From pix with Bieber to a Charlotte courtroom: Father, son charged with COVID fraud

Google “Tarik Freitekh,” and the online search mentions his reported $300 million net worth, a lineup of fancy cars, and photos of him shoulder to shoulder with Justin Bieber and Sofia Vergara. There even appears to be a pet tiger.

On Thursday, Freitekh added a new line to his resume.

The self-described businessman, director and producer – who according to celebritynetworth.com owns a $7 million home in Hollywood Hills and has worked with Snoop Dog, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira – stands accused of being part of a Charlotte-based conspiracy to scam $1.75 million in COVID-relief money from taxpayers.

Freitekh’s accused partner: his father, longtime Charlotte restaurant owner Izzat Freitekh.

In court documents unsealed Thursday, the father-son team is accused of bank fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in connection with what their indictment describes as a scheme to grift money intended to keep struggling businesses afloat during the pandemic.

According to the indictment, the Freitekhs requested hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal Payment Protection Program by grossly exaggerating their employees and payroll for a series of business, including La Shish Kabob, a Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant Izzat Kreitekh and his family have operated on North Sharon Amity Road for 10 years.

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Reached Thursday afternoon by phone at the restaurant after his court appearance, Izzat Freitekh said he and his son are innocent.

“We trust the courts. We trust the judges in Charlotte and all over the country,” he told the Observer. “You should wait until the end of the story when the judge will say to me, ‘You were right. You are not guilty.’”

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Tarik Freitekh’s attorney, Chris Fialko of Charlotte, declined comment.

The Freitekhs, accompanied by their lawyers, turned themselves in to federal custody Thursday morning. They pleaded not guilty and were released on $25,000 unsecured bonds.

They join dozens of other defendants nationwide who have been accused by the federal government with attempting to steal billions of dollars in COVID relief.

North Carolina has not been immune. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray of Charlotte says his office has recovered more than $2 million is fraudulently disbursed pandemic relief this year, the largest single chunk — about $1.3 million — courtesy of the Freitekhs.

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‘Line their own pockets’

The Freitekhs’ case is the second involving an allegation of pandemic-relief fraud in Charlotte this week.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Bryon Jones, 55, of Charlotte, accusing him of fraudulently creating a company and the necessary paperwork to receive some $142,000 in emergency pandemic relief.

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According to prosecutors, Jones was already on probation for a previous federal drug conviction in another state when he applied for the money.

First, according to court documents, he filed incorporation papers in Delaware for a new company, Ramses Air Freight & Transport Inc., and listed his home address in Charlotte as the office.

Then he filed his loan application, which according to the government included made-up numbers for employees and revenues. Jones was also not up front about his criminal record, prosecutors say.

In a statement, Murray decried the efforts of those “who try to exploit the pandemic and steal funds intended for the economic recovery of businesses and communities across (Western North Carolina).”

“At a time our nation is grappling with the effects of the coronavirus ... and businesses are struggling to cope with the impact of COVID,” Murray said, “swindlers are seizing the opportunity to pilfer federal economic relief programs to line their own pockets.”