San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus spread and people remoted in their properties, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” in response to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” despite the medicine changing into more and more scarce. But Staley had a way 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 supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines were obtainable, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a information release. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of your complete medical career.”

Staley’s lawyer did not instantly respond to requests for remark late Monday.

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

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 caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and ultimately affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an efficient treatment for covid and didn't prevent people from turning into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at inexpensive prices,” courtroom paperwork present, and offered providers together with Botox, fats switch, hair removal and tattoo removal.

The covid treatment package got here with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional charge), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, records present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired concerning the therapy equipment, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that might maintain someone immune from covid for not less than six weeks, in keeping with court docket information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the spy, court docket documents present. “It’s arduous to imagine, it’s almost too good to be true. But it surely’s a remarkable scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the medicine was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley stated yes however certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket data present.

Through the call, Staley also informed 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 “candy 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 stated. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in response to court paperwork.

A Florida man acquired thousands and thousands 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 also admitted to posing as one among his staff 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 brokers throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry throughout a global pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner stated in a news launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “Right now, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 tremendous and to present back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s kit. He additionally needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical drugs, a number of bags of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

Based on records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court order.