A father and his three sons have been sentenced to 12 years in prison for making $1 million by selling toxic bleach as a ‘miracle cure’ for coronavirus.
Mark Grenon, 65, and his sons Jonathan, 37, Joseph, 35, and Jordan, 29 were found guilty of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government and FDA by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug.
Jonathan and Jordon received 12-year prison sentences after being found guilty of two counts of violating federal court orders requiring them to stop selling the drug, while dad Mark and his other son Joseph Grenon both received five-year terms.
The family, all of Bradenton, Florida, began selling Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite that, when mixed with water and a citric acid activator, turns into chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach.
The Grenons claimed that ingesting MMS could treat, prevent, and cure COVID-19.
The product was sold after the foursome set up a fake Florida church website which conned thousands of people across the US, in 2010. The sales continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Drug Administration never approved MMS for treatment of COVID-19, or for any other use and strongly urged consumers not to purchase or use MMS for any reason.
It explained how consuming MMS was the same as drinking bleach and could cause dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure.
In April 2020, the feds cracked down on the enterprise after the Grenons defied FDA orders to stop distributing the toxic substance.
Their defiance of the court order ultimately led to criminal charges and a raid on their home in Bradenton, south of Tampa Bay, where investigators found loaded guns, nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder and thousands of bottles of MMS.
Jonathan and Jordan were arrested in Bradenton, and Joseph fled to Colombia, where he was later extradited by the Colombian authorities.
The Grenons chose to represent themselves during their July trial and said nothing throughout the proceedings until the 12-person jury delivered their verdict, when Joseph told the court: ‘We will be appealing.’
Throughout the trial, prosecutors portrayed the Grenons as con men using the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing website as a front to defraud consumers and the US government.
The Grenons sold tens of thousands of bottles of MMS nationwide, including to consumers throughout South Florida.
During July’s trial, the jury saw photos and video of a dirty rundown shed in Jonathan Grenon’s backyard where they were manufacturing their MMS.
These photos showed dozens of blue chemical drums containing nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, thousands of bottles of MMS, and other items used in the manufacture and distribution of MMS.
The blue chemical drums of sodium chlorite powder even had warning labels advising the product was toxic, flammable, and highly dangerous to consume.
The relatives used video pitches to appeal to customers, touting MMS as a cure for 95 percent of the world’s known diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and leukemia, even though the FDA had not approved MMS for any use whatsoever.
‘This whole Miracle Mineral Solution scheme was built on deception and dishonesty,’ prosecutor John Shipley said during closing arguments at the trial.
The Grenons sold the product under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, an entity they created to avoid government regulation of MMS and shield themselves from prosecution.
The fake church ‘made it harder for the Food and Drug Administration and government to stop the family from selling snake oil’ Shipley explained.
‘This was no church. This was a scam for money — an old-fashioned scam.’
Shipley and fellow prosecutor Michael Homer described how the Grenons called themselves ‘bishops’ and peddled MMS as ‘sacraments’ to consumers in South Florida and other parts of the United States in exchange for a ‘donation’ to the Genesis church.
On the Genesis website, it was stated how MMS could only be acquired through a ‘donation’ to Genesis, but the donation amounts for MMS orders were set at specific dollar amounts, and were mandatory, essentially making the donation amounts as sales prices.
Genesis’ own websites describe Genesis as a ‘non-religious church,’ and Mark Grenon, 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 Grenons manufactured the solution in a backyard shed and were already selling the substance as a treatment for the other disorders prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
Mark Grenon was even the subject of an ABC 20/20 expose back in 2016, but he continued to hawk the product for four more years.
The Grenons’ actions may have caused multiple deaths over the years, with the Federal Drug Administration saying it received numerous reports of people requiring hospitalization, developing life-threatening conditions, and even dying after drinking MMS.
The criminal case brought in April 2020 was the first pandemic-related enforcement action in Florida.
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