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But a closer examination of Fulcher’s career also suggests his accomplishments don’t always add up, according to internal company documents and interviews with 10 people who have worked with him. Fulcher’s Singapore-based telehealth company, RingMD, for instance, went bankrupt after he raised more than $10 million from investors. His attempt to restart it in the U.S. led to litigation with a business partner, who claims Fulcher owes him hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the half-billion-dollar manufacturing facility promoted by the Biden administration appears to be one of a few claims that never materialized. Fulcher’s national security credentials are also unclear. In 2023 he received a master’s degree in nonproliferation and terrorism studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. One of his professors there, Jason Blazakis, described him as “a bright guy, hard worker.” On his LinkedIn, Fulcher also claims a doctorate of international relations and affairs from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. But John Bates, who oversees student records at the university told Forbes that “we have no record of this individual as a student.” The South Carolina-based non-profit Fulcher started in 2023, the Palmetto Initiative, stated on its website that it was a U.S. 501(c)(3) U.S. public charity. But the organization’s employee identification number does not match Internal Revenue Service records. In a statement, Shannon Wiley, general counsel for the South Carolina secretary of state’s office, said the organization was incorporated as a non-profit, but “has not registered to solicit charitable funds in the state of South Carolina.” The IRS declined to comment. Fulcher didn’t respond to multiple comment requests. After Forbes contacted him, the Palmetto Initiative’s website removed mention of it being a charity. On his LinkedIn page, mention of his Johns Hopkins doctorate was updated to state it is “in progress.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2025/03/04/pentagon-doge-official-justin-fulcher/