Patrick Griffin Defends a Doctor Charged With COVID-19 Fraud
San Diego’s criminal defense attorney, Patrick Griffin, is trying to set the record straight for his client, Dr. J.S. of Skinny Beach Med Spa in Carmel Valley, who has been charged with fraud over allegedly selling “cures” for COVID-19.
As 10News reported, Dr. J.S. was accused of being unethical for advertising COVID-19 treatment packs. The packs allegedly cost thousands of dollars and included the medications hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.
According to federal authorities, Dr. J.S. reportedly said that hydroxychloroquine he was selling is a “miracle cure” and “cures the disease” to an undercover FBI agent. In addition, Dr. J.S. allegedly added he was smuggling in from China powdered hydroxychloroquine, falsely describing the drug as ‘yam extract’.
However, criminal defense attorney Patrick Griffin in an interview with 10News, claimed that his client had no intention to defraud anyone and that the headlines saying the doctor was selling ‘magic cure’ for $4,000 didn’t accurately describe what was going on. He added that Dr. J.S. isn’t just a medical spa physician, but also a trained combat medic with extensive emergency medical experience.
As Griffin explained, his client was providing people an option, not preying on a vulnerable population, terrified of contracting the virus. Most of the kits Dr. J.S. sold cost about $600 and included 24-hours access to care. As to the pills he sold to an undercover agent, Griffin said every pill and capsule were purchased from licensed pharmacies in the United States, and the doctor didn’t pack any of them or did any sort of manufacturing.
Griffin also pointed out that the allegations against his client are not fair since an executive branch is pushing these medications every day, and that these allegations should be taken up for discussion in front of a regulatory board, not a criminal courtroom.
As a pretrial condition, the judge appointed to this case forbade Dr. J.S. to advertise or sell virus medications, as well as to contact any alleged victims. If Dr. J.S. is found guilty, he is facing up to 20 years in prison.