San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and folks isolated of their houses, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle treatment,” in line with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” regardless of the medication changing into more and more scarce. But Staley had a manner of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors said.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines had been accessible, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman stated in a news launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of your complete medical profession.”

Staley’s legal professional did not instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the consequences that followed

Hydroxychloroquine is usually 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 “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement prompted demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those that needed it for non-covid health issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an efficient treatment for covid and did not stop folks from changing into sick.

Based on prosecutors, federal agents began looking into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class beauty improvements at affordable costs,” courtroom documents present, and offered companies including Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo removal.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired concerning the remedy kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing remedy” that would hold someone immune from covid for no less than six weeks, in line with courtroom records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the undercover agent, court documents present. “It’s onerous to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. However it’s a remarkable medical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the medication was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley said sure however qualified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” court data present.

Through the name, Staley also informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “received 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 sufficient 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 — enough for himself and 5 family members — for $4,000, in response to court documents.

A Florida man received thousands and thousands in coronavirus help. 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 settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one in every of his employees 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 agents through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry throughout a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a information launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “Right this moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a 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 fantastic and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, a number of baggage of empty tablet capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

In accordance with information from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been quickly suspended by a court docket order.