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Prosecutors hit a Republican state lawmaker in Missouri with more than a dozen charges after saying she administered what she claimed was a cure for the coronavirus that turned out to be bogus.
Patricia Ashton Derges, 63, faces 20 criminal charges, including wire fraud and Internet distribution without a valid prescription to promote an alleged stem cell treatment marketed in her clinics in southern Missouri, according to an unsealed federal indictment. and reported by the Washington Post.
“This defendant abused her privileged position to enrich herself through deception,” US Attorney Tim Garrison said in an announcement of the charges Monday. “The indictment alleges that she lied to her patients and that she lied to federal agents. As an elected official and health care provider, she deserves to be held to a high standard. This indictment by the grand jury exposes her deception and holds her accountable for her actions.
Derges was elected to the Statehouse of Missouri in November.
Prosecutors said an investigation into lawmakers began following false or misleading statements she made in April 2020 to a local TV station regarding her “potential use of stem cells to treat COVID-19” .
The federal indictment accuses Derges of eight counts of wire fraud linked to five victims, prosecutors said. The victims were among those who lost a total of approximately $ 200,000 in the fraud scheme. Derges is not a doctor, but is approved as an assistant doctor.
“We place our hope and confidence in health care providers and government officials,” Timothy Langan, a special agent in charge of the FBI in Kansas City, said in a statement. “The actions of the defendant are not only a betrayal of that trust, but their actions erode the very core of our confidence in a system on which we rely. Derges has vowed no harm as a medical professional and was elected to serve the people, not to deceive them. She used her position for personal gain and damaged public trust.
Stacie R. Bilyeu, Derges’s lawyer, told the Post that Derges planned to plead not guilty to the charges and called the indictment “one-sided.”
“The indictment contains simple allegations and these allegations have not yet been proven,” Bilyeu said.
In a Facebook entry on Monday, after the charges against her were announced, Derges posted a photo of Biblical characters David and Goliath.
“I don’t think there has ever been a more fitting image that will portray this day,” she said. “Despite this ‘Goliath’ I will continue to help those in need and stand up for the rights of all of us. Lies and twisted words mean nothing. Truth and justice mean everything. I can stand before God. and to know that He will smile at me. Goliath cannot take it off as much as he tries. The righteous are also always able to discern the truth – I trust that. “
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