North Carolina Company President Pleads Guilty to $8.5M Military Contract Bid-Rigging Scheme

Thomas C. Rollins admitted to conspiring with others to rig bids for maintenance, repair, and operations contracts affecting U.S. military installations.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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The president of a metal fabrication and manufacturing company in Wilmington, North Carolina pleaded guilty to charges involving taking $8.5 million in rigged procurements for military contracts. Thomas C. Rollins admitted to conspiring with others to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids for maintenance, repair, and operations contracts administered by the Defense Logistics Agency from 2015 to 2022.

Why it matters

This case highlights the ongoing problem of bid-rigging and procurement fraud that can undermine fair competition for government contracts, costing taxpayers millions and potentially impacting the readiness of the U.S. armed forces. The Justice Department's Antitrust Division and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are cracking down on these types of schemes to protect the integrity of the defense acquisition process.

The details

According to court documents, Rollins conspired with other individuals and companies to coordinate the submission of rigged bids, agreeing in advance which of them would submit the lowest-priced bid. This allowed them to win the competitively bid contracts from the Defense Logistics Agency, resulting in approximately $8.47 million in ill-gotten gains for Rollins and his co-conspirators.

  • Rollins and others conspired to rig bids from at least 2015 to 2022.
  • Rollins pleaded guilty on February 5, 2026.

The players

Thomas C. Rollins

The president of a metal fabrication and manufacturing company in Wilmington, North Carolina who pleaded guilty to charges involving a $8.5 million bid-rigging scheme for military contracts.

Defense Logistics Agency

The agency that administered the maintenance, repair, and operations contracts that were the subject of the bid-rigging conspiracy.

Department of Justice Antitrust Division

The division of the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecuted the case against Rollins and his co-conspirators.

Defense Criminal Investigative Service

The criminal investigative arm of the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General that investigated the bid-rigging scheme.

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What they’re saying

“For seven years, this defendant deliberately chose to cheat instead of compete, harming the Department of War and the American people in the process.”

— Omeed A. Assefi, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Justice Department's Antitrust Division

“As the criminal investigative arm of the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the Department's acquisition process.”

— Christopher Dillard, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS Mid-Atlantic Field Office

What’s next

A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled, and a federal district court judge will determine Rollins' sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The takeaway

This case demonstrates the Justice Department's and Defense Department's ongoing efforts to detect and prosecute bid-rigging and other anticompetitive conduct that undermines fair competition for government contracts, which can have serious consequences for taxpayers and national defense.