Story by Jeff Jenkins, MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A plea hearing is scheduled Monday morning in federal court for a state DHHR charged with marking false statements during a covid funding investigation.
Timothy Priddy, of Milton, is scheduled to plead guilty to charges before U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston at 10:30 a.m. in federal court in Charleston.
Priddy has been indicted on four criminal counts. He allegedly lied to FBI agents and then later lied to a federal grand jury in connection with an investigation into a covid vendor providing services to the state.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hanks said at an Oct. 26, 2023 hearing that Priddy made false statements to FBI agents when they interviewed him in connection with the FBI’s review into a certain vendor providing covid testing to the state. The investigation began when the invoices paying the testing vendor didn’t match up with what an online portal showed were tests administered.
According to the indictment, the out-of-state vendor submitted invoices totaling nearly $45 million dollars for 500,000 covid test kits but the same company only reported 50,000 test results between October 2020 and March 2022.
Hanks said during the investigation Priddy was asked about the DHHR’s verification process of vendors and how they were certified. Hanks investigators later found out there was no verification process even though Priddy said there was one.
Priddy allegedly certified 13 invoices on his own totaling $34 million.
Priddy, who held top roles with the DHHR Bureau for Public Health Center for Threat Preparedness, then testified before a grand jury where Hanks said he continued to lie.
Hanks said Priddy’s decision not to be honest impacted the FBI’s investigation.