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 doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” in accordance with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the medication turning into more and more scarce. But Staley had a method of getting it, he later advised an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese language supplier, prosecutors mentioned.

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

“On the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been available, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a information release. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of all the medical occupation.”

Staley’s legal professional didn't instantly respond to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the implications 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 in the end affecting those that wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective remedy for covid and did not stop folks from turning into sick.

In accordance with prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class beauty improvements at reasonably priced costs,” courtroom documents present, and offered companies including Botox, fat transfer, hair removal and tattoo removing.

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

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the treatment kit, 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 remedy” that might hold somebody immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in line with court data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the undercover agent, courtroom documents present. “It’s onerous to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a outstanding clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the medication was a “guaranteed” remedy for covid, Staley mentioned yes but certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket information show.

In the course of the call, Staley also instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “received the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records present, and that he “tricked customs” by labeling the barrel as “sweet 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 variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 members of the family — for $4,000, in response to court docket paperwork.

A Florida man obtained thousands and thousands in coronavirus support. 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 agreement, Staley also admitted to posing as 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 agents in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to people gripped in concern throughout a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner said in a information release 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 give again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He also had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medication, a number of bags of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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