San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and people isolated in their homes, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle remedy,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “remedy kits,” despite the treatment turning into more and more scarce. However Staley had a approach of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors stated.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines have been accessible, this doctor sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the whole medical occupation.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is usually prescribed to folks 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 “recreation changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and ultimately affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective treatment for covid and didn't forestall people from changing into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty improvements at inexpensive prices,” courtroom paperwork present, and provided services together with Botox, fat switch, hair removing and tattoo removing.

The covid therapy equipment got here with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, information show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the treatment package, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that would hold someone immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, based on courtroom records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley stated to the undercover agent, court paperwork show. “It’s laborious to believe, it’s virtually too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a exceptional clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “assured” treatment for covid, Staley said sure but certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket data show.

In the course of the call, Staley also instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “acquired the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information present, 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 variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 members of the family — for $4,000, in line with court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained millions in coronavirus support. He used it to purchase a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded responsible in July 2021. As part of his plea settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as considered one of 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 brokers in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured cure for COVID-19 to folks gripped in fear throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said 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 fast buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 positive and to offer back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He also had to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medicine, a number of bags of empty tablet capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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