San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and people remoted of their houses, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle remedy,” based on prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the treatment turning into more and more scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors said.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were available, this physician sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a news launch. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the whole medical occupation.”

Staley’s lawyer didn't instantly 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 often prescribed to folks with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting within the early days of the pandemic, as a “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement brought about demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who wanted it for non-covid health issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine will not be an effective therapy for covid and didn't forestall folks from becoming sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal brokers began trying into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class beauty innovations at reasonably priced prices,” court paperwork present, and provided providers including Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo removal.

The covid treatment equipment 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 medications, data show.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the treatment 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 remedy” that might hold someone immune from covid for at least six weeks, based on courtroom information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the spy, court docket documents show. “It’s laborious to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a outstanding scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the treatment was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley said sure but certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” courtroom data show.

Throughout the name, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “acquired the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information present, 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 supplied the agent prescriptions for generic versions 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 5 family members — for $4,000, in line with court docket paperwork.

A Florida man acquired tens of millions in coronavirus help. He used it to buy 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 considered one of 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 agents in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded responsible. “In the present day, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as 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 effective and to provide again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medicine, a number of luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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