San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and people remoted of their properties, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

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

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines have been accessible, this physician sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of the entire medical occupation.”

Staley’s legal professional did not instantly respond to requests for remark late Monday.

How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the results that followed

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to folks with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting within 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 that wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective remedy for covid and did not stop individuals from changing into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal brokers started looking into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty improvements at affordable prices,” court docket documents show, and supplied companies together with Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo removal.

The covid therapy kit got here with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional charge), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, data show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired about the therapy package, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing remedy” that may keep someone immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in response to court records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the undercover agent, courtroom documents present. “It’s arduous to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. However it’s a remarkable medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley stated yes however certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no ensures in life,” court information show.

In the course of the name, Staley additionally instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “received the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records show, 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 relations — for $4,000, in keeping with court docket documents.

A Florida man acquired tens of millions in coronavirus aid. He used it to purchase a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded guilty in July 2021. As part of his plea settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one in every 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 brokers during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in concern throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “At present, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a rip-off to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and to give back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s kit. He additionally needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medicine, multiple baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

According to records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court order.