Florida man sentenced in $2.3 million medical lender fraud case

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Florida medical lender fraud case

Highlights

Jacquez Dion Tullis of Wellington, Florida, is sentenced to 84 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,309,859.44 in restitution for medical lender fraud.
From April 2018 through February 2024, Tullis and co-conspirators created six sham clinics and submitted over 100 fraudulent credit applications seeking about $3.1 million.
Tullis and two co-defendants are prosecuted as part of the Justice Department's 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown targeting healthcare and pandemic relief financial fraud.

Sentence details and fraud scheme

As reported by U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, citing the U.S. Department of Justice, Jacquez Dion Tullis of Wellington, Florida, is sentenced to 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, II, of the Southern District of Florida also orders him to pay $2,309,859.44 in restitution, a $200 special assessment and a forfeiture money judgment of $2,309,859.44.

Court documents and Tullis' admissions in his plea show that from about April 2018 through February 2024, he and co-conspirators created six sham medical clinics that claimed to offer cosmetic surgery and other services but provided no actual care. Prosecutors say the clinics were registered with the Florida Department of State using stolen personal information belonging to practicing doctors and other individuals, in some cases including people who were already dead.

Authorities say the clinics were then presented to six medical lenders as legitimate merchants. After approval, the conspirators submitted fraudulent credit applications in the names of more than 100 people, seeking about $3.1 million for procedures the supposed patients did not authorize and did not want.

Separately, from April through August 2020, Tullis submitted at least nine fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration for Economic Injury Disaster Loan funding under the CARES Act. Those applications collectively sought $696,860 and included false statements about business revenue and employee counts, according to prosecutors.

Enforcement impact and related cases

The case highlights continued enforcement pressure on healthcare-related financial fraud and misuse of pandemic-era relief programs. Federal officials say the conduct harms lenders, taxpayers and people whose identities are misused, while also undermining trust in the financial system.

Tullis pleaded guilty on July 21, 2026. The Justice Department says two co-defendants are already sentenced in related proceedings: Taneika Nakia Pace, described as manager of two sham clinics, receives six months in prison in September 2026 after pleading guilty to bank fraud; Junaque Nicole Tullis receives eight months in prison in August 2026 after pleading guilty to wire fraud tied to fraudulent EIDL applications.

All three defendants are charged as part of the Justice Department's 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, announced on June 30, 2025. The FBI investigates the case, and Trial Attorney Shana Priore of the Fraud Division's Public Trust and Financial Integrity Section prosecutes it, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Demirci handling asset forfeiture.

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