Doctor Charged In Fake Covid ‘Miracle Cure’ Scheme Selling $3,995 Kits With Hydroxychloroquine Pills He Got For $1

Topline

A San Diego doctor is facing a slew of federal charges after prosecutors say he tried to sell off a fake Covid-19 “miracle cure” involving hydroxychloroquine, which studies have shown to be ineffective at treating Covid-19, while also agreeing to smuggle hydroxychloroquine powder into the U.S. from China using a false label.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“It’s clear that trust in our medical professionals is always important, but particularly so in current times,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner said, adding that Staley “put personal greed before humanity.”

Key Background

Health officials were hopeful during the spring that hydroxychloroquine, which is used to treat malaria, would prove to also be a therapeutic for Covid-19, but study after study would show it to be an ineffective treatment. Last month, Dr. James P. Kiley with the National Institutes of Health said that “unequivocal conclusions” had been reached that “hydroxychloroquine does not improve clinical outcomes in hospitalized Covid-19 patients.” Despite the lack of evidence, President Donald Trump and his supporters long endorsed the unproven treatment, with Trump taking his own preventative regimen in May that failed to keep him from getting infected with coronavirus. Many blamed the president’s continued suggestion of unproven, and even dangerous, treatments to a rise in poisonings from Americans drinking bleach.

Tangent

Four members of a Florida family were charged over the summer after selling tens of thousands of bottles of “Miracle Mineral Solution” Covid treatment, which was actually a toxic bleach. The family marketed the product through a pseudo-religious church called the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, prosecutors said.

What To Watch For

Staley is charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of importation contrary to law, which carry maximum prison sentences of 20 years. He’s also charged with one count of making a false statement—for lying to U.S. Customs—which is punishable with up to five years in prison, along with another charge for aggravated identity theft, which can carry a prison term of up to two years.

Further Reading

Another Study Finds Hydroxychloroquine Ineffective Against Covid-19—As Trump Continues To Hype It (Forbes)

All The Times Trump Has Promoted Hydroxychloroquine (Forbes)

Trump Says He’s Taking Hydroxychloroquine Despite An NIH Advisory Against It (Forbes)

Trump: Doctors Told Him His ‘Lungs Are A Little Bit Different’ Due To Covid (Forbes)

Some Americans Are Tragically Still Drinking Bleach As A Coronavirus ‘Cure’ (Forbes)

Florida Family Charged With Marketing ‘Miracle’ Coronavirus Cure That Was Textile Bleach (Forbes)

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