San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and folks isolated in their properties, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his palms on a “miracle remedy,” in accordance with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” despite the treatment becoming more and more scarce. However Staley had a approach 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 language supplier, prosecutors said.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in prison and a year of home confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible last yr.

“On the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines have been obtainable, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman stated in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical occupation.”

Staley’s lawyer didn't immediately reply to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to deal with covid-19 — and the results that adopted

Hydroxychloroquine is usually 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 in the early days of the pandemic, as a “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement triggered demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those that wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine will not be an efficient remedy for covid and did not forestall individuals from turning into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal brokers began trying into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class magnificence innovations at inexpensive costs,” court paperwork present, and offered companies including Botox, fat transfer, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy package got here with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, information show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the treatment package, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that might preserve somebody immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, based on court docket information.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley mentioned to the spy, court documents show. “It’s onerous to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the medicine was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley said yes but certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket records show.

In the course of the name, Staley additionally advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “bought the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records 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 provided the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, regardless of by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, in keeping with court documents.

A Florida man received tens of 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 a part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among his employees 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 through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “At the moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as 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 high quality and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He also had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medication, multiple bags of empty pill capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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