It sure is amazing how all of a sudden Joe Biden takes office and Republicans are being charged with crimes almost as easily as someone could say good morning to a neighbor.
It hasn’t been more than a couple of weeks and they are starting to go after Republicans on things that prosecutors wouldn’t have even thought about last month.
Just goes to show that all you need is a stack of money big enough and a prosecutor with the lack of guts to say no to something that they know to be wrong.
A newly elected GOP Missouri state representative and assistant physician faces charges for allegedly running a fraud scheme in her three clinics and providing prescription drugs illegally, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors in the Western District of Missouri claim that Patricia “Tricia” Ashton Derges, who operates three “Ozark Valley Medical Clinic” locations, sold what she falsely advertised as a stem cell treatment. Court documents cite one instance on April 11, 2020, when Derges wrote a Facebook post about her clinic’s treatment as an “amazing treatment that stands to provide a potential cure for Covid-19 patients that is safe and natural.”
However, Derges actually administered a substance called “amniotic fluid allograft” to patients, according to authorities. It’s a substance the University of Utah told investigators it sold to her for about $244 for 1 milliliter, according to the indictment. Authorities claim Derges knew the product did not contain any cells, including stem cells. In total, Derges’ patients paid her approximately $191,815.00 for amniotic fluid that did not contain stem cells, the documents say. She charged her patients $950 to $1,450 per milliliter, according to court documents.
Derges, a Republican, has pleaded not guilty, according to her attorney, Stacey Bilyeu, who stressed she is “presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
The University of Utah said its product has clear usage instructions and was “disappointed to learn patients were allegedly mislead.” They pledged cooperation with authorities on the investigation and said they’re “currently reviewing our processes to determine if we can do anything more to prevent similar occurrences in the future.”