Florida Man Sentenced to 7 Years for Stealing $2.3 Million From Lenders Using Sham Cosmetic Surgery Clinics and Stolen Identities
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 12, 2026, that Jacquez Dion Tullis, 42, of Wellington, Florida, was sentenced in the Southern District of Florida to 84 months in prison for using six sham cosmetic surgery clinics and the stolen identities of more than 100 people to defraud medical lenders of approximately $2.3 million, and for fraudulently seeking COVID-19 disaster relief loans.
According to court documents and admissions in his plea, from about April 2018 through February 2024, Tullis and his co-conspirators created six sham clinics that claimed to offer cosmetic surgery and other medical services but provided no real care. They registered the clinics with the Florida Department of State using stolen personal identifying information of practicing doctors and others, in some cases listing those doctors as clinic owners on applications to become approved merchants with six medical lenders - two FDIC-insured banks and four financial technology companies that financed out-of-pocket procedures not covered by insurance.
Once the clinics were approved, the conspirators submitted fraudulent credit card applications to the lenders in the names of more than 100 individuals, seeking approximately $3.1 million and falsely representing that the funds were for cosmetic surgery and other services. In fact, the individuals did not know about or authorize the applications and did not need or want any treatment; according to death records, some had died before the dates they supposedly received care.
Separately, from April through August 2020, Tullis submitted at least nine fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of certain businesses, collectively seeking $696,860 and falsely representing the businesses' number of employees and revenue.
Tullis pleaded guilty on July 21, 2026, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced him to 60 months on the bank fraud conspiracy count and a consecutive 24 months on the aggravated identity theft count, for a total of 84 months, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $2,309,859.44 in restitution, a $200 special assessment, and a forfeiture money judgment of $2,309,859.44.
Two co-defendants were previously sentenced: Taneika Nakia Pace, 50, a manager of two of the sham clinics, was sentenced on September 2, 2026, to six months in prison, and Junaque Nicole Tullis, 46, who submitted at least five fraudulent EIDL applications, was sentenced on August 13, 2026, to eight months in prison. All three were charged as part of the Justice Department's 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The FBI investigated the case. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿特区的美国司法部总部大楼（联邦固定图库）。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building in Washington, D.C. (federal asset library).
