Patricia Ashton Derges, 63, allegedly gave so-called “regenerative” treatments to clients who came to the Ozark Valley Medical Clinic looking for treatment for various illnesses, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed Monday.
The clinic offered its patients amniotic fluid that claimed to have stem cells, but in fact was acellular, without stem cells.
After Derges made false claims on a Springfield television station in April that stem cells could treat Covid-19, an investigation was launched, the FBI said in a statement on Monday.
And on Facebook, Derges claimed her clinic’s “amazing treatment stands to provide a potential cure for COVID-19 patients that is safe and natural,” the indictment said.
She self-surrendered on her indictment Monday and was released following an initial appearance in federal court, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office.