San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus unfold and other people isolated in their houses, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle cure,” based on prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the medicine turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a way of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors stated.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been accessible, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical career.”

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

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

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 within 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 found that hydroxychloroquine is just not an effective therapy for covid and didn't prevent people from changing into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class beauty improvements at reasonably priced costs,” court paperwork show, and offered providers together with Botox, fats transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

The covid treatment 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 medications, data present.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired concerning the treatment package, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that will preserve somebody immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in keeping with court docket data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley said to the undercover agent, court documents show. “It’s hard to believe, it’s nearly too good to be true. However it’s a exceptional scientific phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medication was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there aren't any guarantees in life,” court docket records present.

Through the name, Staley additionally advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “received the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data present, 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 variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in line with court docket documents.

A Florida man received tens of millions in coronavirus support. He used it to purchase a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded responsible in July 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one of his employees 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 in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a information release when Staley pleaded guilty. “Today, 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 effective and to provide again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical drugs, multiple bags of empty tablet capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

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