San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus spread and other people remoted in their properties, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle treatment,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the treatment changing into increasingly scarce. However Staley had a manner of getting it, he later advised 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 final week to 30 days in jail and a year of house confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty last yr.

“On the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines have been accessible, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical profession.”

Staley’s lawyer didn't instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, beginning in the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement induced demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective therapy for covid and didn't prevent folks from turning into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty innovations at inexpensive prices,” court docket paperwork present, and supplied providers including Botox, fat transfer, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy kit came with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional fee), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, information present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of the emails and inquired about the remedy package, 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 cure” that will keep someone immune from covid for not less than six weeks, in accordance with court docket information.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the undercover agent, court paperwork show. “It’s onerous to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a remarkable scientific phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medication was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley mentioned yes however qualified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” court docket records present.

In the course of the call, Staley additionally advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “acquired the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records show, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “sweet potato extract.” He added that the powder was enough to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later provided the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in accordance with courtroom paperwork.

A Florida man obtained hundreds of thousands in coronavirus assist. 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 also admitted to posing as considered one of his employees 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 remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a news release when Staley pleaded guilty. “At the 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 nice and to provide back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He additionally had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medication, a number of baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

In response to data from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a court docket order.