Florida Man, Sons Charged For Selling Bleach-Like Coronavirus Cure

KEY POINTS

The accused ignored federal judge's ruling that ordered them to stop selling the product
MMS was being sold nationwide through an entity called Genesis II Church of Health
FDA warned of potentially fatal consequences after ingesting the toxic concoction

A Florida man and his three sons were hit with federal charges for selling and marketing a bleach-like substance as a "miracle" cure for the coronavirus and other diseases, prosecutors said Wednesday (July 8).

Mark Grenon (62) and his sons Jonathan Grenon (34), Jordan Grenon (26) and Joseph Grenon (32) were accused of peddling a toxic product named 'Miracle Mineral Solution' (MMS) nationwide through an organization known as the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, operating out of Garden Lane, Bradenton.

In addition to selling MMS as a COVID-19 cure, the Grenons retailed the product as a cure for cancer, autism, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and AIDS, according to a criminal complaint.

The men are facing conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act charges, as well as a criminal contempt of court which came after violating an April federal order mandating them to stop manufacturing, labeling or distributing MMS.

MMS, the noxious solution endorsed by the Grenons is but a concoction used for industrial purposes such as treating textiles, industrial water, pulp, and paper. FDA labeled it potentially fatal when ingested.

“Ingesting these products is the same as drinking bleach. Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason,” the FDA said in a news release last year.

The Grenons continued selling the prohibited product in defiance of the court order prompting an FDA investigation. A criminal complaint was filed against them in federal court in Miami after an agent with FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations made an undercover purchase of MMS through the Genesis II Church.

“Not only is this MMS product toxic, but its distribution and use may prevent those who are sick from receiving the legitimate healthcare they need,” the Associated Press quoted Miami U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, as saying. “A United States District Court already has ordered the defendants to stop distributing this product; we will not sit idly by as individuals purposefully violate Court orders and put the public in danger.”

The criminal complaint states that the family initially agreed to comply with the district judge’s order to stop the sale of the product but they changed their mind and tendered several written refusals to the judge, including issuing threatening statements to her.

“We will NOT be participating in any of your UNCONSTITUTIONAL Orders, Summons, etc,” Mark Grenon wrote in one of the e-mails to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, according to the New York Post. “Again and again I have written you all that . . . you have NO authority over our Church.”