Pharmacy worker’s license revoked due to alleged theft of drugs

State regulators have revoked the license of a Dubuque pharmacy employee for the suspected theft of hundreds of pills.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy recently charged pharmacist technician trainee Akasha Brown with obtaining or attempting to unlawfully obtain prescription drugs; stealing prescription drugs from a pharmacy for personal use or for distribution to others; and knowingly making misleading or deceptive representations in the practice of pharmacy or engaging in unethical conduct that is harmful to the public.

According to the board, Brown was employed at Hartig Drug Company in Dubuque in 2025 when the board staff learned the pharmacy had submitted a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration form indicating an employee had stolen controlled substances from the business.

The drugs listed in the form consisted of 168 tablets of alprazolam, commonly known by the brand name Xanax, a prescription drug used to treat anxiety disorders. The form also listed 100 capsules of methylphenidate ER, a stimulant commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The suspect named in the form was Brown, board records show.

The pharmacy then provided state officials with photos culled from a surveillance video, allegedly showing Brown, wearing a coat, taking medications from a pharmacy shelf and placing them into her coat pocket. They also show Brown leaving the pharmacy with her coat on and returning nine minutes later without the coat, the board alleges.

The pharmacy allegedly reported the matter to Dubuque police. According to the board, Brown told a board investigator she had not intentionally taken the drugs from the pharmacy, indicating she had forgotten placing the medications in her pocket and only discovered them later after retrieving the coat from her washer at home.

“I contacted (Hartig) and told them, ‘Hey, I found (the medication). I have it. It was in my laundry,’” Brown allegedly told the board staff. “I kept the bottle ’cause I had a feeling I would need proof … So do I throw it away now, or should I give it to the cops?”

Later, the board alleges, Brown told investigators she did not keep the medications or the bottles in which they were stored.

In its recent written decision revoking Brown’s license, the board said that although Brown claimed “she accidently took the prescription medication, Brown did not return either the medication or the medication bottles to Hartig. Brown also provided conflicting statements regarding what happened to the medication.”

Court records indicate no criminal charges were filed in the case.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Brown for comment.