A Southern California hospitality figure tied to the restaurant chain Stout Burgers & Beers is headed to federal prison after authorities say he siphoned millions in pandemic relief funds through a sprawling fraud scheme.
Philip Fredrick Camino, 46, was sentenced on Thursday, to 41 months behind bars after previously pleading guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say Camino, who owned Stout Burgers & Beer along with other hospitality ventures, built a multi-state web of companies across California, Tennessee and Kentucky to game COVID-era aid programs.
His business operations stretched across major California hubs including Culver City, Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and also extended into Arizona.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, investigators said he submitted more than 20 separate loan applications tied to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program through the US Small Business Administration.
Federal authorities said the applications contained multiple falsehoods, including inflated employee counts, fabricated federal tax documents that were never filed with the IRS and misleading claims about how the money would be spent.
In total, prosecutors say the scheme netted more than $4 million in COVID relief funds.
A federal judge also ordered Camino to repay nearly $4 million in restitution.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and IRS Criminal Investigation.