A man and his three kids were sentenced to 12 years in prison after earning $1 million by peddling poisonous bleach as a’miracle cure’ for coronavirus.
Mark Grenon, 65, and his sons Jonathan, 37, Joseph, 35, and Jordan, 29, were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and the Food and medication Administration by distributing an unapproved and misbranded medication.
Jonathan and Jordon were sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of two charges of breaching federal court orders mandating them to stop distributing the narcotic, while Mark and his other son, Joseph Grenon, were sentenced to five years.
The Bradenton, Florida-based family began marketing Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite that, when mixed with water and a citric acid activator, produces chlorine dioxide, a potent bleach.
MMS, according to the Grenons, can treat, prevent, and cure COVID-19.
In 2010, the foursome set up a bogus Florida church website that duped hundreds of people around the country. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, sales continued.
The FDA never approved MMS for COVID-19 treatment or any other application, and strongly advised people not to purchase or use MMS for any reason.
It described how ingesting MMS was equivalent to drinking bleach and might result in dangerous side effects such as acute vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure.
The feds cracked down on the operation in April 2020 after the Grenons disregarded FDA demands to stop distributing the hazardous chemical.
Their refusal to comply with the court order resulted in criminal charges and a raid on their residence in Bradenton, south of Tampa Bay, where authorities discovered loaded firearms, approximately 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, and thousands of bottles of MMS.
Jonathan and Jordan were apprehended in Bradenton, and Joseph fled to Colombia, where he was eventually deported.
During their July trial, the Grenons elected to defend themselves and said nothing until the 12-person jury announced their decision, when Joseph told the court, ‘We will be appealing.’
Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted the Grenons as con artists who used the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing website to swindle people and the US government.
The Grenons marketed tens of thousands of bottles of MMS around the country, including to customers in South Florida.
The jury saw images and video of a dusty rundown hut in Jonathan Grenon’s backyard where they were producing their MMS during the July trial.
Several blue chemical barrels containing over 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, hundreds of bottles of MMS, and other materials used in the manufacture and distribution of MMS were photographed.
The warning signs on the blue chemical barrels of sodium chlorite powder warned that the product was poisonous, combustible, and extremely dangerous to consume.
The families marketed MMS as a cure for 95 percent of the world’s known diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and leukemia, despite the fact that the FDA had not approved MMS for any application.
‘The entire Miracle Mineral Solution plan was predicated on fraud and dishonesty,’ prosecutor John Shipley said during the trial’s closing statements.
The Grenons sold the substance as Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, an entity they established to bypass government regulation of MMS and avoid punishment.
The bogus church’made it more difficult for the Food and Drug Administration and the government to prohibit the family from selling snake oil,’ according to Shipley.
‘This wasn’t a church. This was a money swindle – an old-fashioned con.’
Shipley and co-prosecutor Michael Homer detailed how the Grenons posed as ‘bishops’ and sold MMS as’sacraments’ to customers in South Florida and other regions of the United States in exchange for a ‘contribution’ to the Genesis church.
The Genesis website indicated that MMS could only be obtained by making a ‘contribution’ to Genesis, yet the donation amounts for MMS orders were established at precise dollar quantities and were necessary, therefore making the donation amounts sales pricing.
Genesis’ own websites define Genesis as a ‘non-religious church,’ and Genesis’ founder, Mark Grenon, said that Genesis ‘had nothing to do with religion,’ and that he formed Genesis to ‘legalize the use of MMS’ and avoid ‘going to jail.’
Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Grenons had previously made the solution in a backyard shed and were marketing it as a therapy for other diseases.
Mark Grenon was also the focus of an ABC 20/20 exposé in 2016, but he persisted in selling the product for another four years.
The Grenons’ actions may have resulted in a number of deaths over the years, according to the Federal Drug Administration, which stated that it received several reports of people requiring hospitalization, experiencing life-threatening diseases, and even dying after drinking MMS.
The criminal case filed in April 2020 was Florida’s first pandemic-related enforcement action.
