Iowa Nurse Faces Criminal Charges for Prescription Drug Violations, Dependent Adult Abuse

A suspended Iowa nurse is facing criminal charges and a looming jury trial over allegations that she stole prescription medications from a dependent adult in her care and from multiple long‑term care facilities.

Who is Rachel Flowers?

Rachel Flowers, 43, is a registered nurse from North Liberty, Iowa, who has worked in several long‑term care facilities, including a nursing home in Wellman and facilities in Marion and other Iowa communities. In October 2025, prosecutors charged Flowers with prescription drug violation and dependent adult abuse, both described in court records as serious misdemeanors tied to her work as a nurse caring for a dependent adult in Marion.

According to reporting, Flowers has also been charged with dependent adult abuse by sexual exploitation, unlawful possession of a prescription drug, and prohibited acts involving prescription medications, based on a later case involving a 52‑year‑old dependent man at another facility. In that case, she has entered a not‑guilty plea and is scheduled to stand trial in March 2026.

What Investigators Say Happened

An investigation by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL), Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, alleges Flowers engaged in conduct that led to a charge of dependent adult abuse by sexual exploitation. The man told an investigator he believed he and Flowers were in "a relationship."

Investigators say that while she was his caretaker, Flowers allegedly removed prescription medications intended for him. At a later facility, an audit reportedly found that Viagra tablets signed out under his name were missing, and investigators say some of those pills and other stock medications and supplies were found in Flowers’ possession, along with drugs and supplies allegedly taken from another facility where narcotics had been reported missing.

In the Marion‑related case, local reporting states that Flowers is charged with taking prescription medication from the dependent adult under her care and possessing stock medications and other supplies taken from a facility where she had worked. The detailed investigative narrative, including the specific criminal counts and factual allegations, is expected to be laid out in Linn County court filings for a March 2026 jury trial.

Prior Theft Case and Disciplinary History

Prior to the current charges, Flowers has faced additional criminal and regulatory scrutiny connected to her nursing practice. In April 2025, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigated a theft at Parkview Manor in Wellman, where Flowers was working as assistant director of nursing. The facility’s director of nursing reported that Flowers had taken facility property; officers later documented a backpack containing medications and supplies valued at approximately $654, which the facility said were not expired.

Flowers ultimately pleaded guilty to fifth‑degree theft in that case and received a deferred judgment with one year of unsupervised probation in September 2025. Reporting also notes that the Iowa Board of Nursing previously accused Flowers of engaging in a "personal relationship" with a resident at another care facility years earlier; she resolved that regulatory case by agreeing to complete a three‑day virtual course on maintaining professional boundaries.

License Status and Regulatory Response

In light of the ongoing criminal cases, the Iowa Board of Nursing has moved to restrict Flowers’ ability to practice. A Nursys search lists her license under a voluntary agreement to refrain from practice pending investigation.

For nurses, this case underscores several high‑risk areas of practice:

• Handling and documentation of controlled substances and prescription drugs, including clear auditing of facility stock and patient‑specific medications.
• Maintaining clear professional boundaries with residents and avoiding any conduct that could be interpreted as sexual, romantic, or exploitative, especially when caring for dependent adults.
• Understanding that criminal investigations can trigger parallel state licensing board actions, with license restrictions or suspensions even before a criminal case concludes.

Nurse.org will monitor this developing case and update this article as new details emerge from the March 2026 jury trial and Iowa Board of Nursing proceedings.

 

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Crime