San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and other people remoted of their homes, a health care provider in San Diego boasted that he had his palms on a “miracle cure,” 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 “treatment kits,” despite the medication turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a means of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines have been out there, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a news release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of all the medical career.”

Staley’s legal professional didn't immediately respond to requests for remark late Monday.

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

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 in the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement brought about demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and ultimately affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for covid and did not prevent people from changing into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal brokers started looking into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class magnificence improvements at inexpensive prices,” court documents show, and provided companies together with Botox, fats switch, hair removal and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy equipment got here with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra charge), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medicines, data present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the treatment equipment, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful remedy” that would maintain somebody immune from covid for not less than six weeks, in response to court information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the secret agent, court docket documents show. “It’s arduous to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the treatment was a “assured” treatment for covid, Staley said yes but qualified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” courtroom information show.

Throughout the name, Staley also informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “got the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information show, 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five relations — for $4,000, in line with court paperwork.

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Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded guilty in July 2021. As a part of his plea settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one of his employees 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 during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “Right now, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As a part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 tremendous and to offer back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical drugs, a number of baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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