San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus unfold and other people remoted in their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle remedy,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” regardless of 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 language supplier, prosecutors stated.

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

“At the height of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been accessible, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of your complete medical career.”

Staley’s lawyer didn't immediately reply to requests for comment late Monday.

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the implications that followed

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly 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 induced demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and ultimately affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being issues. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an efficient treatment for covid and didn't stop individuals from becoming sick.

According to prosecutors, federal brokers began looking into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class magnificence innovations at reasonably priced prices,” court paperwork present, and offered providers including Botox, fats transfer, hair removal and tattoo removal.

The covid treatment equipment got here 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 drugs, records present.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of many emails and inquired about the treatment kit, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful cure” that might hold somebody immune from covid for no less than six weeks, in line with court docket records.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the secret agent, court paperwork show. “It’s exhausting to consider, it’s nearly 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 remedy was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley said sure however certified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” courtroom information show.

In the course of the call, Staley also informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “received the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data 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 variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors stated. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and 5 members of the family — for $4,000, according to court paperwork.

A Florida man received tens of millions in coronavirus assist. He used it to purchase a Lamborghini, prosecutors say.

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

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to people gripped in fear during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner mentioned in a news release when Staley pleaded guilty. “Right this moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 advantageous and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He also had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of varied pharmaceutical medicine, a number of luggage of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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