San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus unfold and folks isolated in their houses, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his arms 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 “therapy kits,” regardless of the medicine becoming increasingly scarce. However Staley had a manner 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 mentioned.

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

“On the top of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines have been available, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman mentioned in a information release. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the complete medical occupation.”

Staley’s legal professional did not instantly respond to requests for remark late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is usually 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, leading to shortages and finally affecting those that needed it for non-covid well being problems. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an efficient therapy for covid and did not prevent folks from turning into sick.

According to prosecutors, federal brokers began wanting into Staley after concerned customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence innovations at affordable costs,” court paperwork present, and offered services including Botox, fat transfer, hair removal and tattoo removing.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired concerning the remedy kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb remedy” that might keep someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, according to court docket information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the secret agent, court paperwork present. “It’s onerous to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. However it’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the medicine was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley stated sure but qualified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” court docket data present.

Through the call, Staley also advised the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “bought 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five family members — for $4,000, based on courtroom documents.

A Florida man acquired thousands and thousands 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 a part of his plea agreement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as certainly one of his staff to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors said. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal brokers in the course of the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in concern during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a news launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “At the moment, 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 provide again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He also needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical drugs, a number of luggage of empty tablet capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

In line with information from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been briefly suspended by a court order.