San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus spread and people isolated in their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” regardless of the medication becoming increasingly scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later advised an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been obtainable, this physician sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a information release. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the entire medical profession.”

Staley’s legal professional didn't instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to deal with covid-19 — and the implications 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, starting in the early days of the pandemic, as a “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement triggered demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and ultimately affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective remedy for covid and did not stop people from changing into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal agents started wanting into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class beauty innovations at inexpensive costs,” courtroom paperwork present, and offered services together with Botox, fats transfer, hair removal and tattoo removal.

The covid therapy equipment got here with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, data present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the therapy kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that will maintain someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, in line with court docket records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley mentioned to the spy, courtroom paperwork show. “It’s onerous to imagine, it’s almost too good to be true. However it’s a outstanding medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medication was a “assured” treatment for covid, Staley mentioned sure however certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are no ensures in life,” court information show.

Through the call, Staley also informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “bought 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 sufficient 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 — sufficient for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, according to court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained thousands and thousands 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 settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as considered one of his staff 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 throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a news launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “As we speak, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s kit. He also needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical medicine, multiple luggage of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

In response to records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a court order.