Board suspends license of chiropractor convicted of misusing COVID-relief funds

According to state records, those disciplinary charges were filed 14 months after Rannfeldt pleaded guilty to criminal charges of making false statements to a financial institution, bank fraud, money laundering and filing a false bankruptcy declaration.

The board also alleged Rannfeldt had continued to practice chiropractic even after his license lapsed in 2023, and that he had posted videos in which he described himself as a physician and discussed treatments for diabetes, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and thyroid dysfunction.

In order to resolve the disciplinary case, the board recently agreed to suspend Rannfeldt’s chiropractic license for one year and also agreed to “back date” that suspension to November 2025, meaning he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in four months.

Once the license is reinstated, it will be placed on probationary status for up to six years, with Rannfeldt’s billings and financial reports subject to outside review, the board ordered. Rannfeldt will also be required to complete 15 hours of educational training on ethics and professionalism.

Indicted on 20 separate charges

Federal court records show that in March 2023, Rannfeldt was accused by prosecutors of using his clinic, Rannfeldt Family Chiropractic, and several other businesses he owned, to secure financial assistance from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, an economic-assistance program that provided forgivable loans to small businesses to maintain payroll, rehire laid-off staff, and cover overhead costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors alleged Rannfeldt falsified numerous PPP loan applications and routed the money to his personal bank account. He was also alleged to have falsified records to secure loans for a down payment on a new, $785,000 home.

Court records indicate many of the falsified loan applications were denied by bankers, resulting in what prosecutors called “attempted losses,” although some of the applications were approved.

According to the prosecutors, Rannfeldt’s scheme resulted in $115,000 in attempted losses to each of three separate financial institutions — Quad-Cities Bank & Trust, U.S. Bank and Northeast Bank — plus $465,692 in attempted losses to Cross River Bank. In addition, Cross River Bank sustained actual losses of $29,542, and Vibrant Credit Union sustained $262,333 in actual losses, prosecutors claimed.

After being indicted on 20 separate charges, Rannfeldt pleaded guilty to five charges, including bank fraud, money laundering and making false statements to a financial institution, and prosecutors dismissed the remaining 15 charges. Rannfeldt was then sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $291,875 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.

Rannfeldt: ‘This is not me.’

During the criminal court proceedings, prosecutors alleged Rannfeldt had continued to file fraudulent documents even after entering a guilty plea in the case. They alleged Rannfeldt, as part of a residential lease application in November 2023, fraudulently presented his father-in law as a guarantor, included fraudulent earning statements in the application, and forged his father-in-law’s signature.

In arguing for a significant prison sentence, prosecutors cited what they called Rannfeldt’s “repeated and blatant fraud” against taxpayers and the government. “He lied and used falsified documents to get loans,” they told the court. “He lied and used falsified documents to get those loans forgiven. He lied and used falsified documents to get bankruptcy protection. And … he hasn’t stopped.”

At his sentencing in May 2024, Rannfeldt’s attorney informed the court that his client, while having pleaded guilty to misusing COVID-19 relief funds, was also suffering from the medical effects of “long COVID” — the condition in which those who contracted the virus suffer from a variety of long-term effects.

“He still has multiple physical problems, breathing problems, memory problems, muscle issues by way of cramping, headaches,” the attorney, Terence L. McAtee, told the court. “He also has multiple mental health issues.”

McAtee described Rannfeldt as a “beloved husband, father, successful chiropractor, church member, and pillar of the community.”

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Rannfeldt for comment, but at his sentencing in 2024, Rannfeldt apologized to the court for his conduct.

“This is not me,” he said at the time. “No matter what the reason, there is no excuse for this, to waste (the) taxpayer dollars wasted on this case. I’m honestly so embarrassed for what has happened. My family means a lot to me, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to recover that.”