Winter is coming for this guy.
A North Carolina man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for fraudulently taking $1.7 million in Covid-19 relief loans for fake companies he created, including some which had “Game of Thrones”-themed names.
Tristan Bishop Pan, 40, pleaded guilty to wire fraud last August for submitting at least 14 applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans, seeking over $6.1 million.
Pan, who ran an insurance agency in the Raleigh-Durham area, ultimately received more than $1.7 million in benefits.
Pan’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
Among the companies Pan was accused of using for the applications were three with names taken right out of the script of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones” — White Walker, Khaleesi and The Night’s Watch.
Pan formed each company in 2019 and listed their purpose as real estate or real estate acquisition ventures, according to filings with the North Carolina secretary of state.
Pan claimed the companies employed dozens of people and had tens of thousands of dollars in monthly payroll, when, in fact, they employed no one.
He similarly applied for loans for several other companies he had created, some bogus and some real. For the genuine companies, Pan was accused of significantly inflating the number of employees each company had.
In his applications, Pan was accused of submitting false documents and doctored tax filings.
