Wellington man sentenced to 7 years for $2.3 million fraud scheme involving sham cosmetic surgery clinics

WELLINGTON, Fla. — A Wellington man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for a fraud scheme that prosecutors say used fake cosmetic surgery clinics and the stolen identities of more than 100 people to obtain millions of dollars from medical lenders. Jacquez Dion Tullis, 42, was sentenced Thursday to 84 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced Tullis to 60 months for the bank fraud conspiracy charge and a consecutive 24 months for aggravated identity theft. Tullis was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and pay more than $2.3 million in restitution. The court also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of more than $2.3 million. Prosecutors detail sham medical clinics According to court documents and Tullis' admissions in his plea, Tullis and his co-conspirators created six sham medical clinics between April 2018 and February 2024. The clinics purported to provide cosmetic surgery and other medical services but provided no actual care, prosecutors said. The conspirators registered the clinics with the Florida Department of State using stolen personal information belonging to practicing doctors and other people without their knowledge or consent, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors said some doctors were falsely identified as clinic owners in applications seeking approval as merchants with medical lenders. Once the clinics were approved, the conspirators submitted fraudulent credit applications in the names of more than 100 people. The applications sought approximately $3.1 million and falsely claimed the money would pay for cosmetic surgery and other medical services. The people whose identities were used did not authorize the applications or receive treatment, prosecutors said. According to the Justice Department, death records showed some of the purported patients had died before the dates they supposedly received medical care. The scheme ultimately defrauded medical lenders of approximately $2.3 million, according to prosecutors. COVID-19 relief fraud Federal prosecutors said Tullis was also involved in a separate scheme targeting a pandemic-era federal relief program. Between April and August 2020, Tullis submitted at least nine fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, according to the Justice Department. The applications sought a combined $696,860 and included false information about businesses' numbers of employees and revenue, prosecutors said. Tullis pleaded guilty July 21 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Two co-defendants were previously sentenced in connection with the case. Taneika Nakia Pace, 50, of Hallandale Beach, who prosecutors said managed two of the sham clinics, was sentenced in September to six months in prison after pleading guilty to bank fraud. Junaque Nicole Tullis, 46, of Coral Springs, was sentenced in August to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in connection with fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications. All three defendants were charged as part of the Justice Department's 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The FBI investigated the case.