San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the medication becoming more and more scarce. But Staley had a means of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese language supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines have been obtainable, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a news launch. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the complete medical occupation.”

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

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the consequences that followed

Hydroxychloroquine is often prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, beginning in the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and ultimately affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine will not be an effective remedy for covid and didn't forestall folks from turning into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents started wanting into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class beauty innovations at reasonably priced prices,” court docket paperwork present, and supplied providers together with Botox, fat switch, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

The covid remedy equipment came 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 medicines, records present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the therapy package, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that might hold somebody immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in line with court docket records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the secret agent, court docket paperwork show. “It’s onerous to consider, it’s virtually too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a exceptional clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley mentioned sure however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” courtroom records show.

During 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,” 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 offered 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 said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five relations — for $4,000, in response to courtroom documents.

A Florida man acquired thousands and thousands in coronavirus assist. He used it to buy a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded responsible in July 2021. As part of his plea settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among his workers 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 supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded guilty. “At present, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a rip-off 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 also had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medication, multiple luggage of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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