San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the medicine becoming increasingly scarce. But Staley had a method of getting it, he later informed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese language 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 final year.

“On the top of the pandemic, before vaccines had been out there, this physician sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman mentioned in a information launch. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of all the medical occupation.”

Staley’s legal professional did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to people with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting within the early days of the pandemic, as a “game changer.” Trump’s endorsement induced demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and finally affecting those that needed it for non-covid health problems. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine is not an efficient remedy for covid and didn't forestall individuals from turning into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents started wanting into Staley after involved customers alerted the FBI to the marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class beauty improvements at reasonably priced prices,” court docket paperwork show, and provided providers including Botox, fats transfer, hair elimination and tattoo removal.

The covid therapy kit came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional charge), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, data show.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of many emails and inquired about the treatment package, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the telephone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful remedy” that will maintain someone immune from covid for at least six weeks, based on court data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley mentioned to the spy, courtroom documents show. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s nearly too good to be true. However it’s a outstanding scientific 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 medicine was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley stated sure but certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” court docket records present.

Throughout the name, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “received the final 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 managed substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, based on court paperwork.

A Florida man received thousands and thousands in coronavirus support. He used it to purchase 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 workers 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 agents through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley supplied a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry during a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded responsible. “As we speak, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a rip-off to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 tremendous 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 varied pharmaceutical drugs, a number of bags of empty tablet capsules, and a guide capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

Based on records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court order.