San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the treatment changing into more and more scarce. However 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 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 guilty last year.

“At the height of the pandemic, before vaccines have been accessible, this physician sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman stated in a news release. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of all the medical career.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, beginning in the early days of the pandemic, as a “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement prompted demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and ultimately affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine shouldn't be an efficient treatment for covid and didn't prevent folks from changing into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal brokers began wanting into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at reasonably priced prices,” court documents present, and supplied providers including Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo removal.

The covid remedy package got here with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, data present.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired concerning the therapy equipment, 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 treatment” that might hold someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, based on court docket records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley stated to the spy, court docket documents show. “It’s laborious to consider, it’s nearly too good to be true. However it’s a outstanding clinical phenomenon.”

He added that the virus “literally disappears in hours” after a person takes the drug.

When asked by the agent whether or not the treatment was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley stated sure however qualified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are no ensures in life,” court docket data present.

In the course of the call, Staley also advised 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, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five relations — for $4,000, according to courtroom documents.

A Florida man received thousands and thousands in coronavirus support. 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 also admitted to posing as one among 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 brokers during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “At present, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as 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 positive and to provide back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical drugs, multiple baggage of empty tablet capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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