San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus unfold and other people isolated of their houses, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle cure,” based on prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

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

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

“At the top of the pandemic, before vaccines had been obtainable, this physician sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman stated in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical career.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, beginning within the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement prompted demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and in the end affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health problems. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an efficient treatment for covid and didn't prevent individuals from becoming sick.

According to prosecutors, federal brokers began trying into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at affordable costs,” court docket documents present, and supplied services including Botox, fats switch, hair elimination and tattoo elimination.

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

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the remedy kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb treatment” that would keep somebody immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in response to courtroom records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the undercover agent, court docket documents show. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. But it surely’s a outstanding clinical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the medication was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley said sure but qualified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there aren't any guarantees in life,” court records present.

During the call, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “bought the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records present, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “sweet 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 controlled substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in response to courtroom documents.

A Florida man obtained millions in coronavirus help. 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 agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among his workers to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors said. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal brokers throughout the investigation.

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

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 tremendous and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He additionally needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medication, multiple bags of empty pill capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

In accordance with data from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been quickly suspended by a court docket order.