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Tricia Derges was elected in 2020 to represent Nixa in the House as a Republican.
SBJ file
Tricia Derges was elected in 2020 to represent Nixa in the House as a Republican.

Derges resigns from Missouri House

Posted online

Tricia Derges, R-Nixa, resigned from her position in the Missouri House of Representatives following last week's federal conviction on fraud and drug charges.

In a July 1 resignation letter to House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, Derges did not address the jury verdict that came earlier in the week.

"It has truly been an honor to serve the citizens of the 140th District. They are some of the finest people I have ever met," she wrote in the letter. "To be a part of the process that helped bring positive change to our community and to assist with many of the personal struggles of my constituents is something I will forever treasure."

Derges previously declined calls to resign from members of her own party after she was indicted early last year.

Derges could face prison time under federal statutes, according to past reporting.

She was found guilty on June 28 by a federal trial jury of 10 counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of distributing drugs over the internet without a valid prescription and two counts of making false statements to a federal law enforcement agent.

Derges, a nonprofit leader and health care clinic operator, operates three for-profit Ozark Valley Medical Clinic locations in Springfield, Ozark and Branson, as well as the nonprofit Lift Up Someone Today Inc., with a medical and dental clinic in Springfield. Phone calls continue to be received at Ozark Valley Medical Clinic; Lift Up’s website does not provide a phone number.

The jury found Derges guilty of fraudulently receiving federal stimulus funds, engaging in stem cell treatment fraud and violating the Controlled Substances Act by distributing oxycodone and Adderall over the internet without valid prescriptions, according to past reporting.

Federal officials say Derges is not a physician, but rather is licensed as an assistant physician.

In her resignation letter to Vescovo, she did mention assistant physicians, "a program I hope will eventually be implemented nationwide," Derges wrote.

"Countless amazing individuals that sacrificed years of their lives to become a doctor were left in devastation because of our severe residency shortage," she wrote. "This tragedy left them stranded with no ability to practice but (they) were still required to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans.”

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