Robeson County Man Who Stole Over $170,000 in Fraudulent Covid Loans Plead Guilty
Summary
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that Phillip Collins, 47, of Robeson County pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud over false Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program applications that resulted in the disbursement of $170,833. According to court documents, Collins misstated the number of employees and gross revenues for a business in Robeson County and submitted false tax forms and bank statements, and the funds went into a personal account he controlled. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, and will be ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $170,833. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Jones accepted the plea; the case is No. 7:26-CR-24-FL.
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- Issuer
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
- Document type
- Press release
- Date
- 2026-06-29
Cite this document
“Robeson County Man Who Stole Over $170,000 in Fraudulent Covid Loans Plead Guilty.”
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina, dated 2026-06-29. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/doj-usao-ednc-press-release-robeson-county-man-who-stole-over-170000-f-7cea258ecc/
, SHA-256 7caeecc2a0b5f1e8b82fdbf619610d7c19fd12ab898c603d9a43c5e8b0d71cad.Full text
NEW BERN, N.C. – A Robeson County man Phillip Collins, 47, stole from the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by submitting false loan applications which resulted in the disbursement of $170,833 in loan proceeds. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces a maximum term of 30 years in prison, and a $1,000,000 fine when sentenced later this year. He will also be ordered to pay a Forfeiture Money Judgment of $170,833. “Although the government may have stopped doling out Covid money, our government continues to hand out billions in other loans, subsidies, and programs. This office will continue to hold accountable anyone who defrauds any of our taxpayer funded programs. Crime Doesn’t Pay! Cheaters. Never. Win.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. According to court documents and other information presented in court, Collins submitted fraudulent EIDL and PPP loan applications for a business located in Robeson County. Collins made false representations of the number of employees and gross revenues. He also submitted false and fraudulent tax forms and bank statements. Following approval of each of the loan applications, funds were disbursed into a personal account controlled by Collins. W. Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Jones accepted the guilty plea from the defendant. The FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case. A copy of this press release is located on our website . Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:26-CR-24-FL.
File and source
- File
- doj-usao-ednc-press-release-robeson-county-man-who-stole-over-170000-fraudulent-covid-loa-2026-06-29.json
- Size
- 3,734 bytes
- SHA-256
- 7caeecc2a0b5f1e8b82fdbf619610d7c19fd12ab898c603d9a43c5e8b0d71cad
- Original
- www.justice.gov