San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and people remoted in their houses, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his palms on a “miracle cure,” in line 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,” regardless of the treatment turning into increasingly scarce. But Staley had a approach of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors said.

Staley was sentenced last week to 30 days in jail and a 12 months 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 revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of all the medical occupation.”

Staley’s attorney did not instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is usually prescribed to folks 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 “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and finally affecting those who wanted it for non-covid health problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is just not an effective remedy for covid and did not stop individuals from changing into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents began trying into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class beauty improvements at affordable costs,” court docket paperwork show, and supplied services together with Botox, fats switch, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

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

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired about the treatment package, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful treatment” that would maintain somebody immune from covid for no less than six weeks, in keeping with courtroom data.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the secret agent, courtroom documents present. “It’s arduous to believe, it’s nearly too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the treatment was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley stated sure but certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there aren't any guarantees in life,” court docket records show.

Through the call, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “bought the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data 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 versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, regardless of 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 accordance with court docket paperwork.

A Florida man acquired tens of millions in coronavirus assist. 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 also admitted to posing as one in every of 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 during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in fear throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a information release when Staley pleaded responsible. “At the moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 superb and to offer back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical medication, multiple bags of empty tablet capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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