San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” regardless of the medicine becoming more and more scarce. However 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 supplier, prosecutors stated.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in jail and a year of house confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty final 12 months.

“At the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been available, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a news launch. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical occupation.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often prescribed to individuals 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 “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement induced demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and ultimately affecting those that needed it for non-covid health problems. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective therapy for covid and didn't prevent people from becoming sick.

In accordance with prosecutors, federal brokers started trying into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at inexpensive prices,” court documents present, and supplied services together with Botox, fats transfer, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy package came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra fee), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, data show.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of many emails and inquired about the treatment equipment, 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 “superb treatment” that would maintain someone immune from covid for not less than six weeks, in line with court data.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the spy, courtroom documents show. “It’s hard to believe, it’s nearly too good to be true. But it’s a outstanding scientific 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 “assured” remedy for covid, Staley mentioned yes however certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” court docket information show.

During the call, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “obtained the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, according to court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained millions in coronavirus aid. He used it to buy 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 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 in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in fear during a global pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a news release when Staley pleaded responsible. “In the present day, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as 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 fine and to offer again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, multiple bags of empty pill capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

According to data from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a courtroom order.