A federal grand jury has returned additional federal charges against embattled Nixa State Representative Tricia Derges.
The superseding indictment was unsealed Friday when Derges, 63, appeared in federal court in Springfield for her arraignment.
The indictment includes three new counts of COVID-19 fraud in addition to the original 23 counts Derges faced.
The latest counts allege Derges fraudulently received $296,574 in CARES Act funds for her non-profit “Lift Up Someone Today, Inc,” although Lift Up did not provide any COVID-19 testing services to its patients. In fact, its medical clinic closed at the beginning of the pandemic and remained closed from March to June, 2020.
The U-S Attorney’s Office says Derges allegedly sought CARES Act funding for COVID-19 testing that had been provided, and already paid for, at her for-profit Ozark Valley Medical Clinic. According to the indictment, Derges requested reimbursement for $379,294 in COVID-19 testing and related expenses, and future funding in the amount of $503,350. In total, Derges applied for $882644 from the CARES Act Relief Fund on Lift Up’s behalf.
Prosecutors say in December, 2020, the Greene County Commission awarded Lift Up $296,574 in CARES Act funding based on a fraudulent application.
The superseding indictment also contains original counts of wire fraud, distributing Oxycodone and Adderall over the internet without valid prescriptions, making false statements and a forfeiture allegation.