DOJ: Man uses Fresno restaurant owner’s name in $30M fraud

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Fresno man pleaded guilty on Monday in connection with a fraud scheme in which the Department of Justice said he defrauded $30 million from individual lenders and financial institutions.

Court documents also show the defendant used a Fresno restaurant owner’s name and signature as part of the scheme.

The DOJ says 39-year-old Matthew Dane Billingsley pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

The plea comes after court documents report Billingsley provided fabricated brokerage account statements, from an account that didn’t exist, to obtain more than $30 million in loans from individual lenders and financial institutions between June 2018 and February 2023.

The DOJ says Billingsley also misrepresented to individual lenders and financial institutions how he intended to use the loan fund and instead used the money to pay down previous loans and for his benefit.

To obtain one of the loans, the DOJ says Billingsley used a Fresno restaurant owner’s name and signature on a profit-sharing agreement that Billingsley created and forged. Billingsley then presented the false and fraudulent profit-sharing agreement to a financial institution to obtain a loan.

Billingsley is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 10 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.