State lawmaker facing fraud charges named in new lawsuit

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A state lawmaker charged with fraud involving medical treatments is facing a new lawsuit alleging she misled a patient about her medical treatment. Rep. Tricia Derges, a Nixa Republican, is scheduled to go on trial next month on federal charges alleging she used fake stem cell treatments, misused pandemic aid and wrote illegal prescriptions. In the new lawsuit filed this month, a patient alleges Derges, an assistant physician, used amniotic fluid injections to treat his back pain in 2020. He says the treatments didn’t help and he was charged more than $6,000 for two sessions. Derges’ attorney said the allegations in the new lawsuit are “absolutely erroneous.”