San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and people isolated of their properties, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle cure,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the treatment becoming more and more scarce. However Staley had a approach of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in jail and a 12 months of house confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty final yr.

“At the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were obtainable, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a news launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the whole medical profession.”

Staley’s lawyer didn't instantly reply to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the results that followed

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting within the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those that needed it for non-covid health problems. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective remedy for covid and didn't prevent people from changing into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal brokers began trying into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at reasonably priced prices,” court paperwork present, and supplied services including Botox, fats switch, hair elimination and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy equipment came with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, records show.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the therapy package, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that may hold somebody immune from covid for no less than six weeks, based on court docket information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley stated to the spy, court docket documents show. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s nearly too good to be true. However it’s a remarkable medical phenomenon.”

He added that the virus “actually disappears in hours” after a person takes the drug.

When asked by the agent whether the remedy was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley mentioned sure but certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” courtroom data show.

Throughout the name, Staley additionally advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “got the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information show, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “candy potato extract.” He added that the powder was sufficient to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later offered the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, regardless of by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, according to court docket documents.

A Florida man acquired tens of millions in coronavirus help. He used it to purchase a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded responsible in July 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Staley also admitted to posing as certainly one of his workers to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors said. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal agents throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in fear throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “At this time, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 advantageous and to offer again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He additionally had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical medicine, a number of baggage of empty tablet capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

In response to data from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court docket order.