(Sioux  City, Iowa) – A registered nurse from northwest Iowa was sentenced today (Friday) in Sioux City District Court, to seven months in federal prison for stealing controlled substances from patients and falsified medical records at a life care center where she was employed. 32-year-old Cassandra Lynne Vonnahme, of Arcadia, in Carroll County, was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

Vonnahme pled guilty to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge, and one count of false statements relating to health care matters on November 30, 2023.

Vonnahme admitted that between November 2020 and December 2020, she diverted controlled substances and falsified related medical records. The controlled substances she stole and the records she falsified pertained to actual patients. Evidence at sentencing also revealed that Vonnahme burglarized 5-6 homes after losing her job as a nurse for stealing patient’s medication. She was later convicted of impersonating a public official after another burglary in Carroll County in 2021, where she pretended to be a county assessor in order to gain entry into a stranger’s home and then stole controlled substances.

In addition to her prison sentence and fine, Vonnahme must serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Vonnahme was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons.