House Republican Caucus removes Derges

The Missouri House of Representatives Republican Caucus voted to remove Rep. Tricia Derges, R-Nixa, as she’s facing federal criminal charges for prescription and wire fraud.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-St. Charles, and Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis, said in a joint statement the vote yesterday "is reflective of the incredibly serious nature of the federal charges filed against her and the fact these issues compromise her ability to serve her constituents effectively."

“Our leadership team and the members of our caucus strongly believe Rep. Derges should resign her seat to focus on her family and her legal issues," the statement reads. "We hope Tricia will make the right decision for herself, her family and the good people of the 140th district.”

Derges and her attorney could not be reached immediately for comment by deadline.

The federal indictment alleges Derges defrauded patients of nearly $200,000 through her Ozark Valley Medical Clinic practice by falsely claiming to use stem cells in regenerative medicine to treat COVID-19. She's further accused of distributing Oxycodone and Adderall online to people without valid prescriptions, according to the indictment, and making false statements to federal agents.

The statement from House leadership yesterday represented the second time in less than a week that Vescovo has asked Derges to step down. Last week, Vescovo removed Derges from her three committee assignments.

As of 11:41 a.m., 90% of Springfield Business Journal readers voted in favor of Derges resigning in an SBJ.net poll. There were nearly 600 votes as of this morning.