A Missouri state representative is being charged for medical fraud after selling a fake COVID-19 treatment.
What We Know:
- Patricia “Tricia” Ashton Derges, is an assistant physician and a newly elected Missouri state lawmaker. According to CNN, she operates three medical centers for low-income patients in Ozark, Missouri known as the Ozark Valley Medical Clinic. At these clinics, Derges is being accused of running a medical fraud scheme.
- She sold falsely advertised “stem cell treatment” claiming that it was a cure for COVID-19. Court documents cite a Facebook post from April 11, 2020, where Derges wrote about the treatment, calling it an “amazing treatment (that) stands to provide a potential cure for Covid-19 patients that is safe and natural.”
- The “stem cell treatment” she was using was actually a substance called amniotic fluid allograft and does not contain any form of stem cells. Derges is accused of knowingly selling the fluid to desperate COVID patients for $950 to $1,450 per milliliter.
- Federal prosecutors also claim that Derges was illegally providing people with drug prescriptions. She has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of felony wire fraud, illegal distribution of controlled substances, and making false statements. On Monday, Derges posted bond and was released. According to her attorney, Stacey Bilyeu, she has pleaded not guilty.
- In November, Derges was elected to the Missouri State House of Representatives to represent the 140th district. In 2017, she was awarded a Jefferson Awards Foundation for her work in the Ozark community.
Her case is set for a jury trial on March 22, 2021.
