The owner of an eastern Iowa waste management company has admitted he failed to maintain proper workers’ compensation insurance, though he is expected to avoid jail time.
The Johnson County Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against James Watts, Hawkeye Waste Systems and several others, including Chris Watts, Mary Sheen and Chris Dohrer, in April 2025 after an employee suffered a fatal head injury at a job site in Iowa City.
James Watts, on behalf of Hawkeye Waste Systems based in Scott County, pleaded guilty to failure to maintain workers’ compensation insurance, a Class “D” felony, on Friday, Jan. 16.
Sheen, Dohrer and Chris Watts were dropped from the case as part of the plea.
Class “D” felonies can be punishable by up to five years in prison, though according to court documents, prosecutors have agreed “not to recommend prison,” and to suspend any related fines.
Sentencing will be held March 19 at the Johnson County Courthouse.
The guilty plea from James Watts and Hawkeye Waste Systems comes less than two weeks before the criminal case was scheduled to go to trial.
Death of Hawkeye Waste Systems employee in 2024 sparked investigation
An investigation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation found that Hawkeye Waste Systems did not have workers’ compensation insurance and was not “approved to be self-insured by the Iowa Insurance Division.”
The investigation followed the death of Matthew Reuwsaat, a Hawkeye Waste Systems employee who sustained “severe head trauma in a workplace accident” at the company’s Iowa City location on Oct. 31, 2024.
An online memorial post indicated that the accident involved a skid loader. Reuwsaat died at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center on Nov. 9, 2024.
“Prioritizing public safety means holding employers accountable for providing basic protections for workers and their families as State law requires them to do,” County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann-Smith said in a statement in April 2025, when the charges were filed against Hawkeye Waste Systems.
Johnson County tried to stop Hawkeye Waste System from local work
The Press-Citizen previously reported that Reuwsaat’s wife, Christine, testified in a separate case that she did not receive workers’ compensation benefits and was sent a $185,000 bill for her husband’s medical care.
In 2025, the Johnson County Attorney’s Office requested an injunction to stop Hawkeye Waste Systems from operating in the county because its workers’ compensation insurance had lapsed. The company reacquired the requisite insurance before business was stopped.
A Jan. 20 hearing with Reuwsaat and Hawkeye Waste Systems was cancelled. The court ordered Hawkeye Waste Systems and the Johnson County Attorney’s Office to file a “joint report” on whether the claim has been resolved and what issues remain.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Hawkeye Waste Systems admits felony for not providing workers’ comp
Reporting by Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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