San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus spread and people remoted of their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle remedy,” in line with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” despite the medication changing into increasingly scarce. But Staley had a approach of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He planned 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 jail and a year of dwelling confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible final year.

“At the height of the pandemic, before vaccines had been available, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman mentioned in a information release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of your complete medical career.”

Staley’s attorney didn't immediately respond to requests for remark late Monday.

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

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

Based on prosecutors, federal brokers started wanting into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class beauty improvements at reasonably priced prices,” courtroom documents present, and offered companies including Botox, fat transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removing.

The covid remedy equipment got here with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, records present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of the emails and inquired about the therapy package, 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 remedy” that will maintain someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, in line with courtroom information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the spy, court paperwork show. “It’s laborious to consider, it’s nearly too good to be true. But it’s a outstanding medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medication was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley stated yes however certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court information show.

In the course of the name, Staley additionally instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “got 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 variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, according to courtroom documents.

A Florida man received 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 all 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 during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry during a global pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner said in a information release when Staley pleaded responsible. “Today, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and to provide back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical drugs, multiple luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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