PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – The owner of one of Portland’s best-known Pearl District bars is facing a federal fraud lawsuit after prosecutors say he used emergency pandemic relief funds to prop up a completely different bar—one that had already permanently shuttered weeks before COVID-19 hit Oregon.
Federal prosecutors filed a civil complaint Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland against Ramzy Peter Hattar, alleging he fraudulently walked away with nearly $350,000 in taxpayer-backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
Hattar is widely recognized in Portland’s hospitality scene as the owner and face of the River Pig Saloon on Northwest 13th Avenue. But the federal government’s focus is 110 miles south, centered on Taylor’s Bar & Grill, a historic college haunt adjacent to the University of Oregon campus in Eugene.
According to court filings,…
This category refers to crimes committed by employees or insiders against their own organizations. It is often the most damaging because the perpetrator has authorized access to systems.
- Asset Misappropriation: The most common form, involving the theft of company resources. This ranges from simple “skimming” (taking cash before it’s recorded) to complex schemes involving the theft of inventory or intellectual property.
- Payroll Fraud: Employees may create “ghost employees” on the system, falsify their own timesheets to claim unworked overtime, or divert salary payments to their own accounts.
- Financial Statement Fraud: Management deliberately misrepresents the company’s financial health by inflating revenue or hiding liabilities to attract investors or meet performance bonuses.