San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” despite the medicine turning into increasingly scarce. But Staley had a means of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese provider, prosecutors mentioned.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in prison and a 12 months of home confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible last yr.

“At the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been accessible, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a news release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical occupation.”

Staley’s attorney did not instantly 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 often 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 precipitated demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and finally affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective therapy for covid and did not prevent people from turning into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class beauty innovations at affordable costs,” courtroom paperwork show, and supplied providers together with Botox, fat transfer, hair removing and tattoo removing.

The covid remedy package came 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, data present.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired concerning the remedy equipment, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that would hold someone immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in response to court docket data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the spy, court docket documents show. “It’s hard to consider, 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 treatment was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley said sure but certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” court docket data show.

Through the name, Staley additionally instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “acquired the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data show, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “sweet potato extract.” He added that the powder was sufficient to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later offered the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 family members — for $4,000, according to courtroom documents.

A Florida man obtained tens of millions in coronavirus assist. 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 one of his workers 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 throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “At this time, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 wonderful and to provide back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He also needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, a number of bags of empty tablet capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

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