San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus unfold and folks remoted of their homes, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle remedy,” in keeping with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the medication turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a approach of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese language provider, prosecutors said.

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

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

Staley’s legal professional didn't immediately reply to requests for remark late Monday.

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

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, 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 ultimately affecting those who needed it for non-covid health problems. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine will not be an effective treatment for covid and did not stop individuals from changing into sick.

Based on prosecutors, federal agents started wanting into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable costs,” court docket documents show, and offered providers together with Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo elimination.

The covid treatment equipment came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra charge), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, records present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired about the treatment kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb treatment” that may keep someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in keeping with court docket data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley said to the spy, courtroom documents present. “It’s laborious to consider, it’s almost too good to be true. However it’s a exceptional medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the medication was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley said yes however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” court docket information present.

Throughout the call, Staley also instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “obtained 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 enough to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later supplied the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and 5 family members — for $4,000, in line with 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 guilty in July 2021. As a part of his plea settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as considered 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 agents throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information release when Staley pleaded guilty. “In the present day, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

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

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