San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and folks remoted of their properties, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle remedy,” in keeping 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 remedy turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a approach 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 provider, prosecutors said.

Staley was sentenced last week to 30 days in jail and a yr of dwelling confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible last 12 months.

“At the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were out there, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman said in a news launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of your entire medical career.”

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

How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the consequences that followed

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to individuals 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 “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement brought on demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and finally affecting those who needed it for non-covid health problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is just not an effective treatment for covid and didn't prevent folks from turning into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal brokers began wanting into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable costs,” courtroom paperwork show, and supplied companies including Botox, fat transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removing.

The covid remedy package came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional price), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, data show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired about the remedy kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that would maintain someone immune from covid for at least six weeks, in line with court data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the secret agent, court documents show. “It’s exhausting to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. But it surely’s a exceptional medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley stated sure but certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are no ensures in life,” courtroom records present.

Throughout the name, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “obtained 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 enough 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 said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five relations — for $4,000, in keeping with court docket documents.

A Florida man acquired millions in coronavirus help. 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 settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among 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 throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in fear throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “At the 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 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 varied pharmaceutical medicine, a number of luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

According to records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court order.