San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” despite the remedy becoming more and more scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese language provider, prosecutors said.

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

“At the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of all the medical profession.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often prescribed to folks with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting within the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused 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 found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an efficient remedy for covid and did not forestall folks from turning into sick.

In accordance with prosecutors, federal brokers started trying into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at reasonably priced costs,” court documents show, and offered companies together with Botox, fats transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the treatment equipment, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that may keep somebody immune from covid for at least six weeks, based on court docket records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley said to the undercover agent, courtroom paperwork present. “It’s hard to consider, it’s almost too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a remarkable scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the medicine was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes but certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” courtroom information show.

During the call, Staley additionally advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “bought the final 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 supplied the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in keeping with court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained thousands and 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 a part of his plea settlement, Staley additionally 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 throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to folks gripped in concern throughout a global pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information release when Staley pleaded guilty. “At this time, 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 fantastic and to present again 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 drugs, multiple baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

In keeping with records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a court order.