San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and folks remoted in their houses, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his arms on a “miracle treatment,” in keeping 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 “remedy kits,” regardless of the remedy becoming increasingly scarce. However Staley had a means of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors said.

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

“At the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines were obtainable, this doctor sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman said in a information release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of your complete medical profession.”

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

How false hope spread about hydroxychloroquine to deal with covid-19 — and the implications 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, beginning within the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and in the end affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an effective treatment for covid and did not prevent folks from turning into sick.

According to prosecutors, federal agents began trying into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business marketed “world-class magnificence improvements at inexpensive costs,” court docket documents show, and provided services together with Botox, fats switch, hair removing and tattoo removal.

The covid therapy kit got here 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, records present.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired about the remedy kit, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb remedy” that might preserve somebody immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, in line with courtroom records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the spy, courtroom paperwork present. “It’s hard to believe, it’s almost 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 asked by the agent whether or not the remedy was a “assured” cure for covid, Staley stated yes however qualified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there aren't any guarantees in life,” court data present.

In the course of the call, Staley also instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “got the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information 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 provided the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in keeping with courtroom documents.

A Florida man received thousands and thousands in coronavirus aid. 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 settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one in all 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 agents during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in concern throughout a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information release when Staley pleaded guilty. “As we speak, 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 fantastic and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s package. He additionally had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical drugs, a number of luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors mentioned.

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