A Florida man and three of his sons have been convicted of selling toxic industrial bleach as a fake COVID-19 cure through their online church.
Mark Grenon, 65, and his sons, 37-year-old Jonathan, 35-year-old Joseph and 29-year-old Jordan, were all charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and deliver misbranded drugs. The four family members previously pleaded not guilty.
A federal jury in Miami found the men guilty Wednesday after prosecutors called the Grenons “con men” and “snake oil salesmen,” and said the family’s Genesis II Church of Health and Healing sold US$1 million worth of their so-called Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), distributing it to tens of thousands of people across the U.S.
Videos made and distributed by the church claimed the solution could cure 95 per cent of known diseases, reports the Associated Press. It was pitched as a cure for Alzheimer’s, COVID-19, cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and more, said prosecutors.
What the Grenons were actually selling was the solution chlorine dioxide, which is commonly used in treating industrial water, textiles, pulp and paper. Drinking chlorine dioxide can be fatal and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and even dying after drinking MMS.
According to press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Grenons had been warned to stop selling the solution in 2020 by a federal judge, but ignored the order. The release also alleges that family members issued threats against the judge who issued the order and “threatened that, should the government attempt to enforce the court orders halting their distribution of MMS, the Grenons would ‘pick up guns’ and instigate ‘a Waco.'”
Following the 2020 order, Jonathan and Jordan Grenon were arrested in Bradenton, just south of the Tampa Bay area. Mark and Joseph Grenon fled to Colombia, where they were arrested and extradited back to the U.S.
Prosecutors told the jury this week that the Grenons created a fake church to make it harder for the FDA and government to stop them from selling MMS.
“This was no church,” argued the prosecution’s John Shipley, according to the Miami Herald. “This was a scam for money — an old-fashioned scam.”
According to the outlet, the Grenons were quiet during the two-day trial “as if they were silently protesting the proceeding.” When the verdict was returned, Joseph spoke up: “We will be appealing.”
Besides the fraud convictions, Jonathan and Jordan Grenon were also convicted of violating federal court orders requiring them to stop selling MMS in 2020. U.S. authorities agreed to drop those same contempt charges against Mark and Joseph Grenon as a condition of their extradition from Colombia.
The Grenon family will face sentencing on Oct. 6 of this year.
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