Portland Barbecue Cart Owner to be Sentenced in Felony Beef

In August, Bottinelli told WW he’d been “Obamacared out of a job.”

By Nigel Jaquiss
Botto Barbecue (Cait Pearson)

Winter is a tough time for food-cart operators—and this winter will be particularly harsh for Darren Bottinelli, whose Northwest Portland cart Botto Barbecue drew raves from critics.

(Our reviewer in August declared Botto's ribs "the finest I've had in this city.")

Bottinelli is scheduled to be sentenced this week on a federal felony conviction for theft. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court earlier this year to stealing more than $3 million from thousands of clients—many of them poor—of his company, Axis Benefit Administrators, which held funds for health care reimbursement accounts.

In August, Bottinelli told WW he'd been "Obamacared out of a job."

Botticelli couldn't be reached for comment.

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Botto BarbecueDarren Bottinellifood cartsU.S. District Court

Nigel Jaquiss

Nigel Jaquiss

Reporter Nigel Jaquiss joined the Oregon Journalism project in 2025 after 27 years at Willamette Week.

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