A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted a Bradenton area family accused of fraudulently marketing and selling toxic industrial bleach as a cure for COVID-19, according to the Department of Justice.
According to a criminal complaint, 62-year-old Mark Grenon and his sons – Jonathan Grenon, 34, Jordan Grenon, 26, and Joseph Grenon, 32 – told their customers their “Miracle Mineral Solution" was a cure for COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, malaria, and more.
Investigators say the men manufactured, promoted and sold the solution – a chemical mixture containing sodium chlorite and water. When ingested orally, prosecutors say that causes the solution to become chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach that is frequently used for industrial water treatment or for bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper.
"[The] FDA has received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and dying after drinking MMS," according to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The FDA has not approved the solution for treating COVID-19 or anything else.
"Rather, in prior official warning statements, the FDA has strongly urged consumers not to purchase or use MMS, explaining that drinking MMS is the same as drinking bleach and can cause dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure," the news release said.
According to the DOJ, the Grenons sold tens of thousands of bottles of the solution nationwide, including to customers in South Florida. Investigators say the family also made more than $1 million from selling the product.
The Grenons are also accused of selling the product "under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing ('Genesis'), an entity they are accused of creating to avoid government regulation of MMS and shield themselves from prosecution."
Charging documents describe Genesis as a non-religious church.
"Defendant Mark Grenon, the co-founder of Genesis, has repeatedly acknowledged that Genesis 'has nothing to do with religion,' and that he founded Genesis to 'legalize the use of MMS' and avoid 'going to jail,'" The DOJ said.
The Grenons are being charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and criminal contempt.
The government previously filed a civil case against the family and the "church," during which time a court ordered the Grenons to stop distributing MMS. Now, prosecutors are accusing them of willfully violating those court orders.
RELATED: FDA: Self-described church ordered to stop selling 'miracle' bleach-equivalent to cure COVID-19
The criminal complaint alleges the Grenons also sent letters to the judge in their civil case, saying they would not comply with the court orders. Prosecutors say the Grenons also threatened violence in those letters by saying they would "pick up guns" and "instigate a Waco."
According to the DOJ, the false product was manufactured in a shed at Jonathan Grenon's backyard in Bradenton. Officers are said to have seized dozens of blue chemical drums containing nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, thousands of bottles of MMS, and distribution products.
If convicted, each family member could face up to life in prison.
Jonathan and Jordan Genon are the only ones currently still in jail after the family's arrest due to the fact that they "posed a risk of nonappearance at future court proceedings and a danger to the community if released."
The next hearing in the case will be the duo's arraignment at 10 a.m. on April 26.
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