San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” despite the treatment becoming more and more scarce. But Staley had a method of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese provider, prosecutors said.

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

“At the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were out there, this physician sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a news launch. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical profession.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to people 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 prompted demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine is just not an efficient therapy for covid and did not stop folks from becoming sick.

According to prosecutors, federal agents began trying into Staley after involved customers alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable costs,” court docket documents present, and offered services together with Botox, fats switch, hair removing and tattoo elimination.

The covid remedy package got here with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra fee), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, data show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired concerning the therapy package, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that may preserve somebody immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, according to court data.

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

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the medication was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley stated yes but certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no ensures in life,” court docket records present.

During the name, Staley additionally told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “acquired the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records present, 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, based on court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained thousands and 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 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 mentioned. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal brokers through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in worry during a world pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “Today, 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 high-quality and to offer again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, a number of luggage of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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