San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” regardless of the treatment 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 help of a Chinese language supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of your entire medical occupation.”

Staley’s attorney didn't 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 caused demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and in the end affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being problems. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective remedy for covid and did not prevent people from changing into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal brokers started wanting into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at inexpensive costs,” court docket paperwork show, and supplied providers including Botox, fats switch, hair removing and tattoo removal.

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

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the therapy package, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb remedy” that may preserve somebody immune from covid for not less than six weeks, based on courtroom information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the undercover agent, court paperwork show. “It’s onerous to believe, it’s virtually too good to be true. However it’s a outstanding scientific phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the remedy was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley said yes however certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there aren't any guarantees in life,” court records present.

Throughout the name, Staley also instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “bought the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records show, 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, in accordance with courtroom documents.

A Florida man obtained hundreds of thousands in coronavirus aid. He used it to buy a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded guilty in July 2021. As part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among 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 provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern during a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a news launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “As we speak, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

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

According to records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been quickly suspended by a court docket order.