Family therapist faces licensing issues after pleading guilty to theft and fraud

A Des Moines therapist accused of business-related theft, fraud and forgery is now facing disciplinary charges from a state licensing board.

The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals has charged state-licensed marital and family therapist Michelle Raye Stewart-Sandusky, 38, of Baxter with being convicted of an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession.

The board has disclosed no information as to the nature of the conviction or when it occurred, although state records indicate the board opened five separate investigations of Stewart-Sandusky in 2023 and 2024.

The disciplinary charge against Stewart-Sandusky was approved by Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals in January 2026, but was made public only this week by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing.

A hearing on the disciplinary charge is scheduled for July 10, 2026.

Court records indicate that in April 2024, Johnston police charged Stewart-Sandusky with felony first-degree theft, alleging she had written bad checks totaling $86,800. One area bank incurred financial losses totaling $34,334 as a result of the alleged scheme, according to police.

The police records indicate the theft involved checks written by Stewart-Sandusky on a Community State Bank account in the name of SS Therapy and Consulting, which she controlled, and a Bank of Iowa account in the name of Central Iowa Mental Health Organization, which she also controlled.

In October 2024, police charged Stewart-Sandusky with forgery and fraud for allegedly forging a financial document in a bank employee’s name in order to have her group healthcare insurance reinstated after it was canceled due to failure to pay the premiums.

According to court records, the theft case was resolved in December 2024 when Stewart-Sandusky pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of third-degree theft and was given a suspended prison sentence of two years and placed on probation for one year.

In April 2025, the forgery case was resolved when Stewart-Sandusky pleaded guilty to a charge of insurance fraud, was fined $1,025, and was awarded a deferred judgment that will result in the conviction being expunged from public records after the successful completion of five years of probation. Court records show that as part of a plea deal, the forgery charge was dismissed.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Stewart-Sandusky at her current place of employment, Therapy Group Inc., which provides family counseling in Burlington, Des Moines and other areas of Iowa.