San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and folks isolated in their homes, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle remedy,” in response to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

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

Staley was sentenced last week to 30 days in prison and a yr of home confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible last 12 months.

“At the top of the pandemic, before vaccines had been out there, this physician sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a information launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of your complete medical profession.”

Staley’s lawyer did not instantly reply to requests for comment late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is usually prescribed to people 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 “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement induced demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine will not be an efficient treatment for covid and did not prevent individuals from changing into sick.

In accordance with prosecutors, federal brokers began trying into Staley after involved customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at affordable prices,” court docket documents show, and provided services including Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo removing.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the treatment equipment, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that would hold someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, according to court docket records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the spy, court paperwork show. “It’s laborious to believe, it’s nearly too good to be true. However it’s a exceptional clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the medicine was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley stated yes but certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” courtroom records present.

Through the call, Staley additionally advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “bought the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information 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 provided the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in line with courtroom documents.

A Florida man received millions in coronavirus aid. He used it to buy a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded responsible in July 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among his staff 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 brokers in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in concern during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a news release when Staley pleaded responsible. “Immediately, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 high-quality and to offer 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 medicine, multiple baggage of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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