San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and folks remoted of their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his palms on a “miracle cure,” 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 “remedy kits,” despite the treatment changing into more and more scarce. But Staley had a method of getting it, he later advised an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a information release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the complete medical profession.”

Staley’s attorney did not immediately reply to requests for remark late Monday.

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the results that adopted

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, beginning 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 who needed it for non-covid health problems. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an effective therapy for covid and did not prevent individuals from becoming sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal brokers started looking into Staley after involved customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class magnificence improvements at inexpensive costs,” court docket documents show, and offered companies including Botox, fats transfer, hair removing and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy equipment got here with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, records show.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired about the treatment kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that would preserve someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, according to court docket information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley stated to the spy, court paperwork present. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. But it’s a outstanding scientific 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 “assured” remedy for covid, Staley said sure but qualified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” court records show.

During the call, Staley additionally told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “bought the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information present, 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 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 family members — for $4,000, in line with courtroom documents.

A Florida man acquired hundreds of thousands in coronavirus aid. He used it to buy a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded guilty in July 2021. As a part of his plea agreement, 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 stated. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal agents during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner said in a information release when Staley pleaded guilty. “In the present day, 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 wonderful and to provide again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medication, a number of baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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