San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and folks remoted of their houses, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle remedy,” in line with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” despite the remedy turning into increasingly scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese language supplier, prosecutors said.

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

“At the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were accessible, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical career.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often 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 “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement prompted demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and finally affecting those who needed it for non-covid health issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective remedy for covid and did not stop people from changing into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at reasonably priced costs,” court docket documents show, and provided providers together with Botox, fat transfer, hair removal and tattoo removal.

The covid remedy equipment got here with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, data show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the therapy kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful remedy” that might preserve someone immune from covid for at least six weeks, in line with court information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the spy, courtroom documents present. “It’s arduous to consider, it’s nearly too good to be true. But it surely’s a outstanding clinical phenomenon.”

He added that the virus “literally disappears in hours” after an individual takes the drug.

When asked by the agent whether or not the medication was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley said sure but certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” courtroom information present.

Through the name, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “obtained the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data present, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “sweet potato extract.” He added that the powder was enough to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later offered the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 family members — for $4,000, based on court docket documents.

A Florida man received hundreds of thousands 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 settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one of his staff 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 in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry during a global pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded responsible. “Today, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 positive and to offer again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s kit. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, multiple bags of empty capsule capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

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