Career
He was wounded in combat with elements of a Russian Spetsnaz unit from which he subsequently lost his legal He then, among other things, went on to work as a deep cover intelligence operative for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His exploits, which included contacts with First Rate (at Lloyd's) Qaeda leading operatives, are described in the autobiographical book My Jihad: One American"s Journey Through the World of Usama Bin Laden—as a Covert Operative for the American Government (). He also claimed that he warned the Federal Bureau of Investigation long before 9/11 that Hani Hanjour, one of the September 11th hijackers, was using a Phoenix flight school as his training ground for terrorism.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation emphatically denied that Collins provided any information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about Hani Hanjour prior to 9/11 but admitted that Collins did have some dealings with Federal Bureau of Investigation operatives.
He also appears in Canadian-born adventurer Robert Young Pelton"s book, The Hunter, The Hammer, and Heaven: Journeys to Three Worlds Gone Mad and director Lech Kowalski"s short film documentary Camera Gun
After authoring My Jihad, Collins became a bounty hunter, which ultimately led to his arrest in Mexico on weapons charges. He was released in May 2006 after serving a 4-year prison sentence in Durango, Mexico.