Florida Man Sentenced to 84 Months for $3.1 Million Sham Cosmetic Clinic Loan Fraud
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 12 that Jacquez Dion Tullis, 42, of Wellington, Florida, has been sentenced to 84 months in prison. Tullis and his co-conspirators ran six sham clinics that collected money but provided no real medical care, using stolen personal information of practicing physicians to submit fraudulent loan applications in the names of more than 100 individuals to six lenders, seeking about $3.1 million.,According to the Justice Department, from April 2018 to February 2024, Tullis and his co-conspirators operated six clinics that purported to provide cosmetic surgery but provided no actual medical services. They registered the clinics with the Florida Department of State using stolen personally identifiable information of practicing physicians, and listed those physicians as the clinic owners in merchant applications to six medical lenders, including two FDIC-insured banks and four financial technology firms. The group then submitted fraudulent health care loan applications in the names of more than 100 individuals, some of whom had died before their supposed dates of care. The lenders' actual losses were about $2.3 million.,From April to August 2020, Tullis also worked with others to submit at least nine fraudulent U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications seeking an additional $696,860.,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 of the Southern District of Florida sentenced him to 60 months on the bank fraud conspiracy and a consecutive mandatory 24 months for aggravated identity theft, 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 and a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount, plus a $200 special assessment.,Co-defendant Taneika Nakia Pace, 50, of Hallandale Beach, a manager at one of the clinics, pleaded guilty on June 15, 2026, and was sentenced on September 2 to six months in prison, with $49,825 in restitution and $23,200 in forfeiture. Junaque Nicole Tullis, 46, of Coral Springs, who submitted at least five fraudulent EIDL applications seeking about $164,521, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on April 23, 2026, and was sentenced on August 13 to eight months in prison, with $4,000 in restitution and forfeiture. All three were charged as part of the Justice Department's 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, announced on June 30, 2025.,The FBI investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Shana Priore of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section prosecuted it. Acting Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Criminal Division said the defendant and his co-conspirators exploited the public's trust in the health care system for personal gain, and that the sentence demonstrates the Criminal Division's commitment to holding accountable those who defraud health care benefit programs.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部总部大楼入口（资料图）。固定图库联邦核心包，CC BY 4.0。 / Photo: Entrance of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (file photo). Federal core asset pack, CC BY 4.0.
