San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” regardless of the remedy turning into more and more scarce. However Staley had a manner 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 mentioned.

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

“On the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were available, this doctor sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of your complete medical profession.”

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

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat 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, beginning in the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement precipitated demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an efficient treatment for covid and did not prevent individuals from becoming sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents started wanting into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class beauty improvements at reasonably priced prices,” court documents present, and provided providers together with Botox, fat transfer, hair removing and tattoo removing.

The covid treatment package got here 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 drugs, records present.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired about the treatment kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that might maintain somebody immune from covid for at the least six weeks, according to court docket data.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the secret agent, court paperwork present. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. However it’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medicine was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley mentioned yes however qualified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” courtroom information present.

In the course of the name, Staley additionally told 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 sufficient to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

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

A Florida man acquired hundreds of thousands in coronavirus support. He used it to purchase a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

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

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a news release when Staley pleaded guilty. “Today, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a rip-off to make a fast buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 advantageous and to provide again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He also had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical medication, a number of baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

In line with records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a courtroom order.