BOCA RATON, FL — A Miami man who worked as a stress technician at a Boca Raton medical facility was arrested after Boca Raton Police said a patient’s credit card disappeared during a May 5 medical appointment and was later used in Miami, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Carlos J. Gonzalez, 49, of Miami, was arrested June 2 by Boca Raton Police and booked into the Palm Beach County jail, records show. He is charged with theft of a credit card and fraudulent use of personal identification information of a person 60 years of age or older.
The charges are allegations. Gonzalez has not been convicted.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the patient attended a stress test appointment at a medical facility at 951 NW 13th Street in Boca Raton on May 5. During the procedure, the patient placed a wallet on a nearby table while restrained to the examination bed, police wrote.
The patient told investigators Gonzalez was the only person in the room during the procedure, according to the affidavit. The patient later discovered a Citi credit card was missing and learned the card had been used without authorization in Miami.
The affidavit labels victim information confidential under Marsy’s Law. Boca Post is withholding the patient’s identifying information.
Facility supervisors told Boca Raton Police that multiple patients had reported similar thefts that occurred only on Tuesdays, according to the affidavit. Police wrote that Tuesday was the only day Gonzalez worked at the facility as a contractor performing stress tests.
Investigators said surveillance footage from a Home Depot at 11305 SW 40th Street in Miami showed a man matching Gonzalez’s description using the missing credit card at about 4:32 p.m. on May 5. The transaction totaled $71.60, according to the affidavit.
Police said the man arrived and left in a red Dodge Ram pickup truck. According to the affidavit, a vehicle inquiry showed the truck was previously registered to Gonzalez and matched the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage.
The patient later identified the man in the Home Depot surveillance images as Gonzalez and also identified the pickup truck as the vehicle Gonzalez drove to the medical facility that day, police wrote.
The affidavit states that supervisors at the facility were separately shown surveillance photographs from Home Depot and identified the person as Gonzalez. Two supervisors also identified the red Dodge Ram as the vehicle Gonzalez regularly drove to work.
Police said the first unauthorized transaction involving the credit card occurred at about 4:15 p.m. at a Shell gas station in Miami, followed by the Home Depot transaction across the street.
On June 2, Boca Raton Police contacted Gonzalez at the NW 13th Street medical office, according to the affidavit. Police wrote that Gonzalez was advised of his rights and said he worked as a stress technician at the office only on Tuesdays.
Investigators then showed Gonzalez still images from the Home Depot surveillance footage, according to the affidavit. Police said Gonzalez identified himself in the images and confirmed the red Dodge Ram was his vehicle.
When shown a photograph of himself using the Citibank credit card involved in the transaction, Gonzalez told police he had a Citibank credit card, according to the affidavit. Police wrote that he could not produce a Citibank card from his wallet or show documentation or a banking app to support that claim.
Palm Beach County court records show a judge found probable cause at Gonzalez’s first appearance on June 3. Bond was set at $10,000 on the theft of a credit card charge and $30,000 on the fraudulent use of personal identification information charge.
Court records also show Gonzalez was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, witnesses, or Advanced Heart and Vascular Institute. A bond source requirement was later marked satisfied.
Jail records show Gonzalez was released on surety bond on June 5. Court records list a 30-day return hearing for July 2 and an initial case conference for July 23.
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