Portland bar owner faces federal fraud suit over COVID relief tied to closed Eugene bar

Federal prosecutors accuse Ramzy Peter Hattar of fraudulently obtaining about $348,200 in PPP and EIDL relief by listing Eugene’s Taylor’s Bar & Grill—already shut down—as the borrower and using the River Pig Saloon’s address; funds were allegedly for a non-existent payroll, with the SBA absorbing losses. The case, brought under the False Claims Act, could trigger treble damages, and Hattar has not yet appeared in court.