The American tourist accused of inflating the value of a watch stolen from him in Spain is being investigated by a bankruptcy trustee over $1.6 million in questionable transfers shortly before his charter-jet company went bust — leaving creditors holding the bag for around $5 million worth of debt, The Post has learned.

Seth Bernstein has been “credibly” accused of funneling $1 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to an investment bank he co-owns, according to the trustee in the bankruptcy case involving his defunct JetReady company.

“This was among over $1.6 million allegedly transferred on account of monies loaned by Bernstein in the few months leading up to the Debtor’s bankruptcy filing,” lawyers for trustee Yann Geron wrote late last month.

“This type of activity alone warrants a full investigation of the Debtor’s financial affairs and conduct of its management.”

In response, Manhattan federal bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles granted a request that allows Geron to slap Bernstein and other former JetReady “insiders” and associates with subpoenas to produce records and submit to questioning under oath.

Bernstein — who owns two properties in Florida, including a five-bedroom waterfront mansion valued at $2.8 million that’s protected from seizure by the Sunshine State’s homestead law — made headlines this week after getting mugged while on a European vacation with his wife and kids.

Bernstein, 46, allegedly told cops that the Hublot watch ripped off his wrist in Barcelona was worth more than $800,000, but the Swiss watchmaker put its value at less than $45,000, a police spokeswoman for the Mossos d’Esquadra in Catalonia said Wednesday.

He hasn’t been charged with making a false statement and “it would be up to an investigating judge to determine whether any further action should be taken along those lines,” the spokeswoman added.

Bernstein has denied providing the police with any false information, and on Tuesday told The Post that Spanish authorities were trying to cover themselves because Barcelona is “ridden with thieves.”

JetReady, which was solely owned by Bernstein, filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2020 and owes 43 creditors a total of nearly $5.7 million in unsecured debt, according to court papers.

The creditors include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which submitted a claim for $45,579 in unpaid landing fees, and the state Department of Transportation and Department of Labor, which are seeking $183 and $2, respectively.

The DOT said it was owed rental fees at Long Island’s Republic Airport and late charges. The Labor Department declined to comment, citing “privacy laws.”

Under a Chapter 11 reorganization plan that the judge signed off on in November, the IRS — which is owed $795,532 — “will receive all of the proceeds” from the $650,000 sale of JetReady to the Flying Zebra charter company.

Bernstein will personally cough up $120,000 to pay for administrative expenses, according to the plan.

About a month before JetReady filed for bankruptcy, the company’s former assistant controller filed a False Claims Act suit under seal in Miami federal court that accused Bernstein and his company of misusing nearly all of the $1.17 million in taxpayer money it got from the government’s pandemic-related Paycheck Protection Program.

Berstein allegedly directed three wire transfers, totaling $1 million, to Bernstein Equity Partners, which was described as an investment bank he co-owned.

Nearly $27,000 was sent to a company that builds sports fields and courts for “construction…at Bernstein’s home or another location” and another $25,000 was donated to a fundraising campaign to build a drive-in theater in Nantucket, Mass., according to court papers.

In addition, a total of around $47,000 was apparently sent to a psychiatric clinic and $25,000 went to a company owned by a pilot who was convicted of fraud charges in 2010 and was “purportedly ‘owed’…$49,843.00 for unspecified pilot services,” the suit alleged.

“Payment of these invoices, however, was not an authorized use of PPP funds, i.e., payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities expenses,” according to the suit. 

In August, the US Justice Department announced it had settled the case for $287,055, with Bernstein’s former employee, Victoria Hablitzel, getting $57,411 for blowing the whistle on her ex-boss.

The announcement said that within one day of receiving the PPP loan, “Bernstein allegedly diverted $98,929 of the funds to pay for personal, non-company related expenses.”

Bernstein declined to discuss the case with The Post earlier this week, but on Thursday told the Daily Mail that he did nothing wrong.

“It was an accounting error and it was settled civilly, I was not charged criminally,” he said.

Neither JetReady’s lawyers nor Geron and his team returned emails seeking comment on the bankruptcy case.

Additional reporting by Zach Williams