A North Carolina businessman faces fraud charges after allegedly seeking more than $6 million in coronavirus relief funding for companies named after “Game of Thrones” characters, authorities said Tuesday.
Among the businesses that Tristan Pan, 38, allegedly sought Payroll Protection Program loans for businesses including The Night’s Watch LLC, White Walker LLC and Khaleesi LLC, according to a federal indictment filed in U.S. district court in North Carolina last week.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said Pan allegedly submitted 14 loan applications using fake documents and false tax filings to secure $1.7 million for White Walker and another company, Pan Insurance Agency.
According to the indictment, Pan formed several other companies over the last decade, including Pan Realty, Technology for Teaching, NC Health Care Reform Advisors, A&D Pan Legacy, Health Care Without Borders and Digital Encryption Storage.
According to documents filed with the state, Pan is listed as having various roles with the companies, the indictment says.
A message left on a phone number for Pan listed in the documents wasn’t returned, nor was a message left with Pan’s lawyer.
Pan faces charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.
Earlier this month, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt said that more than 50 people across the United States have been charged with fraud after trying to illegally obtain $175 million in coronavirus relief funding since it became available through the CARES Act.
Rabbitt said that actual losses were $70 million.
The program, which launched April 2, has also been criticized over an assortment of administrative problems, controversies and lack of access for minority-owned small businesses.
