San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and folks isolated of their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his palms on a “miracle remedy,” in accordance with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” regardless of the medicine changing into more and more scarce. However Staley had a manner of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors stated.

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

“On the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a news launch. “He abused his place of trust and undermined the integrity of your entire medical career.”

Staley’s lawyer didn't instantly respond to requests for remark late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often prescribed to folks 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 “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement precipitated demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and in the end affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective remedy for covid and didn't stop folks from changing into sick.

In line with prosecutors, federal brokers started trying into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class beauty innovations at inexpensive prices,” court docket paperwork show, and offered providers including Botox, fat switch, hair removal and tattoo removal.

The covid therapy kit 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 medicines, records show.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired about the therapy equipment, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone soon after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that may hold someone immune from covid for at the very least six weeks, according to court docket data.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the undercover agent, court documents show. “It’s laborious to imagine, it’s nearly too good to be true. But it surely’s a exceptional medical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the medication was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes but qualified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are not any guarantees in life,” courtroom records present.

Through the call, Staley additionally instructed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “got the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information show, 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 supplied the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, regardless of never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, according to courtroom paperwork.

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

Staley was charged in mid-April 2020 and pleaded responsible in July 2021. As a part of his plea agreement, 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 said. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal brokers through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded responsible. “Immediately, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a 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 nice and to present back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s equipment. He also had to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medication, a number of luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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