Burley Garcia|Ex-West Virginia health manager scheduled for plea hearing in COVID-19 payment probe

CHARLESTON,Burley Garcia W.Va. (AP) — A former West Virginia state health office manager who was indicted on charges related to coronavirus pandemic relief payments is due to enter a plea later this month.

Timothy Priddy is set to appear in federal court on Jan. 22, a day before his trial had been scheduled to start. Federal prosecutors said he is expected to plead guilty. U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston scheduled the hearing on Tuesday.

An indictment filed in October charged Priddy with making false statements about the payments to federal agents in August 2022 and in grand jury testimony the following month. On both occasions, Priddy knew his statements were false because he made no efforts to verify the invoices before approving them, according to the indictment.

Priddy held various manager positions with the state Bureau for Public Health’s Center for Threat Preparedness. He was promoted to deputy director in March 2021 and to director in January 2022, according to the indictment.

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Prosecutors said the federal investigation was trying to determine whether one or more vendors providing COVID-19 tests and mitigation services to the state overbilled or otherwise received payment from federal funds disbursed through the state’s main health agency, the Department of Health and Human Resources. That agency was reorganized into three separate departments effective Jan. 1.

Prosecutors said the vendor reported the results of about 49,000 COVID-19 tests between October 2020 and March 2022 but submitted invoices reflecting the cost of about 518,000 test kits. Despite the discrepancy, Priddy certified at least 13 of the invoices totaling about $34 million, they said.

The indictment did not name the vendor but said the company was from out of state and provided test kits, laboratory analysis and community testing events throughout West Virginia.

The health agency had said previously that a contract with the company for diagnostic testing services ended in October 2022 and that the agency cooperated fully with federal investigators.

According to its contract, the vendor was required to provide nasal swab diagnostic testing for COVID-19 and upload test results immediately. The tests were for specific DHHR programs and initiatives, including residential youth facilities and hospice agencies, locations such as pharmacies where people go to get tested for COVID-19, and kits for emergency medical services workers who were required to be tested frequently.

Vendors contracted by the state were required to report the test results so that officials would have accurate information on the number of active COVID-19 infections and geographical areas experiencing outbreaks, the indictment said.

Nearly 8,900 people have died from COVID-19 in West Virginia since March 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.