CEDAR RAPIDS – A Waterloo mother involved in a drug conspiracy connected to her California son was sentenced on December 2, 2025, to five years in federal prison.
Nicole Ann Fordyce, age 50, who lived in Waterloo, Iowa, at the time of her involvement in distributing marijuana, received the prison term after an April 16, 2025, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
From August 2022 through January 2024, Fordyce was involved in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of marijuana intended for further distribution in Waterloo. Fordyce received marijuana in the mail from her son, Jonathan Reins, who was living in California. Fordyce gave the marijuana to other people involved in distributing it throughout Waterloo. During this time, Fordyce also deposited approximately $191,896 in drug proceeds into a bank account used by the people involved in distributing the marijuana.
Fordyce was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Fordyce was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Fordyce is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force
Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Denver Iowa Police Department, Fullerton California Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.