A federal judge in Florida sentenced a Wellington man to 84 months in prison on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, for creating sham medical clinics and defrauding lenders of about $2.3 million. The Justice Department announced that Jacquez Dion Tullis, 42, used stolen identities to submit fraudulent credit applications for procedures that never occurred.

The FBI noted that schemes of this size harm the integrity of the financial system and create real problems for the innocent people whose identities are misused. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald stated that the Justice Department will hold accountable individuals who steal from private companies or exploit taxpayer funds meant for struggling businesses.

Court documents show that Tullis and his co-conspirators registered six fake cosmetic surgery clinics with the state of Florida between April 2018 and February 2024. They listed practicing doctors as the clinic owners on merchant applications without their knowledge. Once approved, the group submitted credit applications to two banks and four financial technology companies in the names of more than 100 people.

The conspirators sought approximately $3.1 million in financing for medical services that the clinics did not actually provide. The individuals named on the credit applications did not authorize the requests and did not want any treatment. According to the Justice Department, some of the individuals had already died before the dates they supposedly received care.

Tullis also submitted fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration between April and August 2020. He sought $696,860 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans by misrepresenting business revenues and employee counts. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II ordered Tullis to pay more than $2.3 million in restitution and an equal amount in forfeiture, followed by five years of supervised release.

Two co-defendants previously received prison terms for their involvement. Taneika Nakia Pace, 50, who managed two of the clinics, was sentenced in September to six months in prison. Junaque Nicole Tullis, 46, was sentenced in August to eight months in prison for submitting fraudulent pandemic loan applications. All three were charged under a national health care fraud enforcement operation announced in 2025.