San Diego doctor Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

In March and April of 2020, as the coronavirus spread and other people remoted of their homes, a doctor in San Diego boasted that he had his fingers on a “miracle cure,” in accordance with prosecutors — hydroxychloroquine.

In mass-marketing emails from his enterprise, Skinny Seashore Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley mentioned the drug was included in his coronavirus “treatment kits,” regardless of the treatment turning into increasingly scarce. But Staley had a approach of getting it, he later instructed an undercover federal agent. He planned to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the assistance of a Chinese supplier, prosecutors stated.

Staley was sentenced final week to 30 days in jail and a yr of home confinement for the scheme. He pleaded responsible final year.

“At the top of the pandemic, before vaccines had been out there, this doctor sought to revenue from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Legal professional Randy Grossman mentioned in a news release. “He abused his position of belief and undermined the integrity of all the medical career.”

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

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

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with 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 induced demand for the drug to spike, resulting in shortages and in the end affecting those who wanted it for non-covid health problems. Studies later discovered that hydroxychloroquine shouldn't be an efficient treatment for covid and didn't forestall folks from turning into sick.

According to prosecutors, federal brokers started wanting into Staley after involved prospects alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Seashore Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class beauty innovations at reasonably priced costs,” court docket documents show, and supplied services together with Botox, fats transfer, hair removal and tattoo removing.

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

In late March 2020, an spy responded to one of many emails and inquired in regards to the remedy equipment, investigators said. When Staley and the agent spoke on the cellphone quickly after, the doctor falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing treatment” that will maintain someone immune from covid for at the least six weeks, based on courtroom data.

“It’s preventive and curative,” Staley said to the secret agent, courtroom paperwork show. “It’s hard to imagine, it’s virtually too good to be true. However it’s a outstanding medical phenomenon.”

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

When requested by the agent whether the remedy was a “guaranteed” cure for covid, Staley mentioned yes but qualified that “there’s all the time exceptions” and “there are no ensures in life,” court docket records show.

Through the call, Staley additionally told the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He mentioned that he “bought the final tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” information 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 versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally controlled substance, despite never asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — sufficient for himself and five members of the family — for $4,000, in keeping with court docket documents.

A Florida man obtained 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 certainly 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 brokers throughout the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed remedy for COVID-19 to people gripped in worry during a worldwide pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner stated in a news launch when Staley pleaded guilty. “At present, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as a part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

As part of his sentencing on Friday, Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 advantageous and to provide again 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 medication, a number of baggage of empty capsule capsules, and a handbook capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

In accordance with data from the medical board of California, Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by a courtroom order.