Deltona Receptionist Charged After Cash Deposits Were Stolen From Dental Patients

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Deltona, FL – A receptionist at a dental clinic in Deltona has been arrested after an investigation uncovered she had been stealing customer’s cash payments. Lucina Rodriguez, 52, was arrested Friday evening and charged with two counts of grand theft. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) says that since early 2016, Rodriguez stole 30 bank deposits valued at $18,000 from customers at Dental Care of Deltona. In September, a patient canceled her appointment and requested a refund of her $400 prepayment so she could send supplies to her family in Puerto Rico days after Hurricane Maria. The clinic found no record of her prepayment because Rodriguez stole it without printing a receipt or recording it in the patient’s file. The missing cash would be written off as a “paperwork error” months later when the patient returned for the appointment. Upon VCSO detectives reviewing paperwork and interviewing employees, they found that Rodriguez was connected to every missing cash deposit. During the span of January 2016 to September 2017, Rodriguez deposited $15,000 in cash deposits to her bank accounts while she also received her direct-deposit paycheck. Rodriguez was charged with one count of grand theft between $10,000 and $20,000 for the cash deposits and one count of grand theft between $300 and $5,000 for the $400 prepayment she stole. Rodriguez was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(Rodriguez mugshot courtesy of Volusia County Corrections)

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