A North Carolina man found guilty of fraudulently claiming $1.7 million in Covid relief funds was handed a 20-month prison sentence Tuesday after he tried to trick U.S. officials with business names inspired by the hit HBO show Game of Thrones.
According to documents filed by the Department of Justice, Tristan Bishop Pan, 40, submitted numerous fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications – intended for small businesses facing hardship in the early days of the pandemic – to federally insured banks on behalf of scam companies named White Walker, Khaleesi, and The Night’s Watch, among others.
Fans of the popular fantasy program may recognize the names of the non-existent businesses as not-so subtle references to the program – which ended its eight-year run in May 2019.
Federal agents poring over the applications were apparently also fans of the show, uncovering Pan’s ruse in September after flagging the companies and noticing inconsistencies in statements about their employees and payroll expenses.
According to documents filed by the Department of Justice, Tristan Bishop Pan (not pictured) submitted numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications reserved for small businesses to federally insured banks on behalf of scam companies White Walker, Khaleesi, and The Night’s Watch. Above, a ‘White Walker’ from the hit HBO show
A false website Pan created for one of his fraudulent businesses, called the Pan School of Real Estate
Prosecutors…
