspension after the Oregon Medical Board found he’d violated state law for a sexual relationship with a patient and improperly prescribed medications.

Details of the board order were similar to a lawsuit filed in August 2009 by a Jane Doe in Clackamas County. Documents related to that lawsuit confirmed the Jane Doe in the case was Tami Sawyer.

“Their victimization of me was complete long before their guilty pleas, and the damage can never be undone. The effect of their actions will continue to ripple for years in this area …”