Raffield

GLADBROOK — A Reinbeck woman has been charged with using her position as a caregiver to defraud the elderly.

On Dec. 5, Andrea Nicole Raffield, 41, of Reinbeck was arrested by the Tama County Sheriff’s Dept. in Gladbrook on multiple warrants.

Raffield made an initial appearance that same day in Tama County District Court on charges including unlawfully obtaining/attempting to obtain a prescription drug (schedule IV/V controlled substances) and tampering with records — both aggravated misdemeanors — as well as dependent adult abuse by exploitation, a simple misdemeanor.

According to criminal complaints filed by Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, between Jan. 1, 2023 and April 25, 2023, Raffield allegedly used her position as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at Westbrook Acres — a licensed Medicare and Medicaid facility in Gladbrook — to divert Tramadol from multiple, dependent adult residents.

Tramadol is a schedule IV drug approved by the FDA for pain relief.

Specifically, Raffield is accused of diverting at least 54 tablets of Tramadol from multiple residents by ordering unneeded Tramadol for a resident, destroying the record of delivery to conceal the crime, and then diverting the delivered medications for her own personal use.

Court documents indicate the value of medication Raffield is accused of diverting to be just under $80. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for Dec. 22 but was waived by Raffield.

Raffield was released on Dec. 5 on cash bond in the amount of $2,300. She is represented by attorney Lucas M. Taylor of Des Moines.