San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and folks isolated in their properties, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle cure,” according 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 medication changing into increasingly scarce. But Staley had a way of getting it, he later advised an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors said.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines were out there, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a news release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of your complete medical profession.”

Staley’s attorney did not instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the consequences that adopted

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to people 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 “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and ultimately affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being issues. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine is not an efficient treatment for covid and didn't prevent individuals from turning into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal agents began trying into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at inexpensive prices,” court docket documents present, and provided providers including Botox, fat transfer, hair removing and tattoo elimination.

The covid treatment package came 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 medications, data show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired concerning the remedy kit, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful cure” that might keep somebody immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in keeping with court records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the spy, court paperwork show. “It’s laborious to believe, it’s virtually too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a outstanding scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the medication was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley stated yes but qualified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court records present.

Through the name, Staley also advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “obtained the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data 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 versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, regardless of by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, in accordance with court docket paperwork.

A Florida man acquired tens of millions in coronavirus support. 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 settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one in all his workers 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 guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner said in a information release when Staley pleaded responsible. “At the moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 wonderful and to give back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He also had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, multiple bags of empty pill capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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