San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” despite the medication turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a manner of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese language supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were obtainable, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman mentioned in a information release. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of your entire medical profession.”

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

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the implications that followed

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 “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement triggered demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being problems. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine shouldn't be an efficient remedy for covid and didn't prevent individuals from becoming sick.

In accordance with prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class beauty innovations at affordable prices,” court documents present, and provided services together with Botox, fats switch, hair removing and tattoo removing.

The covid remedy kit came with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, data show.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired about the therapy kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that will preserve someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in accordance with court information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the undercover agent, court docket paperwork present. “It’s exhausting to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a outstanding medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley mentioned yes however qualified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket records show.

Throughout the call, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “received the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data present, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “candy potato extract.” He added that the powder was enough to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later offered the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, regardless of 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 courtroom documents.

A Florida man received thousands and thousands in coronavirus assist. 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 settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one of his workers 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 brokers during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information release when Staley pleaded responsible. “At the moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 advantageous and to present back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s kit. He also had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical drugs, a number of baggage of empty tablet capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

Based on information from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court docket order.