By Clark Kauffman

The Iowa Board of Nursing has awarded a license to an individual who worked for three years as a licensed practical nurse after submitting fraudulent educational credentials to the board.

Board records show Lizette Ngamalue of Johnston was awarded an Iowa nursing license in March 2020 and worked for three years as a licensed practical nurse until the board discovered the educational credentials she had submitted as part of her license application were fraudulent.

According to the board, one of the nursing schools Ngamalue claimed to have attended, the National School of Nursing and Allied Health, was among several alleged diploma mills investigated for fraud as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Operation Nightingale.

According to the board, in 2021 Ngamalue applied for a license in Florida using a degree from a different program called Siena Education Center, which was another program investigated by the DOJ for issuing fraudulent nursing degrees.

In July 2023, Ngamalue agreed to surrender her Iowa nursing license.

In May 2025, Ngamalue applied for a new Iowa nurse’s license based on a verified degree received from Mercy College of Health Sciences. The board alleges that at its Oct. 9, 2025, hearing on Ngamalue’s license application, Ngamalue said she was unaware of the fraudulent nature of her initial degrees and asserted she was unsure of the dates she had attended either Siena or the National School of Nursing and Allied Health, as she had “blocked out” that time period.

The board recently agreed to award Ngamalue a registered nurse’s license to practice in Iowa, subject to two years of probation and monitoring.

In its written decision, the board applauded Ngamalue for returning to school and obtaining a legitimate degree but also expressed concern that she “was not forthcoming about her previous education and failed to answer basic questions about the two schools where she fraudulently obtained credits, which made the board question her sincerity.”

More nursing board actions

Other individuals whose disciplinary cases were recently acted upon by the Iowa Board of Nursing include:

Julie Thornton of Council Bluffs – The board has denied Thornton’s application for reinstatement of her license. Board records show Thornton, formerly Julie Espenhover, was originally issued a registered nurse’s license in 2004. In 2018, she entered into an agreement with the Iowa Nurse Assistance Program that required her to abstain from all mood-altering substances, including alcohol. The board alleges Thornton failed to abstain from alcohol while under contract with the program and in 2020, she surrendered her license. In March 2025, she applied for reinstatement. In denying the application, the board said Thornton had not provided sufficient evidence to show the basis for her 2020 license surrender no longer exists.

Renee Nesbitt of Urbandale – The board has agreed to reinstate Nesbitt’s license, which was surrendered in April 2024. Board records show Nesbitt was issued a nursing license in May 2009, and that in 2017, she entered into an agreement with the Iowa Nurse Assistance Program, then moved to Michigan where she entered into an “alternative discipline program.” In February 2020, her Michigan license was suspended for failure to comply with the alternative discipline program and Nesbitt moved back to Iowa where she resumed practice and entered into another contract with the Iowa Nurse Assistance Program and agreed to abstain from alcohol.

In 2022, Nesbitt allegedly admitted violating the terms of her INAP contract and her Iowa license was placed on probation. In August 2023, Nesbitt allegedly tested positive for alcohol use and in April 2024, she agreed to surrender her license. In April 2025, she applied for reinstatement.

In agreeing to reinstate her license, the board indicated Nesbitt had successfully addressed her alcohol-use issues and that it was in the public’s interest for her license to be reinstated subject to two years of probation, chemical screening and monitoring.

Elvis Kasi of New London – The board has placed the Kasi’s license as a registered nurse on probation to resolve charges that he failing to assess, accurately document, evaluate, or report the status of a patient or client, and that he failed to properly safeguard or secure medications. The board alleges that while working as a nurse in Mt. Pleasant between February 2023 and November 2024, Kasi “had incidents of substandard medication management” that resulted in his being fired.

According to the board, Kasi allegedly was found to have “medication in his assigned employment locker,” and was also found to have removed from his employer’s medication supply unspecified drugs that were intended for a patient, although records indicated the drugs were never administered, thrown away or returned to the supply. As part of his two-year probationary period, Kasi will be required to submit to any substance abuse evaluation that might be recommended by his case manager, and complete 30 hours of educational training of medication management.

Osarenoma Ogbeide – Board records indicate Ogbeide has voluntarily surrendered her license after being charged by the board with fraud in procuring an Iowa nurse’s license. Board records indicate that in October 2019, Ogbeide received licenses to practice in both Texas and Iowa, based in part on a nursing degree received from Ideal Professional Institute in Florida, which was not authorized to provide online education.

It was later determined Ogbeide did not live in Florida while “attending” Ideal Professional Institute and that her courses were delivered online. The board alleges that after an FBI investigation concluded the institute had issued fraudulent nursing degrees, it was determined Ogbeide had never completed the required program hours and clinical training necessary to obtain a nursing degree.

Tara Lynn Yotter-Wadding of Albert Lea, Minn. – The board placed Yotter-Wadding’s nursing license on probation for three years after charging her with having a nursing license that was revoked, suspended or otherwise sanctioned in another jurisdiction. The board alleges that Yotter-Wadding — also identified in board records as Tara Lynn Yotting-Wadding — applied for an Iowa license renewal in May 2025, which was approved. The board alleges it later learned that in 2024, Minnesota’s licensing board had referred Yotter-Wadding to a professional health program due to a substance abuse disorder and that Yotter-Wadding was later “unsatisfactorily discharged” from that program.

Corinne Elizabeth Kach, formerly of Sioux City – The board has charged Kach with performing nursing services beyond the authorized scope of practice and with failing to respond to or comply with a board investigation or subpoena. According to the board, Kach is a licensed practical nurse who currently lives in Michigan but lived and worked in Sioux City when the alleged violations took place. No other information about the nature of the violations has been made public by the board.

Board records indicate the charges against Kach were formally approved in July 2025 but were only made public last week. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026.

Lauren Jane Nahnsen of Johnston – The board issued Nahnsen a warning for violating the confidentiality or privacy rights of a patient or client. The board alleges that while Nahnsen worked for Wexford Health Services at the Douglas County Department of Corrections in Nebraska, Nahnsen attempted to use her employer’s computer system to access a coworker’s prescription drug information, using 13 variations of birthdates, in a failed effort to obtain the information. Nahnsen was fired for her actions, according to the board. In resolving the matter with a warning, the board notified Nahnsen she could be subject to further discipline should she continue to engage in similar conduct.