San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus unfold and other people isolated in their properties, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle cure,” in accordance with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the remedy becoming increasingly scarce. But Staley had a way of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors said.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines had been available, this physician sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman stated in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the complete medical career.”

Staley’s attorney didn't instantly reply to requests for comment late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to folks with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat 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 precipitated demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who wanted it for non-covid health issues. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective therapy for covid and did not stop folks from turning into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class beauty innovations at reasonably priced costs,” court docket documents present, and provided companies together with Botox, fat switch, hair elimination and tattoo removing.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the therapy package, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb cure” that would keep someone immune from covid for not less than six weeks, in keeping with court information.

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

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley stated yes however certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” courtroom data present.

Throughout the call, Staley also told 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 provided the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, based on court docket documents.

A Florida man acquired thousands and thousands in coronavirus support. 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 in all his staff 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 provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern during a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “At present, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as 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 present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical drugs, multiple baggage of empty tablet capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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