Former Dog House Grill Manager Matthew Dane Billingsley was sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in a $30 million fraud scheme on Dec. 8 after pleading guilty in August.
The restaurant, located across the street from Fresno State, has faced an increase in publicity since the news first broke earlier this year.
Billingsley was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for fraud, where he forged documents, faked brokerage account statements and used stolen money to pay off personal loans.
FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said the case highlights how long Billingsley’s deception went unchecked and that federal agencies will stop those who cause injustice through fraud.
“The FBI, in partnership with IRS Criminal Investigation, put an end to his pattern of manipulation and exploitation,” Patel said. “We will relentlessly pursue those who victimize others through dishonesty and greed.”
Federal prosecutors said the fraud scheme carried out by Billingsley stretched nearly five years, originally starting in June 2018. Billingsley relied on a steady stream of forged documents, fake financial statements and misrepresentations to lenders.
According to court documents, Billingsley began the scheme by claiming he held a brokerage account with millions of dollars in assets in 2018. Prosecutors said the account never existed, but he used fabricated statements to convince lenders he had substantial collateral.
Over the next five years, Billingsley gave false financial documents to individual lenders and financial institutions, promising to have the money back in days.
Prosecutors said he repeatedly altered paperwork, forged signatures and created profit-sharing agreements that falsely appeared to involve legitimate business partners. In one instance, authorities said he used the name and signature of a Fresno restaurant owner without permission to help secure a loan.
Officials said his fraud scheme came to an end in February 2023.
Eric Grant, U.S. attorney for the California Eastern District, said Billingsley’s conduct as a manager and operating the scheme that took advantage of those in the community was a “deliberate campaign of fraud.”
“The defendant defrauded victims out of millions of dollars,” Grant said. “Over nearly five years, he repeatedly and deliberately committed crimes by altering documents, forging signatures and otherwise lying.”
Officials said the scheme was particularly harmful because Billingsley repeatedly targeted locals who trusted the financial documents he presented.
“He approached us really as just a reputable businessperson in the community,” said lender Ahmed Mshaka.
The case was investigated and conducted by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany M. Gunter.
One agent with the IRS-CI, Linda Nguyen, said that Billingsley’s conviction is a step in the right direction and “sends a clear message.”
“…those who engage in deception to defraud lenders and abuse the financial system will be held accountable,” Nguyen said. “By fabricating brokerage statements and misusing loan funds, Mr. Billingsley not only betrayed the trust of financial institutions and individual lenders but also undermined the integrity of our financial markets. IRS-CI uses fundamental accounting principles mixed with advanced technology to build investigations that extinguish such financial deceit.”
