San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and folks isolated of their houses, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle cure,” in line with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the treatment changing into more and more scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese provider, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were accessible, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a information launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the complete medical profession.”

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

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the results 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 “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement induced demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those who needed it for non-covid health problems. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an efficient remedy for covid and did not forestall folks from changing into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty innovations at affordable costs,” court paperwork show, and offered companies including Botox, fat switch, hair removal and tattoo removal.

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

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired about the remedy package, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that might preserve somebody immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in line with court docket data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the undercover agent, courtroom paperwork present. “It’s exhausting to believe, it’s nearly too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the treatment was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley mentioned yes however certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” court records show.

During the name, Staley also instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “got the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data show, 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 by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in accordance with court paperwork.

A Florida man obtained thousands and thousands 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 certainly one of 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 agents throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in fear during a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner said in a news launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “At this time, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 tremendous and to offer back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical drugs, multiple baggage of empty pill capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

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