San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and other people isolated in their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle remedy,” based on prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” despite the treatment turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a method of getting it, he later advised an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese language provider, prosecutors mentioned.

Staley was sentenced last week to 30 days in jail and a yr of dwelling confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty last year.

“At the top of the pandemic, before vaccines had been out there, this physician sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of your entire medical occupation.”

Staley’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to deal with covid-19 — and the results that adopted

Hydroxychloroquine is usually prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting in the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement triggered demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and ultimately affecting those who needed it for non-covid health problems. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine shouldn't be an efficient therapy for covid and did not stop folks from becoming sick.

In accordance with prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after involved customers alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at affordable prices,” courtroom documents present, and supplied providers including Botox, fats transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

The covid remedy equipment came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, information present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the treatment package, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful cure” that would hold someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in keeping with court docket information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley stated to the spy, court paperwork present. “It’s exhausting to consider, it’s virtually too good to be true. But it surely’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the treatment was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley stated sure but certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” court information present.

During the call, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “acquired the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records present, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “candy potato extract.” He added that the powder was enough to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later provided the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five relations — for $4,000, in keeping with court documents.

A Florida man acquired tens of millions in coronavirus assist. 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 considered one of his workers to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors mentioned. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal agents during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in fear during a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a news launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “In the present day, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 advantageous and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He also had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, multiple luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

Based on information from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been quickly suspended by a courtroom order.