San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus spread and people isolated in their properties, 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 Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley said the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” despite the treatment becoming more and more scarce. But Staley had a way of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese language provider, prosecutors said.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in jail and a 12 months of house confinement for the scheme. He pleaded guilty final year.

“At the peak of the pandemic, before vaccines have been out there, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman mentioned in a information release. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of the whole medical profession.”

Staley’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for remark late Monday.

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

Hydroxychloroquine is often prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to treat malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, starting within the early days of the pandemic, as a “recreation 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 well being problems. Research later discovered that hydroxychloroquine is just not an effective remedy for covid and didn't prevent people from becoming sick.

In response to prosecutors, federal brokers began looking into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise marketed “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable costs,” court docket paperwork show, and offered services including Botox, fats transfer, hair elimination and tattoo elimination.

The covid remedy equipment came with a 30-day “concierge medical expertise,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an extra payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, records present.

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of the emails and inquired concerning the treatment equipment, investigators stated. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that would maintain someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, in response to court docket data.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley stated to the secret agent, court documents present. “It’s exhausting to consider, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable scientific phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether or not the treatment was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley mentioned sure but certified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there are not any ensures in life,” courtroom records show.

In the course of the name, Staley additionally informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He stated that he “received the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” records 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors mentioned. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and five family members — for $4,000, in response to court docket paperwork.

A Florida man acquired millions in coronavirus help. 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 settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as 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 during the investigation.

“Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured remedy for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in worry during a global pandemic,” FBI Particular Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said in a news launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “Right this moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a rip-off to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 nice and to provide again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s equipment. He additionally needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical medicine, multiple baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors stated.

In response to information from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a court order.