San Diego physician Jennings Staley sentenced in hydroxychloroquine scheme

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

In mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, Jennings Ryan Staley stated the drug was included in his coronavirus “therapy kits,” regardless of the remedy turning into increasingly scarce. However Staley had a manner of getting it, he later told an undercover federal agent. He deliberate to smuggle in a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder with the help of a Chinese provider, prosecutors said.

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

“On the top of the pandemic, before vaccines have been available, this physician sought to profit from sufferers’ fears,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a information release. “He abused his place of belief and undermined the integrity of the entire medical profession.”

Staley’s attorney didn't immediately 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 individuals with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and is used to deal with malaria. The drug was repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump, beginning within the early days of the pandemic, as a “sport changer.” Trump’s endorsement caused demand for the drug to spike, leading to shortages and finally affecting those who needed it for non-covid well being issues. Studies later found that hydroxychloroquine just isn't an effective remedy for covid and didn't prevent individuals from changing into sick.

According to prosecutors, federal agents started trying into Staley after concerned clients alerted the FBI to the advertising emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa. The enterprise advertised “world-class magnificence improvements at affordable prices,” courtroom documents show, and offered providers including Botox, fat transfer, hair elimination and tattoo elimination.

The covid therapy package came with a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, entry to medical hyperbaric oxygen (at an additional payment), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and anti-anxiety medications, information show.

In late March 2020, an undercover agent responded to one of the emails and inquired in regards to the therapy kit, investigators mentioned. When Staley and the agent spoke on the phone quickly after, the physician falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “superb treatment” that may maintain somebody immune from covid for a minimum of six weeks, in line with courtroom records.

“It’s preventive and healing,” Staley said to the spy, court documents show. “It’s exhausting to believe, it’s nearly too good to be true. Nevertheless it’s a exceptional scientific phenomenon.”

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

When asked by the agent whether or not the medicine was a “assured” remedy for covid, Staley mentioned yes but qualified that “there’s at all times exceptions” and “there aren't any ensures in life,” courtroom records present.

During the call, Staley also informed the agent how he was sourcing the hydroxychloroquine. He said that he “acquired 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 offered the agent prescriptions for generic versions of Viagra and Xanax, a federally managed substance, despite by no means asking him “any medical questions,” prosecutors said. The agent ordered six kits — enough for himself and 5 family members — for $4,000, according to courtroom 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 guilty in July 2021. As part of his plea settlement, Staley additionally admitted to posing as one among 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 through the investigation.

“Dr. Staley provided a ‘magic bullet’ — a assured treatment for COVID-19 to individuals gripped in concern throughout a world pandemic,” FBI Special Agent in Cost Suzanne Turner mentioned in a information launch when Staley pleaded responsible. “Right this moment, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as 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 fantastic and to present again the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his household’s package. He also needed to hand over “greater than 4,500 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical drugs, multiple luggage of empty capsule capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine,” prosecutors said.

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