A Florida man and his three sons have been indicted on charges of fraud after selling $1 million of a “miracle cure” for COVID-19 that was actually bleach, according to the Department of Justice.

The man, Mark Grenon, 62, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami for selling thousands of bottles of toxic bleach under the name Miracle Mineral Solution. He claimed it cured COVID-19 and a long list of ailments, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson’s, herpes, HIV/AIDS, and other serious medical conditions.

The indictment said that the Grenon and his sons manufactured, promoted, and sold Miracle Mineral Solution, which was a chemical solution that when ingested became chlorine dioxide – a “powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper.”

The Grenons claimed ingesting the solution could treat, prevent, and cure COVID, the charges said. They also defied federal court orders to stop the sale of the product. If convicted, the Grenons could spend life in prison.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any cure for COVID and has warned about the dangers of ingesting Miracle Mineral Solution. The FDA called it the equivalent of drinking bleach, which can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure. The FDA has also received reports of people requiring hospitalizations and dying after drinking Miracle Mineral Solution.

Tens of thousands of bottles of Miracle Mineral Solution were sold nationwide to consumers throughout South Florida by the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, according to the allegations against the family. Grenon, who is said to be the co-founder of the church, has acknowledged that it had no religious affiliation and was created solely to market the “miracle cure.”

On the Genesis website, the Miracle Mineral Solution was sold for a “donation” to the church that was mandatory and set at specific dollar amounts, the DOJ said. The indictment indicates that the Grenons received more than $1 million in sales of the Miracle Mineral Solution.

The family has been charged with two counts of criminal contempt and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. They have also been accused of threatening a federal judge by saying they would “pick up guns” and instigate “a Waco” if the judge halted the distribution of the Miracle Mineral Solution.

Handcuffed prisoner
A representative image of a prisoner in handcuffs. Getty Images