The Real Regions
Documenting what the bank won't
Filed · Department of Justice · May 22, 2026
Regions Bank quietly paid $4.9 million to settle with the DOJ. Their customers are still paying the price.
In 2020, small business owners across the country trusted Regions Bank to guide them through the Paycheck Protection Program — a lifeline Congress passed in the first weeks of the pandemic. Regions told them what to write, what to claim, and how to qualify. Six years later, the bank has settled federal allegations that it approved forgiveness on a PPP loan that was never eligible in the first place.
The borrower who followed Regions' instructions? He's the one being charged with fraud.
The Story
A lender that wrote the script, then walked away.
When Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program was administered through private lenders. The SBA paid those lenders origination fees, and paid them again when loans were forgiven. Regions Bank was one of them.
According to the Department of Justice, Regions approved forgiveness of a PPP loan on or about August 3, 2021 — a loan the United States alleges was not eligible for forgiveness. The bank collected the SBA's payment anyway. On May 22, 2026, Regions agreed to pay $4,919,631 to resolve those civil allegations.
Borrowers who turned to Regions in the chaotic early months of the pandemic weren't tax attorneys or SBA compliance specialists. They were business owners trying to make payroll. They asked the bank what to put on the forms. They were told. They signed where Regions pointed. And when forgiveness was approved, everyone assumed the bank had done its job.
The DOJ disagreed — with the bank. The bank cut a check. But for at least one of Regions' customers, the story didn't end with a settlement and a press release. It ended with a federal indictment.
Timeline
How a federal lifeline became a federal case.
Mar 2020
CARES Act passes
Congress authorizes the PPP. Private lenders, including Regions, take applications and approve loans on the government's behalf.
2020–2021
Borrowers apply
Small business owners rely on Regions for guidance on eligibility, paperwork, and what qualifies for forgiveness.
Aug 3, 2021
Forgiveness approved
Regions approves forgiveness of a PPP loan the DOJ later alleges was never eligible. SBA pays Regions for the forgiven balance.
May 22, 2026
Regions settles
Regions agrees to pay $4.9M to the United States. Meanwhile, the customer who followed their guidance faces fraud charges.
From the Department of Justice
"The department is committed to ensuring that PPP lenders are held accountable for failing to comply with applicable program requirements, including approving forgiveness of PPP loans that were not eligible under program rules."
— Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, Civil Division
The customer
Greg DeLine trusted his bank.
Greg DeLine is one of the small business owners who turned to Regions during the pandemic for help navigating the PPP. Like many borrowers, he relied on the bank's guidance throughout the process — from application through forgiveness.
When the DOJ later raised questions, Regions wrote a check and moved on. Its customer didn't get that option. He is now facing federal charges tied to a loan his lender helped originate, approve, and ultimately settle over.
The bank's $4.9 million settlement is a matter of public record — as is the role Regions played in the very loan now at the center of a federal case against one of its own customers.