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US Doctor Who Claimed To Have ‘miracle Cure’ For Covid Jailed

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Prosecutors say that in March and April 2020, as the coronavirus spread and people stayed home alone, a San Diego doctor bragged that he had hydroxychloroquine, a “miracle cure.”

Jennings Ryan Staley said in mass-marketing emails from his business, Skinny Beach Med Spa, that the drug was part of his “treatment kits” for coronavirus, even though the drug was becoming harder to find.

But, as Staley later informed an undercover federal investigator, he had a means of getting it. Prosecutors say he planned to bring a barrel of hydroxychloroquine powder into the country with the help of a Chinese supplier.

Last week, Staley was given a sentence of 30 days in prison and a year at home for the scheme. Last year, he entered a guilty plea.

In a news release, U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said, “at the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, this doctor sought to profit from patients’ fears.

“He abused his position of trust and undermined the integrity of the entire medical profession.”

Late on Monday, the attorney representing Staley did not immediately reply to demands for comment.

Hydroxychloroquine is a malaria treatment that is commonly recommended for patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Starting in the early days of the pandemic, President Donald Trump referred to the drug as a “game-changer.” Following Trump’s endorsement, demand for medicine skyrocketed, causing shortages and harming those who required it for non-covid health issues. Following further research, it was discovered that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for covid and does not prevent people from falling ill.

After concerned consumers notified the FBI of the marketing emails from Skinny Beach Med Spa, federal officials began looking into Staley, according to prosecutors.

According to court records, the business claimed “world-class beauty innovations at affordable prices,” and provided therapies such as Botox, fat transfer, hair removal, and tattoo removal.

According to documents, the covid treatment kit included a 30-day “concierge medical experience,” intravenous drips, medical hyperbaric oxygen (for an additional charge), and prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, zithromax, and anti-anxiety drugs.

Investigators say an undercover agent enquired about the treatment kit in one of the emails in late March 2020. According to court filings, when Staley and the agent spoke on the phone shortly after, the doctor claimed falsely that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic bullet” and an “amazing cure” that would keep someone immune to covid for at least six weeks.

According to court filings, Staley told the undercover agent, “It’s preventive and curative.”

“It’s hard to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon,” says the narrator.

He went on to say that after a person takes the medicine, the virus “literally disappears in hours.”

When questioned if the drug was a “guaranteed” treatment for covid, Staley responded yes but added that “there are always exceptions” and “there are no guarantees in life,” according to court records.

Staley also told the agent how he got the hydroxychloroquine during the call. According to records, he claimed to have “got the last tank of hydroxychloroquine smuggled out of China,” and that he “tricked customs” by disguising the barrel as “sweet potato extract.”

He went on to say that the powder was enough to manufacture 8,000 gelatin capsules.

Despite never asking the agent “any medical questions,” Staley eventually gave him prescriptions for generic Viagra and Xanax, a federally banned narcotic, according to authorities. According to court filings, the agent paid $4,000 for six kits, enough for himself and five family members.

In mid-April 2020, Staley was charged, and in July 2021, he pleaded guilty. Staley also acknowledged posing as one of his employees in order to get a prescription for hydroxychloroquine, which he then used in his kits, according to prosecutors. He also agreed to plead guilty to charges of lying to federal officials during the inquiry.

When Dr. Staley pled guilty, FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner remarked, “Dr. Staley offered a ‘magic bullet’ — a guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in fear during a global pandemic.”

“Today, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck.”

Staley was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and return the $4,000 the federal agent paid for his family’s kit as part of his punishment on Friday. Prosecutors said he was also required to turn over “more than 4,500 tablets of various pharmaceutical drugs, multiple bags of empty pill capsules, and a manual capsule-filling machine.”

Staley’s license has been temporarily suspended by court order, according to data from the California Medical Board.

Image Credit: Getty

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