Man posing as radiology sales rep arrested for allegedly stealing $14M in medical devices
A 54-year-old Florida man was recently arrested for allegedly posing as a radiology sales representative in a scheme to steal over $14 million in medical devices.
Jacksonville police first apprehended Michael J. Roberson on Feb. 10 following an investigation dating to December 2024. This after a security manager at Ascension St. Vincent's Southside Hospital, in the same city, reported that multiple robotic surgical systems had disappeared from the facility.
Police unearthed footage purportedly showing alleged accomplice Angela Kearse exiting the hospital around 3 a.m. Christmas Day 2024 with duffle bags and cardboard boxes. The 58-year-old former St. Vincent’s Riverside surgical assistant pleaded guilty in January to taking what was later confirmed to be $60,000 in medical robot arms.
Ascension immediately terminated Kearse after learning about her involvement in the alleged scam, according to a statement shared with local news media.
“We appreciate the diligence of law enforcement in conducting an investigation into reported medical device thefts,” St. Vincent’s told TV station News 4 Jax. “The individual identified by authorities as the alleged ringleader (Roberson) is not, and has never been, associated with our organization…We continue to cooperate fully with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.”
Security and legal teams at Ascension conducted an internal investigation, reviewing inventory records, footage and badge-access data. This revealed a pattern involving multiple individuals stealing from several Ascension facilities since 2020, First Coast News reported Feb. 18. Roberson purportedly presented himself as a local radiology sales rep, planning the thefts with another unidentified accomplice and then selling the stolen equipment to third party retailers in Florida and Tennessee.
SurgiShop, one of the buyers, confirmed to authorities it had purchased surgical robotic arms from a Michael Roberson. He had reportedly operated as a wholesaler for businesses known as I Medical and Roberson International, according to the report. The shop quarantined 34 items purportedly bought from the man, with authorities later confirming the serial numbers matched those of the missing medical devices from St. Vincent’s.
Kearse told police she met Roberson while working as a dealer at a poker room in 2023, later striking up a personal relationship. She purportedly used her badge to enter the facility and was arrested by Jacksonville Police two days later, on Dec. 27, 2024. She told authorities Roberson had orchestrated the scheme with the assistance of another individual previously employed by the health system. Kearse said she would meet Roberson in Orange Park to transfer the stolen property, receiving 15 payments totaling $7,000.
Roberson, who was released on bond Feb. 12, faces felony charges including grand theft and dealing in stolen property. Both will appear in early March to face arraignment, with Kearse already pleading guilty to grand theft.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.