San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and people isolated of their homes, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle remedy,” in keeping with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy 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 assistance of a Chinese language supplier, prosecutors said.

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

“At the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were out there, this physician sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman stated in a information release. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of the whole medical career.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to people with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting in the early days of the pandemic, as a “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement induced demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is just not an efficient therapy for covid and didn't prevent folks from turning into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at inexpensive costs,” courtroom paperwork present, and provided services including Botox, fats transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removing.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired about the remedy kit, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb treatment” that might keep somebody immune from covid for at least six weeks, in keeping with court records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley mentioned to the undercover agent, courtroom documents present. “It’s laborious to believe, it’s virtually too good to be true. But it surely’s a outstanding medical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the medicine was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley said yes however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” court docket information present.

During the name, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “acquired the final 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 sufficient to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later provided 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 — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, according to courtroom documents.

A Florida man received 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 a part of his plea agreement, Staley also admitted to posing as one among 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 agents during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner said in a news release 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 part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 high quality and to offer back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical drugs, a number of luggage of empty tablet capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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