San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and other people isolated in their houses, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle remedy,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the remedy changing into more and more scarce. However Staley had a means 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 language provider, prosecutors said.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in prison and a 12 months of residence confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible last yr.

“On the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines had been obtainable, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the complete medical profession.”

Staley’s legal professional did not instantly reply to requests for comment late Monday.

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

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 brought on demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and in the end affecting those who wanted it for non-covid health issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective therapy for covid and did not prevent people from turning into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal agents began wanting into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty innovations at inexpensive costs,” courtroom documents present, and offered services including Botox, fats switch, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

The covid treatment equipment got here 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 medications, data present.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired concerning the therapy package, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb remedy” that might maintain someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, according to courtroom information.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley mentioned to the undercover agent, court paperwork show. “It’s arduous to imagine, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a exceptional clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medicine was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley stated yes however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there aren't any guarantees in life,” court docket information present.

Through the call, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “got the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information show, 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 provided 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 — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in line with courtroom documents.

A Florida man acquired hundreds of thousands 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 a part of his plea settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as considered one 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 agents during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded guilty. “Right now, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 nice and to provide back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medicine, multiple bags of empty tablet capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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