⏱ 3 min read
An Eastern Iowa occupational therapist’s dirty secret is out: Eric Leo Newsom, 34, stole pain meds from patients and replaced them with zinc tablets, leaving one cancer patient to suffer in agony.
Newsom, who owned and operated a company providing occupational therapy services to patients in Eastern Iowa, began diverting narcotics from his patients in November 2024. On March 24, 2025, he picked up a cancer patient’s hydrocodone tablets from a Cedar Rapids pharmacy and swapped them with zinc tablets he’d tampered with to look like the real deal.
The cancer patient, a resident at a Cedar Rapids assisted living facility, died on March 28, 2025, after going without her medication for three days.
Newsom’s crimes didn’t stop there. He also burglarized the apartment of another assisted living resident in search of narcotics, and stole pain meds from two sisters living in different apartments at the same facility.
On May 12, 2026, Newsom pleaded guilty to one count of tampering and attempting to tamper with a consumer product. Sentencing is set to take place after a presentence report is prepared.
Related Federal Cases
- Nong Chatchanok Press, Sex Offenses, Iowa 2022 · Iowa
- Robert Skarin, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Iowa 2013 · Iowa
- Shannon Huntington, Cocaine Distribution, Iowa 2013 · Iowa
- Rodney Brock, Methamphetamine Manufacture and Distribution, Iowa 2013 · Iowa
- Rory Meeks, Marijuana Manufacture Conspiracy, Iowa 2013 · Iowa
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Drug Trafficking
- Defendant: Iowa
- Location: IA
- Source: DOJ Press Release
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Drug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking