Matthew Billingsley of Fresno: $30M Fraud, Plea, and Restitution

Matthew Billingsley, the former general manager of the Dog House Grill in Fresno, California, was sentenced in December 2025 to seven and a half years in federal prison for a Ponzi-style wire fraud scheme that took more than $30 million from investors and lenders between June 2018 and February 2023. He pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud and was ordered to surrender at the Federal Correctional Complex in Lompoc in February 2026.¹

How the Scheme Worked

Billingsley, 40 at the time of sentencing, obtained tens of millions of dollars in loans from individual lenders and financial institutions over nearly five years. He fabricated statements for a brokerage account that did not exist, showing millions of dollars in assets, and offered the account to lenders as collateral.² He also forged a Fresno restaurant owner’s signature on a profit-sharing agreement and presented it to a financial institution to secure additional funding.³

The money never went where he said it would. Instead, Billingsley used loan proceeds to pay off earlier lenders and cover personal expenses. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston identified the operation as a Ponzi scheme, noting that funds from new investors were used to pay off earlier ones.⁴ Prosecutors said Billingsley made “calculated and repeated decisions” to alter documents, forge signatures, and lie to investors, and that text messages recovered through a search warrant showed he worked with an unnamed accomplice to find new victims when existing loan sources dried up.⁵

Who Billingsley Is and How He Won Trust

Billingsley’s parents, David and Vickie Billingsley, founded the restaurant group that includes the Dog House Grill and the Firestone Grill, with locations in Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Cambria, and Bakersfield. They put Matthew in charge of the Fresno location, across the street from Fresno State, when it opened in 2004.⁶ He claimed to earn about $20,000 per month as general manager.⁴

Prosecutors argued that he traded on his visibility in Fresno to build credibility with lenders. He told investors the restaurant’s business was “booming,” citing daily gross sales of $40,000 to $60,000 and personal paychecks between $660,000 and $1.7 million.⁶ Victims later said they had been drawn in because he appeared to be a “reputable businessperson in the community.”⁷

Neither the Dog House Grill nor its owners were charged. The restaurant owner whose signature was forged on the profit-sharing agreement was treated as a victim of identity theft, not a participant.⁸ The Fresno restaurant has continued to operate.

Who Lost Money

Victims included private investors, financial institutions, and members of Billingsley’s own family. He recruited lenders by promising short-term loans with quick payouts, and some lost their life savings.⁴

Ahmed Mshaka and Faraz Gill lent Billingsley nearly $2 million on notarized promissory notes and estimated their total losses at roughly $3 million with interest and legal fees. Mshaka called it a “rob Peter to pay Paul” operation, and Gill told the court he had been “waiting for three years” for repayment.⁹⁴ They also filed a civil suit in Fresno County court that was still ongoing as of mid-2025.

Billingsley’s uncle paid off $4 million of his nephew’s debt, and the defense said Billingsley had made partial repayments of about $130,000 to various investors. By late 2024, courts had entered civil judgments against Billingsley totaling more than $5 million across multiple cases, including a January 2023 suit brought by John DeCampos as trustee of a family trust against Billingsley, his wife Amber, and related entities.⁶

The Guilty Plea and Sentencing

Billingsley pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on August 4, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The charge carried a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the plea agreement exposed him to up to $20 million in restitution.²¹⁰

At the December 2025 sentencing, prosecutors sought 135 months (11.2 years); defense attorney Dan Bacon asked for five years and disputed the government’s description of the fraud as “sophisticated,” arguing that the fake statements and forged documents were “neither complex nor intricate.”⁵ The defense pointed to a failed $7 million cannabis investment as the trigger that pulled Billingsley deeper in; prosecutors said his motive was maintaining status in Fresno despite an already substantial income.⁴

Billingsley told the court he was “regretful and remorseful” and would “do everything in his power to right his wrongs.”¹¹ He also said: “I always believed the investment I made would pay out, but it never did. And I got deeper and deeper into debt.”⁴

Judge Thurston imposed a 90-month sentence and ordered drug treatment for an Adderall addiction. Billingsley was allowed to remain free until his February 2026 surrender at the federal complex in Lompoc.⁴¹

Restitution Still Unresolved

Restitution was not fixed at sentencing. Judge Thurston directed the parties to work out an amount and return January 5, 2026. The government proposed $12.5 million; Bacon argued for roughly $10.3 million.¹² The final order from that hearing is not confirmed in publicly available reporting.

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Fresno Man Sentenced to 7.5 Years in Prison for $30-Plus Million Fraud Scheme
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U.S. Department of Justice. Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Over $30 Million Fraud Scheme
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IRS. Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Over $30 Million Fraud Scheme
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The Fresno Bee. Former Dog House Grill Manager Sentenced to Federal Prison
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The Fresno Bee. Fresno Man Pleads Guilty in $30M Wire Fraud Scheme
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The Fresno Bee. Former Dog House Grill Manager and $30M Fraud Scheme
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Fresno State Collegian. Dog House Grill Former Manager Sentenced to Federal Prison
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YourCentralValley. Billingsley Sentenced Wire Fraud
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ABC30. Victims Speak After Former Dog House Grill Manager Admits to $30M Scheme
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The Business Journal. Fresno Man Pleads Guilty in $30M Wire Fraud Scheme
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ABC30. Former Dog House Grill Manager Sentenced to Federal Prison for $30M Fraud Scheme
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KMJ. Former Dog House Grill Manager Sentenced to 7.5 Years