An Iowa nurse who has repeatedly faced allegations of stealing from patients is now facing disciplinary charges from the Iowa Board of Nursing.
Jessica Renee Williams, 48, of Des Moines is charged by the board with pleading guilty to, or being convicted of, a crime that is either related to the profession of nursing or is a crime that would affect the licensee’s ability to practice nursing; and with failing to notify the board of a criminal conviction within 30 days. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for June 30, 2026.
As is customary with licensing boards in Iowa, the board has not disclosed any of the alleged circumstances that gave rise to the charges or indicated where or when they are alleged to have occurred.
The board approved the charges against Williams six months ago, in October 2025, but they were made public by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing only this week.
The case marks the second time Williams has faced disciplinary charges related to allegations of criminal conduct. In 2018, the board charged Williams with pleading guilty to, or being convicted of, a crime that is either related to the profession of nursing or is a crime that would affect the licensee’s ability to practice nursing.
In that case, the board alleged that Williams was working for a temporary-staffing agency at an Iowa nursing home when she falsely documented giving a patient a prescribed narcotic when in fact she “took” the drug while working in the facility. As a result of that case, Williams agreed to have her license placed on probation for one year.
In 2023, police alleged Williams used a patient’s credit card at a Walmart store in Altoona. Store surveillance-camera video allegedly showed Williams using the card to buy $160 worth of groceries for herself, and police said she later used the card on “Chumba Gold Coin,” which authorities described as a gambling website. Police alleged that at first Williams denied having the victim’s card, but later returned it and said her husband previously had possession of it.
After pleading guilty to unauthorized use of a credit card, Williams was sentenced to two years of probation.
Williams continued to work as an Iowa-licensed nurse, and in 2025 she was criminally charged with stealing $8,300 in jewelry and $300 in cash from a different woman for whom she was serving as a live-in caretaker. Police alleged Williams was later captured on surveillance-camera video pawning the victim’s jewelry at an EZ Pawn store.
Court records show that after being charged with felony second-degree theft, Williams agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor third-degree theft. In August 2025, she was sentenced to two years of probation.
Because the 2025 theft constituted a violation of the terms of her 2023 probation, Williams was also charged with a probation violation. That charge was later reduced to contempt of court, and Williams pled guilty, according to court records.
Earlier this year, Williams filed a motion for post-conviction relief, asking a judge to set aside her 2025 conviction for theft, alleging the victim in the case had been dishonest and had fabricated evidence against her.
As part of her court filings, Williams asked that she be awarded damages for her pain and suffering, the loss of her “$93,000 per year job,” and for the risk she faced of losing her nursing license. The court is expected to take up that matter on Aug. 17, 2026.
Williams declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
