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The Science is Settled: California Med Spa Physician Charged With Covid Cure Mail Fraud
Although to say that the science is settled is unscientific at best, a California physician and med spa operator has been charged with mail fraud in connection with the sale of a 100% cure for Covid-19 that would render customers 100% immune to the virus for at least
six weeks.
I'm all for physician entrepreneurs. However, the U.S. government alleges that Jennings Ryan Staley, M.D. went way over the line, the line between acceptable and criminal, that is, by selling, through his medical spa, Skinny Beach, located in the Carmel Valley neighborhood of San Diego, California, a Covid “cure” for $3,995.
But, no, the price isn’t $3,995 per person; that's the price for a family of four. It's unclear what the price was if one had a family of five. Or of three.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s press release, Dr. Staley advertised these cures via direct email. During the course of a phone call with an FBI agent posing as a prospective customer, Staley described his COVID-19 treatment packs as providing a “concierge medicine experience” that included hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and “anti-anxiety treatments to help you avoid panic if needed and help you sleep.”
According to the government’s allegations, Dr. Staley offered the undercover "customer" Xanax, a Schedule IV controlled substance, as a part of the concierge package. The drug was shipped without any medical examination.
Although most entrepreneurs wouldn't reveal their supply sources, Dr. Staley didn't play things that close to the vest. He informed the undercover “customer” that his broker was smuggling drugs in from China to make pills and had concealed the shipment from customs authorities by describing it is sweet potato extract. The FBI later discovered that Staley was importing a shipment of “yam extract” expected to arrive in the U.S. in a matter of days.
The charges against Stanley are allegations only. He hasn't been convicted of anything. But the story is highly instructive on several grounds.
First, as an aside, whether you're selling cures for anything or not, the medical spa business itself is ripe with potential compliance violations.
Second, illnesses, and the fear that they generate (and, in the COVID-19 situation, the fear that is generated for "entrepreneurs" by both the medical and popular press) are super foods for fraudsters who take advantage of fear to cheat, steal, and harm others.
Third, the FBI is highly focused on the sale of false cures, especially by medical professionals.
What led the FBI to poke into Dr. Staley's operation? A tip to the FBI from the public.
Upon receiving the tip, the FBI introduced the undercover agent into the mix as a potential "customer." If the Government’s allegations are correct, Dr. Staley did the rest of the damage to himself.
Again, if the allegations are correct, Dr. Staley is an outlier in terms of the egregiousness of his actions. However, exactly how materially they differ from other physicians touting miracle cures from diets to diabetes is a question only juries and appellate courts can answer.
Watch out for yourself. Someone may be watching.
As one of my former supervisors at the first law firm with which I worked loved to quote, “Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
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| | How to Deploy the Secret Sauce of Opportunistic Strategy - Webinar On Demand
They say that COVID-19 has changed the world, creating the "new normal." Many of your colleagues and many hospital administrators are running scared.
Others, leaders like you, know that crisis means opportunity.
Let me provide you with the strategic tools and insights that you need in order to seize opportunities, whether they’re in the context of your current business relationships, the expansion of your business activities, or the creation of new ventures.
You will learn:
• Defense as a defective default: It’s necessary, but not sufficient.
• Exploiting weakness: Drop the guilt and identify opportunity.
• Flat line negotiation is fatal: Understand its myths and limitations.
• Negotiation reality: Learn to identify and deploy on multiple planes to affect the outcome.
• Maneuver: Harness the power of maneuver, both in overall strategy and in specific negotiation strategy.
Others see a crisis and freeze in fear. Learn how to see the opportunities and obtain the tools to increase your odds of obtaining them.
The price to attend is $479. The cost of not attending is astronomical.
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| | | Newsflash: Business Life In the Time of Coronavirus - The Way Out
The coronavirus crisis, especially as it's become politicized, raises a number of business issues and, quite frankly, business opportunities in regard to future disruptive events.
Check out our mini-series, with actionable business lessons for medical group leaders.
Sooner or later this crisis will end. You can’t allow yourself to be too busy, too occupied, too concerned with current events, to devote time and effort to strategizing for your future.
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Is an MSO right for me? How about a CIN?
There’s an old saying that a person doesn’t really want a drill, they want a hole. I actually think there's yet another level of thinking – why do they want the hole? Perhaps it's to hang a painting.
The same idea holds true with many healthcare structures, whether it's an MSO (a management services organization), an IPA (an independent practice association), an RBMG (a sort-of cousin to an IPA), a CIN (a clinically integrated network), and so on.
In our metaphor, none of them are the painting on the wall. In fact, they’re not even the hole.
What they are is the drill. They’re tools that describe a method of getting you to the business entity or outcome that you seek to create or achieve. They’re not ends in and of themselves.
On the one hand, you can view this as a mini-lecture on the fact that business structures are tools to achieve your desired ends.
But the real takeaway for you is somewhat different: What’s most important for you is to first decide what it is, on a business level, that you’re trying to achieve.
Forget for the moment (but only for the moment!) about legal structure and compliance and the fact that it's a "fill in the blank" such as an MSO.
Instead, simply concentrate on what it is, bottom line, that you want to achieve.
Then, and only then, should we ask the question of what tool or tools . . . the specific structure or structures . . . can be applied to get you there.
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| | All Things Personal
The flight attendant apologized profusely for the fact that my meal would not be up to British Airways’ standards, but would instead be boxed.
A few minutes later, he reappeared, spread a white tablecloth, and presented a cake-sized box. Inside were a smoked salmon spate, a salad, several wedges of various cheeses, a selection of crackers, and a small wedge of dessert. The flight attendant apologized again for not living up to BA standards.
When I had almost finished my meal. . . . the main course showed up: a sizzling, yet medium rare fillet in a delicate sauce with mushrooms and new potatoes. Again, an apology.
What standards are you setting for your organization?
Does not living up to them still delight your customers, whether you call them patients, referral sources or facilities?
If not, why not? |
| | Help Us Help You With Helpful Content
What tailored content would you most like to see during this time? How can we focus on solutions to your most pressing strategic concerns?
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| | Podcast Compilation Greatest Hits - Strategy Edition 1.0
We've curated our most popular podcasts on strategy into our first compilation album.
Sit back, enjoy, and think about your future.
Listen here. |
| | | | | | We all hear, and most of us say, that the pace of change in healthcare is quickening. That means that the pace of required decision-making is increasing, too. Unless, that is, you want to take the “default” route. That’s the one is which you let someone else make the decisions that impact you; you’re just along for the ride. Of course, playing a bit part in scripting your own future isn’t the smart route to stardom. But despite your own best intentions, perhaps it’s your medical group’s governance structure that’s holding you back. In fact, it’s very likely that the problem is systemic. The Medical Group Governance Matrix introduces a simple four-quadrant diagnostic tool to help you find out. It then shows you how to use that tool to build your better, more profitable future. Get your free copy here.
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| | | Whenever you're ready, here are 4 ways I can help you and your business:
1. Download a copy of The Success Prescription. My book, The Success Prescription provides you with a framework for thinking about your success. Download a copy of The Success Prescription here.
2. Be a guest on “Wisdom. Applied. Podcast.” Although most of my podcasts involve me addressing an important point for your success, I’m always looking for guests who’d like to be interviewed about their personal and professional achievements and the lessons learned. Email me if you’re interested in participating.
3. Book me to speak to your group or organization. I’ve spoken at dozens of medical group, healthcare organization, university-sponsored, and private events on many topics such as The Impending Death of Hospitals, the strategic use of OIG Advisory Opinions, medical group governance, and succeeding at negotiations. For more information about a custom presentation for you, drop us a line.
4. If You’re Not Yet a Client, Engage Me to Represent You. If you’re interested in increasing your profit and managing your risk of loss, email me to connect directly. |
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