Missouri lawmaker charged for pushing fake stem-cell treatment

Jefferson City – A lawmaker from Missouri is looking at federal charges for knowingly pushing fake stem-cell treatments and is being sued in Greene County for medical negligence.

Nixa representative Patricia Derges had a 21 page petition filed against her accusing her of using fake stem-cell  treatments to help alleviate lower back pain experienced by patients. Derges’ husband, Daniel Derges, is also named in the lawsuit along with the Ozark Valley Medical Clinic which is operated by Daniel Derges.

Derges is charged with distributing amniotic fluid as a treatment for pain, erectile dysfunction, Lyme disease, urinary incontinence and other ailments. Each of those injections cost upwards of $6,000 a shot. Derges faces additional charges for filing $900,000 in COVID-19 treatment claims that were either previously performed or not performed at all.

On several occasions Patricia Dergres, who is a licensed assistant physician, claimed herself to be a doctor in the field of stem cell treatments during potential patient presentations. “At the presentation, defendant Patricia Derges gave the impression to participants that she was a licensed physician and that her clinic provided ‘stem cell’ injections capable of treating, among other things, chronic pain,” the lawsuit notes.

“The actions of defendants were willful, wanton, and in complete indifference to plaintiff’s rights,” the lawsuit said. Since these claims were filed she has been effectively shunned by her Republican colleagues, stripped of her committee assignments, and removed from the Republican caucus.

Derges’ trial will be on June 13th in U.S. District Court.