A former official within the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to knowingly making false statements to federal investigators regarding millions of dollars in COVID-19 testing supplies that were not properly accounted for.
According to court records, Timothy J. Priddy, 49, of Buffalo, W.Va., who was indicted in October 2023, held various supervisory positions with the DHHR Bureau for Public Health Center for Threat Preparedness (CTP) during the pandemic. He was promoted to deputy director of the CTP in March 2021 and ultimately named director in January 2022.
Priddy stepped down from the CTP director position following the indictment. He was set to go to trial Tuesday, Jan. 23 had he not entered the plea on Monday.
In his position at CTP, Priddy was tasked with verifying and certifying vendor invoices before funds could be released for payment.
In or around June 2021, federal and state authorities began an investigation to determine whether certain vendors had provided the COVID-19 services for which they invoiced the state.
Court documents say part of that investigation surrounded invoices submitted by an unnamed company totaling $44,775,308 — the cost of around 518,419 COVID-19 test kits meant for a back-to-school COVID-19 testing program.
However, investigators learned that only around 48,661 test results from that company were reported between October 2020 and March 2022.
Vendors contracted to perform COVID-19 testing during the pandemic were required to report test results for accurate, up-to-date information regarding the number of active COVID infections.
Despite the noticeable discrepancy between tests performed and tests invoiced — a difference of around 469,758 tests — Priddy had personally certified at least 13 of the invoices in question between November 2020 and February 2022 without first verifying that the invoiced goods and services were, in fact, provided. Those invoices totaled approximately $34,174,797.
During interviews with federal investigators, Priddy said that he had verified the unnamed company’s invoices before certifying them for payment. He later admitted he knew that statement was false.
“After completely failing to verify invoices seeking tens of millions of public dollars, Mr. Priddy significantly affected an important investigation into that spending with his false statement,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson.
He also admitted that he knew the agents were investigating the vendor for suspected fraudulent billing, and that information relative to the invoices and subsequent payment was material to that investigation.
“No matter your job or status in the community, it is a federal crime to lie to the FBI,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Mike Shanahan. “Priddy lied to the FBI during a critical moment in the investigation. This conviction should serve as a reminder that those who lie to federal agents will face serious criminal consequences for their actions.”
Following the October indictment, The Dominion Post reached out to DHHR Office of Communications for comment on the allegations against Priddy. In its response, it was indicated that the unnamed company the indictment said was being investigated is Maverick Scientific.
DHHR’s contract with Maverick for diagnostic testing services ended in October 2022.
Priddy was suspended from DHHR and Donnie Haynes is currently serving as interim director for the Center for Threat Preparedness.
Priddy was released pending a sentencing hearing and is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. May 9 in United States District Court in Charleston. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
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