San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus unfold and people isolated in their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his hands on a “miracle treatment,” in keeping 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,” despite the medicine changing into 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 supplier, prosecutors said.

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

“On the peak of the pandemic, earlier than vaccines had been accessible, this doctor sought to revenue from patients’ fears,” U.S. Lawyer Randy Grossman stated in a news launch. “He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of all the medical occupation.”

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

How false hope unfold about hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 — and the results that adopted

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to people with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting in the early days of the pandemic, as a “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who wanted it for non-covid well being issues. Research later found that hydroxychloroquine isn't an efficient treatment for covid and didn't prevent people from changing into sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal agents started looking into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The business advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable costs,” court docket paperwork show, and supplied services including Botox, fats switch, hair removing and tattoo elimination.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired concerning the treatment package, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “wonderful treatment” that would preserve someone immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in line with court docket information.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley said to the spy, court paperwork show. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s nearly too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a outstanding clinical phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes however certified that “there’s always exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” court records present.

Throughout the call, Staley also told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “got the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” data show, 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 provided the agent prescriptions for generic variations of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in keeping with court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained hundreds of thousands 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 of 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 agents through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to folks gripped in concern during a global pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a news release when Staley pleaded guilty. “At this time, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a fast buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 nice and to offer again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He additionally needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical medicine, a number of luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

In line with records from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been quickly suspended by a courtroom order.