Eric Duwane Collins

Victim Location 26508

Total money lost $1,750

Type of a scam Government Grant

Eric Duwane Collins first contacted me by phone in Nov 29, 2016, informing me I had qualified to receive $160,000 in government grant money (start business, education, etc). I found a list of few others with same name, but found "Collins Investments LLC" which appeared to be a legitimate business. I was required to pay $1200 which would go into an escrow account until grant processed, so I sent him a cashier’s check by registered mail on Nov 29, 2016. After he received the check, he informed me that the check needed to be made out to him–so I had him return the check and then I issued him another cashier’s check under his name on Dec 5, 2016; however there several week delay due to postal service delivery error. I assumed I would have the money in a few months along with grant information packet once everything processed. He called or texted weekly for several months or I would contact him for an update–he assured me I could contact him anytime. This went on for several months and he kept saying as far as he knew everything had gone through fine and he would let me know when he had any updates. He always had some excuse as to why he hadn’t checked (out-of-town, funeral, hospital for health problems). My last contact with him (at that time) was Aug 14, 2017. I should have received the grant money by now and kept calling/texting and leaving messages, which he didn’t return. I finally talked to him on Oct 20, 2017 and apparently he lost his phone in taxi and was unable to contact me. Unfortunately, we had missed the confirmation date and I would have to pay reprocessing fee of $550. I was not happy having to pay more money and felt it was his responsibility–he claimed he had to pay $300. I questioned him about everything and requested a copy of the grant application and receipt. Due to time constraints, I wired the money to his bank account ($25 fee) on Oct 23, 2017 and was to have the grant money in 30 days. So I waited another 30 days, still no money… I called him several times and he wasn’t taking calls, then eventually no longer a working number. I sent him a registered letter on Dec 12, 2017 which came back undelivered with no forwarding address. My suspicions now confirmed that I had been ripped off, I checked with his bank to see if he received the money I wired, which he did receive and cleaned out his account. I remembered him mentioning buying another house, so checked the tax records and found he had purchased a house in Surprise AZ, which fit the timeline of events. Thankfully, I had not given him any financial/personal information, and kept a contact record, copies of the cashier’s checks and postal receipts.

Victim Location 26374

Total money lost $1,750

Type of a scam Government Grant

Eric Duwane Collins contacted me by phone in April 2017, informing me I had qualified to receive $160,000 in government grant money (start business, education, etc). I found a list of few others with same name, but found "Collins Investments LLC" which appeared to be a legitimate business. I was required to pay $1200 which would go into an escrow account until grant processed, so I sent him a cashier’s check by registered mail. After he received the check, he informed me that the check needed to be made out to him–so I had him return the check and then I issued him another cashier’s check under his name. I was supposed to receive the grant money in 60 days or so along with grant information packet; however there was a delay due to postal service delivery error. He called or texted weekly for a while or I would contact him for an update–he assured me I could contact him anytime. This went on for couple months, and he left town few time to visit family/friends in Michigan. I didn’t hear from him around the time I was supposed to receive the money. I tried calling/texting him leaving messages which he didn’t return. I called once more and he said he had left his phone in taxi and was unable to contact me. Unfortunately, we had missed the confirmation date and I would have to pay reprocessing fee of $550. I was not happy having to pay more money and felt it was his responsibility–he claimed he had to pay $300. I questioned him about everything and requested a copy of the grant application and receipt. Due to time constraints, I wired the money to his bank account ($25 fee) the following Monday, and was to have the money within 30 days. So I waited another 30 days, still no money… I called him several times and he wasn’t taking calls, then eventually no longer a working number. I sent him a registered letter which came back undeliverable to his address. My suspicions now confirmed that I had been ripped off, I checked with his bank to see if he received the money I wired, which he did receive and cleaned out his account. I remembered him mentioning buying another house, so checked the tax records and found he had purchased a house in Surprise AZ, which fit the timeline of events. Thankfully, I had not given any financial/personal information, and kept a contact record for Collins, and copies of the cashier’s checks and postal receipts.