San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and people isolated of their houses, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” in line with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” despite the medicine becoming more and more scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors said.

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

“At the top of the pandemic, before vaccines have been accessible, this physician sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of the complete medical career.”

Staley’s attorney didn't immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday.

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

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 “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an effective remedy for covid and did not forestall folks from turning into sick.

According to prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty improvements at inexpensive costs,” court paperwork show, and supplied companies together with Botox, fat transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

The covid treatment package came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, data show.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired about the treatment kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that may hold someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in response to court docket information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley stated to the secret agent, courtroom documents show. “It’s onerous to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a exceptional medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medicine was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes however certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” courtroom records show.

Throughout the name, Staley also informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “got the final 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in line with court documents.

A Florida man obtained hundreds of thousands in coronavirus help. He used it to buy a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded guilty in July 2021. As a part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one of his employees 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 brokers throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern during a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information release when Staley pleaded guilty. “At the moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 nice and to give again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medication, multiple baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

In line with information from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court order.