A former Florida hospital employee faces charges after authorities say he stole $150,000 worth of equipment and sold it online.
The defendant, a former lead plant operations technician, is accused of stealing at least 24 heart monitors, a feeding tube pump, and various medical supplies. He faces two counts of grand theft and one count of trafficking stolen property. Arrested on February 4, he was released the following day on a $55,000 bond.
According to a Fort Myers Police arrest affidavit, officers responded to the hospital on November 19 after reports of stolen items. The hospital’s director of nursing told officers that 10 heart monitors and five monitor batteries were missing from the ICU storage. The missing items were valued at $8,500 and $4,500, respectively.
Hospital management had already launched an internal investigation after noticing the monitors’ disappearance in early November. Tracking the monitors’ serial numbers, the manufacturer found one had been reassigned to a medical purchasing company in California, which had purchased 10 such monitors from an unidentified seller on eBay. Authorities traced the payment to a PayPal account linked to the defendant.
When questioned, the defendant denied knowledge of the thefts, stating he didn’t handle medical equipment and had no online account selling such items. However, he confirmed owning an eBay account since 2022.
Further investigation showed the defendant had listed various items—including waterflow control modules, pipe fittings, absorbent bed pads, and a feeding pump—on eBay. When confronted, he claimed to have purchased the pipe fittings for personal use and then sold the extras.
A search warrant for his eBay account revealed he had sold 49 items for a profit of $1,857.39, with 106 items still listed for sale, potentially earning him nearly $4,600. A separate PayPal investigation showed the defendant had sold four monitors for $8,160 and engaged in $29,175 worth of transactions with the medical purchasing company between September 30 and December 4, 2024.
Authorities estimated the defendant stole approximately $151,390 worth of equipment. Hospital management confirmed that no additional items had gone missing since he was placed on leave on December 10. The defendant is no longer employed at the hospital.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Skilled nursing facilities are required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to have a compliance and ethics program that ensures the prevention and detection of criminal, civil, and administrative violations. A component of this program is the implementation of robust controls to prevent the misappropriation of resources, including the theft or unauthorized sale of medical equipment. Regular audits must be conducted to ensure compliance and to identify any discrepancies in the handling or accounting of supplies and equipment. When discrepancies are found, a corrective action plan should be promptly implemented, and the results should be reported to the appropriate oversight bodies for review.
Discussion Points
- Evaluate your facility’s compliance program to ensure it includes clear policies and procedures for investigating incidents of missing items or equipment. These policies should be reviewed regularly (at least annually) to ensure they remain up-to-date and reflect best practices for preventing fraud, waste, and abuse.
- Ensure all staff are trained on compliance and ethics policies at the time of hire and receive annual refresher training. Staff should understand their role in reporting concerns about the theft or misuse of resources, including medical supplies or equipment, and the importance of reporting these issues through the appropriate channels such as a supervisor, compliance officer, or the anonymous hotline.
- Implement routine audits of high-value supplies and equipment to ensure they are properly accounted for. In addition, audits should assess staff awareness and adherence to policies regarding reporting compliance concerns. This includes ensuring staff are aware of their responsibility to report any suspicious activities related to equipment or supplies in a timely manner.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, Inc. for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
