ATLANTA – Tiyari Collins and Farah Collins, husband and wife, have pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) by obtaining approximately $1.9 million in fraudulent loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Impact Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program. Tiyari Collins, who owned and operated Collins Financial Services Group, a tax-preparation business based in metro Atlanta, also pleaded guilty to filing thousands of fraudulent tax returns resulting in a loss of at least $3.8 million to the IRS.
“The fraud here is outrageous,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “Tiyrai Collins defrauded the federal government amid a historic pandemic. It is unconscionable that he and his wife stole from government programs designed to support small businesses and their employees struggling as result of COVD-19 pandemic.”
“These guilty pleas are a victory for the American taxpayers,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “It’s unfortunate that criminals continue to abuse the funds set aside to aid those impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. IRS-CI will continue to use our financial expertise to identify fraud, trace the funds, and bring the criminals to justice.”
“The Collins family greedily lined their pockets with stolen government funds intended to provide relief to small businesses and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge…
