U.S. Court orders former nurse anesthetist to forfeit licenses; sets sentencing

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A certified nurse anesthetist who admitted stealing opioid drugs for his own use will forfeit his nursing licenses to the federal government, and the rest of his sentencing has been scheduled for next month.

Christopher Scott West, age 45, of Charles City, had been charged in March 2019 in U.S. District Court with tampering with a consumer product; possession of a firearm by a drug user; and acquiring and attempting to acquire a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge.

West, who had been working under an independent contract with the Floyd County Medical Center, pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the hospital and using them himself, and to actions that resulted in injury or reduced care to some patients.

As part of a plea agreement, the federal government agreed to a hearing over whether West would forfeit his nursing license and his certified nurse anesthetist license.

The ruling on that hearing was filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

West’s indictment included a forfeiture allegation requiring him to forfeit “any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, the offenses.”

West argued that since he had already agreed to surrender his licenses to the Iowa Board of Nursing, the forfeiture action is moot; and he argued that the licenses are not “property,” and so are not subject to forfeiture; and that forfeiture of his license would be an excessive penalty, in violation of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and that the federal government’s action would violate the 10th Amendment because regulation of such licenses is up to the state.

The U.S. District court turned down all four of the arguments.

It ruled that if surrendering his licenses to the state had actually removed all his rights to them, then he would have no standing to contest the forfeiture.

But West had argued at the hearing that he had a “future interest” in the licenses because he could reapply to be licensed by the state.

The court ruled that West “cannot have it both ways.” If the licenses no longer have value then West has no property interest in them, and if they do still have value then the forfeiture is not moot.

The U.S. District Court pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court had previously ruled that professional licenses are considered property, and therefore are subject to forfeiture.

This week the court filed a preliminary order of forfeiture, authorizing the government to seize the licenses, apparently meaning the Iowa Board of Nursing would not be able to reinstate those particular license numbers.

The court also this week scheduled sentencing for West for 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at the U.S. Courthouse in Cedar Rapids.