San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, because the coronavirus spread and people remoted in their houses, a physician in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” according to prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Seaside Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” despite the remedy turning into 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 assistance of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors said.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines were out there, this physician sought to profit from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman said in a information launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the complete medical profession.”

Staley’s legal professional didn't instantly reply to requests for remark late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often 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 prompted demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and ultimately affecting those that wanted it for non-covid health issues. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an efficient therapy for covid and didn't prevent people from changing into sick.

In keeping with prosecutors, federal agents began trying into Staley after concerned prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising and marketing emails from Skinny Seaside Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable prices,” court docket paperwork present, and offered services together with Botox, fat switch, hair removal and tattoo removing.

The covid therapy kit got here with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, access to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra fee), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety drugs, data present.

In late March 2020, an secret agent responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the treatment kit, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that might maintain someone immune from covid for not less than six weeks, in response to court information.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley mentioned to the secret agent, court paperwork show. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s almost too good to be true. However it’s a outstanding scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the medication was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley said sure however certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” court docket information present.

During the name, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “received 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 supplied the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and 5 relations — for $4,000, based on courtroom documents.

A Florida man received hundreds of thousands 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 part of his plea settlement, Staley also admitted to posing as one among his employees to fill a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to then use it in his kits, prosecutors mentioned. And he agreed to accusations that he lied to federal brokers throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to folks gripped in worry throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “At this time, 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 positive and to give back the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “more than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical drugs, a number of bags of empty tablet capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

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