San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and other people remoted of their properties, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle treatment,” in response to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the remedy turning into more and more scarce. However Staley had a method of getting it, he later informed 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 final week to 30 days in jail and a yr of dwelling confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty final year.

“On the height of the pandemic, before vaccines have been obtainable, this physician sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of your complete medical career.”

Staley’s attorney didn't instantly respond 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 people with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat 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, leading to shortages and finally affecting those who needed it for non-covid health problems. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an effective remedy for covid and did not stop people from changing into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal brokers began looking into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty improvements at affordable prices,” court docket documents present, and provided companies including Botox, fats switch, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

The covid remedy kit got here 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 medications, information show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the therapy equipment, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that would preserve somebody immune from covid for no less than six weeks, in accordance with court records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the secret agent, court documents show. “It’s laborious to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a outstanding clinical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley mentioned sure however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” courtroom records present.

Throughout the name, Staley additionally told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “bought the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data show, 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 managed substance, regardless of by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in line with court docket paperwork.

A Florida man obtained thousands and thousands in coronavirus assist. 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 additionally admitted to posing as one in all his employees to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors stated. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal brokers through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Particular 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 rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 nice and to provide back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medication, multiple bags of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

According to data from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a courtroom order.