Major crash closes I-44 at Springfield, Mo.

GREENE COUNTY, Mo. — MoDOT is reporting a major crash has closed I-44 west near the 71 mile marker on Tuesday morning about 5:40 a.m.

Westbound lanes are being diverted off I-44 at Chestnut Expressway, 72 mile marker.

The closure is estimated at 5-6 hour clean-up.

We are working to determine details of the crash that involved a tractor trailer and other vehicles.

Willard Fire, Republic Fire and Springfield Fire were on scene according to initial reports.

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Four killed Thanksgiving night crash, I-44 at Springfield

GREENE COUNTY, Mo. — Missouri State Highway Patrol release details regarding quadruple fatal crash along I-44 near Springfield on Thanksgiving night, November 24, 2022.

The MICU (Major Incident Crash Unit) of Troop D assisted MSgt Michael Frazier’s investigation of the three vehicle crash.

GOOGLE MAPS LOCATION OF CRASH SCENE.  

Josh Wamsley, 33, of Springfield was driving a 2021 Dodge Ram 1500 eastbound on I-44. He died later at Cox South. Passenger Danielle Dillman, 36, died at the scene.

Ryan Shultz, 40, of Fair Grove, Mo. was driving a 2011 Chevy Traverse eastbound on I-44. He was not injured.

Patrick Holloway, 44, of Republic, Mo. was driving a  2018 Ford Escape. He died at the scene. His wife, Shandrea Holloway, 44, died later at Cox South. A rear seated passenger, their 1-year-old daughter survived with moderate injuries.

Crash occurred as [Dodge Ram] struck [Chevy Traverse] in the rear. Travelled into the westbound lanes and struck [Ford Escape] head on.” — MSgt M. Frazier

Sources tell us the one-year-old survivor was in  rear-facing car seat. Both parents were killed.

Traffic was disrupted until about 2 a.m. Friday.

Integrity Towing removed the two vehicles that struck head-on. The Chevy Traverse was driven from the scene.

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Man Pleads Guilty: Robbed Bank While Wearing Ankle Monitor from Another Case

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A man who was wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor at the time of the offense pleaded guilty in federal court last week to robbing a Bank of America branch in Springfield last summer.

Michael C. Loyd, 30, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of bank robbery.

By pleading guilty, Loyd admitted he stole $754 from Bank of America at 633 W. Kearney in Springfield on July 20, 2022. Loyd approached a bank teller and handed her a note that stated, “Give Your Money Now. Don’t Say Anything. I Have A Partner Outside.” After the teller handed him the cash in her drawer, Loyd left the bank and drove away in a black Dodge Ram pickup truck.

A few minutes later, investigators received a tip that Loyd may be the bank robber and that he was currently at Lazy Acres Mobile Home Park, where the truck’s owner lived. Law enforcement officers surrounded the residence and began calling out occupants of the residence.

Investigators compared a previous booking photo of Loyd to the surveillance photos from the bank. Investigators also learned that Loyd was on ankle monitoring as part of his state probation. LBS Monitoring confirmed that their tracking data indicated Loyd’s ankle monitor was inside the Bank of America at the time of the robbery.

Loyd surrendered to law enforcement and admitted to robbing the bank. He told investigators that, as he was driving away from the bank, he saw patrol cars with their lights activated driving in the direction of the bank. He became scared and started throwing money out the window of the truck. Loyd didn’t know how much of the money he disposed of, because he didn’t know how much money he had stolen.

Under federal statutes, Loyd is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI. Information provided by U.S. Attorney’s office Western District of Missouri.

3 years prison to woman for $1.3 Million Theft and Tax Fraud Scheme while employed by Springfield, Mo. company

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Ash Grove, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for a wire fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $362,000 from her Springfield, Mo., employer and failed to pay nearly $1 million in business payroll taxes and personal income taxes.

Carrie Leigh Long, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to three years and five months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Long to pay $1,329,440 in restitution — $362,175 to her employer and $1,071,802 to the IRS. The court also ordered Long to forfeit to the government $362,175.

| RELATED >> Ash Grove Woman Indicted for Stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her Springfield Employer

This was a story Joplin News First covered in November 2021.

On April 25, 2022, Long pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of failure to pay over employment taxes.

Long was employed by Executive Coach Builders, Inc. to provide in-house accounting services to the company and to Executive Bus Builders, Inc. The companies are headquartered in Springfield but do business worldwide with factories and sales offices in Missouri and California. The companies build luxury buses, coaches, and limousines. Long was hired in April 2014.

Long admitted that she stole at least $362,175 from the companies from February 2016 to September 2020. Long also admitted that she failed to pay approximately $902,226 of employment taxes the companies owed to the IRS. By not making these payments, Long created a pool of funds in the companies’ bank accounts from which she continued her embezzlement scheme.

Long used her position as an in-house accountant for the companies, and her access to the companies’ check stock, to regularly write checks against the companies’ bank accounts for unauthorized payments to herself. Long stole money from the companies by filling in unauthorized amounts on some pre-signed checks and making such checks payable to herself. Long also stole money from the companies by forging signatures on the companies’ checks, filling in unauthorized amounts on the checks, and making such checks payable to herself.

According to court documents, Long stole from the companies at least 198 times. When the companies’ owner confronted her with evidence that she had stolen from the companies and that she had not paid over the companies’ employment taxes, she continued to lie to him, forcing him to hire an accounting firm to investigate.

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As part of the scheme, Long did not claim the unauthorized payments as personal income on her individual income tax returns from 2016 through 2020. This resulted in a loss to the IRS of $65,039.

Beginning in April 2019, Long ceased to make regular payments to the IRS for the employment taxes the companies owed the IRS. Long concealed her actions from company officials by altering the companies’ bank account statements and misrepresenting on her financial reports that the payments had been made. Long caused the companies to fail to pay over to the IRS approximately $902,226 of taxes (including both the employer portion and the funds withheld from the companies’ employees’ paychecks) owed to the IRS for two quarters of 2019 and one quarter of 2020.

When an agent from the Internal Revenue Service attempted to collect those delinquent tax payments, Long falsely claimed they had been paid and provided forged bank account statements.

According to court documents, Long was convicted in state court of similar conduct with a previous employer and was still on probation for that crime at the time of this federal offense. On Oct. 21, 2013, she pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of Laclede County, Mo., to stealing more than $88,000 from a client of her then-accounting firm employer. As in this federal case, she stole by forging checks made payable to herself and endorsed in her own name against the victim’s bank account. Long received a suspended five-year sentence, was ordered to serve 90 days shock time, placed on probation for five years, and ordered to pay restitution to her victim within 30 days of her sentencing.

Long’s mother actually paid her court-ordered restitution on her behalf in the state case. Long used the money she stole from the companies in this scheme to pay her mother back for the prior victims’ restitution payment.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Kempf. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.

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Some areas get rain, burn bans remain in place; Marionville City Fire grassfires this week caused by open burning

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. — Although some have received rain this week across the region burn bans still remain in effect.

Friday between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. the Springfield area experienced a stationary thunderstorm as described by the National Weather Service Springfield. Up to four inches of rain fell and a Flash Flood Watch was issued.

We caught motorists stranded on Chestnut Expressway near National Ave on the MoDOT Travelers App Friday about 5:15 p.m.

Marionville City Fire tell Joplin News First they didn’t get that much desired rain on Friday afternoon. The burn ban for Lawrence County remains in place.

This week they battled a fire that included miscanthus grass. The grass is about 10’ – 12′ tall.

“NO BURNING,” in all caps they state online. “Crews have been busy with natural cover fires the last couple days. When we say NO BURNING it means no burning, both of these fires were started from open outdoor burning. With the current conditions being dry and windy fire will spread very quickly.”

| RELATED >> Natural cover fire near Lebanon, Mo.; Wildland Fire Danger, “Very High, No Burning”

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| RELATED >> Brush fire near Mother Nature’s Crack in Newton County, Mo.; No burn ban in place

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Jury Convicts State Lawmaker of COVID-19 Fraud Scheme at Springfield Health Care Charity

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri state representative was convicted by a federal trial jury today for a nearly $900,000 COVID-19 fraud scheme, as well as a separate $200,000 fraud scheme in which she made false claims about a fake stem cell treatment marketed through her clinics in southern Missouri, and for illegally providing prescription drugs to clients of those clinics.

“This is an elected official who stole money from the public, a purported humanitarian who cheated and lied to her patients, and a medical professional who illegally distributed drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “She violated her position of trust to selfishly enrich herself at the expense of others. But a jury of her peers, in a unanimous verdict, saw through her smokescreen of excuses and ridiculous claims, and now she will be held accountable for her criminal behavior.”

Patricia “Tricia” Ashton Derges, 64, of Nixa, Mo., was found guilty 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 was elected in November 2020 as a Missouri state representative in District 140 (Christian County). Derges, who is not a physician but is licensed as an assistant physician, operates three for-profit Ozark Valley Medical Clinic locations in Springfield, Ozark, and Branson, Mo. Derges also operates the non-profit corporation Lift Up Someone Today, Inc., with a medical and dental clinic in Springfield.

“Derges betrayed the confidence entrusted in her as both an elected lawmaker and an assistant physician,” said Charles Dayoub, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Kansas City. “She took advantage of a global pandemic to benefit herself financially with complete disregard, not only to her constituents, but to the oath she took as a health care professional to do no harm. Today’s verdict, decided by a jury of her peers, is a direct message to those who wish to profit on the backs of others: the FBI will vigorously pursue any individual who abuses their position of power and the trust of Missourians for their own gain.”

“By putting personal profit before the health and welfare of her constituents, this official egregiously violated the duties of her position as an elected public servant,” said Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will not tolerate any attempts to defraud federal health care programs, particularly those that steal from essential taxpayer funds and endanger public health.”

COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

Derges was convicted of three counts of wire fraud related to her attempt to fraudulently receive nearly $900,000 in CARES Act funds. Derges actually was awarded $296,574 in CARES Act funds for Lift Up, although Lift Up did not provide any COVID-19 testing services to its patients. In fact, Lift Up’s medical clinic closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained closed from March to June 2020.

Derges sought CARES Act funding for COVID-19 testing that had been provided, and already paid for, at her for-profit Ozark Valley Medical Clinic. Derges requested reimbursement for $379,294 in COVID-19 testing and related expenses, and future funding in the amount of $503,350. In total, Derges applied for $882,644 from the CARES Act Relief Fund on Lift Up’s behalf.

Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020, which provided $150 billion to states, tribal governments, and units of local government. Missouri was allocated approximately $2.3 billion. Missouri allocated approximately $34 million in CARES Act funds to Greene County. To administer the CARES Act funds it received, the Greene County Commission created the CARES Act Relief Fund to “promote recovery by funding programs and services that support the needs of those impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency.” An advisory council of 30 citizen volunteers was appointed to review funding requests and make funding recommendations to the Greene County Commission.

Derges claimed in her application to the Greene County CARES Act Relief Fund that Lift Up provided COVID-19 testing and she sought reimbursement for “COVID-19 eligible expenses” that Lift Up had incurred. To support her claim, Derges provided invoices totaling $296,574 from Dynamic DNA for more than 3,000 COVID-19 laboratory tests. Derges submitted the Dynamic DNA invoices as Lift Up expenditures, although they were actually for testing done at Derges’s for-profit Ozark Valley Medical Clinic.

Lift Up, a non-profit charity, and Ozark Valley Medical Clinic, a for-profit corporation, are separate legal entities. Ozark Valley Medical Center had already received payment from its clients of approximately $517,000 for these COVID-19 tests. Ozark Valley Medical Center charged clients, patients, or their patients’ employers approximately $167 per sample for its COVID-19 testing services. Derges concealed from Greene County that these COVID-19 tests had already been paid for by other payors.

In December 2020, the Greene County Commission awarded Lift Up $296,574 in CARES Act funding based upon Lift Up’s fraudulent application and the Dynamic DNA invoices Derges had submitted. Derges deposited the check into Lift Up’s bank account, then transferred the funds into Ozark Valley Medical Center’s bank account.

Derges provided several more invoices from Dynamic DNA to Greene County later in December 2020 to further support her application for Lift Up, although the invoices were actually for testing done for clients at Ozark Valley Medical Center, raising the total to $589,143 for 6,177 COVID-19 tests. Derges concealed from Greene County that Ozark Valley Medical Center already had been paid approximately $1 million by clients, patients, or their patients’ employers, for these COVID-19 tests.

Stem Cell Fraud Scheme

Derges also was convicted of seven counts of wire fraud related to a nearly $200,000 fraud scheme, which lasted from December 2018 to May 2020. Derges marketed a stem cell treatment that actually utilized amniotic fluid that did not contain any stem cells. The federal indictment charged her with defrauding four specific victims, each of whom testified during the trial.

Derges exclusively obtained amniotic fluid, which she marketed under the name Regenerative Biologics, from the University of Utah. Derges advertised Ozark Valley Medical Clinic as a “Leader in … Regenerative Medicine,” including stem cells, and marketed her “stem cell” practice through seminars, media interviews, and social media. Derges made similar claims in personal consultations.

In fact, however, the amniotic fluid Derges administered to her patients did not contain mesenchymal stem cells, or any other stem cells. The amniotic fluid she obtained from the University of Utah was a sterile filtered amniotic fluid allograft (a tissue graft comprised of human amniotic membrane and amniotic fluid components derived from placental tissue). The amniotic fluid allograft was “acellular,” meaning it did not contain any cells, including stem cells.

Despite being told that the University of Utah’s amniotic fluid allograft was “acellular” and did not contain mesenchymal stem cells, Derges continued to tell her patients and the public that the amniotic fluid allograft contained stem cells.

Derges administered amniotic fluid, which she falsely claimed contained stem cells, to patients who suffered from, among other things, tissue damage, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Lyme disease, and urinary incontinence. In an April 11, 2020, Facebook post Derges wrote of amniotic fluid allograft: “This amazing treatment stands to provide a potential cure for COVID-19 patients that is safe and natural.”

The University of Utah sold its amniotic fluid allograft to Derges for approximately $244 per milliliter and $438 for two milliliters. Derges charged her patients $950 to $1,450 per milliliter. In total, Derges’s patients paid her approximately $191,815 for amniotic fluid that did not contain stem cells.

Controlled Substances Act

Derges also was convicted of 10 counts of distributing Oxycodone and Adderall over the internet without valid prescriptions. The indictment alleges that Derges, without conducting in-person medical evaluations of the patients, wrote electronic prescriptions for Oxycodone and Adderall for patients and transmitted them to pharmacies over the internet.

Because none of the assistant physicians whom Derges employed at Ozark Valley Medical Clinic could prescribe Schedule II controlled substances, it was the standard practice of the assistant physicians to see a patient and later communicate to Derges the controlled substances they wanted her to prescribe to their patients. Derges, without conducting an in-person medical evaluation of the patients as required by federal law, wrote electronic prescriptions for the patients and transmitted the prescriptions over the internet to pharmacies.

False Statements

Derges also was convicted of two counts of making false statements to federal agents investigating this case in May 2020.

Derges told agents that the amniotic fluid allograft that she used in her practice contained mesenchymal stem cells, which she knew was false. Derges also told federal agents that she had not treated a patient for urinary incontinence with amniotic fluid allograft, which she knew was false.

Assistant Physician

Derges is not a physician but is licensed as an assistant physician. An assistant physician is a mid-level medical professional in the state of Missouri. Under Missouri law, medical school graduates who have not been accepted into a residency program but have passed Step 1 and Step 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination may apply to become an assistant physician. State law mandates that assistant physicians practice pursuant to a collaborative practice arrangement with a licensed physician.

Derges obtained her medical degree from the Caribbean Medical University of Curacao in May 2014 but was not accepted into a post-graduate residency program. Derges was licensed as an assistant physician by the state of Missouri on Sept. 8, 2017.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., deliberated for about six hours over two days before returning guilty verdicts on all counts to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, ending a trial that began Monday, June 13.

Under federal statutes, Derges is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 wire fraud counts and on each of the 10 drug distribution counts, and a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole on each of the two false statements counts. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

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Who is Patricia Derges (biography)

Representative Tricia Derges, a Republican, represents Christian County (District 140) in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected to her first two-year term in November 2020.

In addition to her legislative duties, Derges is a medical doctor and entrepreneur. She was named Missouri 1997 SBA Entrepreneur of the Year as CEO/President of the international manufacturing company she founded, named Manufacturer of the Year 2002, recognized by President George W. Bush in 2004 and named 2005 SBJ Top 20 Most Influential Women in southwest Missouri. After almost 20 years of manufacturing, Derges sold her company in her fifties to attend medical school in the Netherland Antilles, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2014.

She owns a small chain of Primary-Urgent Care Medical Clinics that provide medical care for the “working person and non-insured” in underserved areas of SW Missouri, founded “Lift Up Someone Today,” a non-profit medical-dental-mental health mission clinic that provides care for the homeless, poor and veterans, and she teaches medical students board review classes for their USMLE licensing exams. In 2017, she was awarded the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award in Washington, D.C. – the Nobel Peace Prize for community service. In 2018, she was named the Springfield Humanitarian of the Year. In 2019, she was named top non-profit CEO for SW Missouri and was inducted into the Kirkwood Outstanding Alumni Hall of Fame.

Derges serves as Chairman of the Board for Lift Up Someone Today Medical and Dental Mission, a board member of the Hackett Hemwall Patterson Prolotherapy Foundation, and was previously a board member of the Christian County Sheltered Workshop. She is a member of Impact 100 Ozark. She has volunteered with Junior Achievement, Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Shopping for Seniors and Ozark High School Student Jobs Development.

Born in Giddings, Texas, Derges graduated from Kirkwood High School in St. Louis. She resides in Nixa/Ozark with her husband, Daniel. They have eight children and 23 grandchildren. They attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

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