San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and folks isolated in their houses, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle treatment,” in accordance with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the medication changing into increasingly scarce. But Staley had a means 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 12 months of home confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty last 12 months.

“On the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been out there, this doctor sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the complete medical career.”

Staley’s attorney did not instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

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

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 induced demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and in the end affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an efficient treatment for covid and did not stop people from turning into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal brokers started trying into Staley after involved clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable costs,” court paperwork present, and offered companies together with Botox, fats switch, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

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, information show.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired concerning the therapy package, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful cure” that may preserve somebody immune from covid for at least six weeks, according to court records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley said to the spy, court docket documents present. “It’s hard to consider, it’s almost too good to be true. But it surely’s a outstanding scientific phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the medication was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley stated sure but qualified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket data present.

During the name, Staley additionally instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “bought the final 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 sufficient to make 8,000 doses in gelatin capsules.

Staley later supplied the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and 5 family members — for $4,000, according to court documents.

A Florida man received millions 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 a part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as certainly one of 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 brokers through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern during a world pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information release when Staley pleaded responsible. “In the present day, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 wonderful and to give back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s kit. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medicine, multiple bags of empty tablet capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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