FORT MYERS, Fla. – A former employee of Lee Health has been arrested after authorities discovered he stole over $150,000 worth of medical equipment from Lee Memorial Hospital and sold it online.
Ricardo Rodrigues, 56, of Lehigh Acres, faces two counts of grand theft and one count of trafficking stolen property. He was arrested on February 4, 2025, and released the following day on a $55,000 bond.
The thefts were first reported on November 19, 2024, when hospital management discovered 10 heart monitors and five monitor batteries were missing from the intensive care unit’s storage. The missing equipment, valued at $8,500 for the monitors and $4,500 for the batteries, was tracked to a company in Laguna Miguel, California, which had purchased the items from an unknown seller on eBay.
A PayPal account linked to Rodrigues was found to have received payments for the stolen equipment. Despite initially denying any involvement, Rodrigues eventually admitted to selling several items from the hospital, including a wearable patient monitor and other medical supplies. He was a lead plant operations technician at Lee Memorial Hospital and had full access to hospital locations.
Authorities found that Rodrigues had sold 49 items under the eBay account “Clinicas,” earning nearly $1,900 in profits. He had an additional 106 items listed for sale, potentially earning $4,600. PayPal records also showed Rodrigues had sold four monitors for $8,160 and other equipment worth over $29,000.
Rodrigues removed approximately $151,390 worth of medical equipment from the hospital. After the discovery, he was placed on crisis leave in December 2024 and was arrested in February 2025.
Rodrigues is scheduled for an arraignment on March 10, 2025. Lee Health confirmed that Rodrigues is no longer employed with the organization.
