A Bend couple serving time in federal prison for committing fraud has had their petition for a rehearing in appeals court denied.

Former Bend Police Capt. Kevin Sawyer and his wife, former real estate broker Tami Sawyer, were sentenced to prison in April 2013 after pleading guilty to crimes associated with defrauding more than 20 people out of more than $4 million.

The federal government began investigating the Sawyers’ real estate dealings in early 2009, and the pair was indicted in October 2010. The federal indictment alleged that between 2004 and 2009 the couple solicited more than 20 people to invest more than $7 million for real estate projects in Oregon and Indiana. The Sawyers used that money to pay earlier investors, build and furnish their vacation home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and make car and credit card payments.

Kevin Sawyer pleaded guilty to one count of providing false statements to a financial institution and is serving 27 months, expecting to be released in April 2015. Tami Sawyer pleaded guilty to all 21 counts against her, including fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, and is serving nine years in prison, expecting to be released in February 2021. They were also ordered to pay more than $5.8 million in restitution.

The couple appealed their convictions, arguing they should have been allowed to present evidence showing they had assets that could have been used to repay their investors. The appeal was heard in August in Seattle, and the trio of judges denied the appeal. The Sawyers then asked for an en banc hearing before a chief judge and a panel of 10 other judges.

According to an order filed Friday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the panel of circuit judges has unanimously voted to deny the Sawyers’ petition for a rehearing.

Further, no judge requested a vote on whether to rehear the case en banc, which means before a larger panel.