San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and people remoted of their homes, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle treatment,” in line with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” regardless of the treatment becoming increasingly scarce. But Staley had a way of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors stated.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in prison and a 12 months of dwelling confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty final year.

“At the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines were out there, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a information release. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the whole medical profession.”

Staley’s lawyer did not immediately reply to requests for comment late Monday.

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

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 within the early days of the pandemic, as a “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and ultimately affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine is just not an efficient remedy for covid and didn't prevent people from becoming sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after involved customers alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty innovations at affordable prices,” court docket documents present, and supplied services together with Botox, fats switch, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

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

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the remedy kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful remedy” that might keep somebody immune from covid for at the least six weeks, based on court records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the secret agent, court docket documents present. “It’s hard to consider, it’s nearly too good to be true. However it’s a exceptional clinical 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” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes however qualified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” court docket records present.

In the course of the call, Staley additionally advised 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 enough to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later provided the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in accordance with courtroom paperwork.

A Florida man received millions in coronavirus aid. 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 agreement, Staley also admitted to posing as certainly one of his employees to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors stated. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal agents during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner stated in a news launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “At the moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a 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 fantastic and to give again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical medication, a number of baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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