A Florida father and his three sons were accused in federal court of selling tens of thousands of bottles of bleach that were marketed as a “miracle cure” for coronavirus and other illnesses, authorities said Friday.
Mark Grenon and his sons Jonathan, Jordan and Joseph Grenon were accused of fraud and violating civil court orders instructing them to stop selling the fake cure, which they promoted as “Miracle Mineral Solution,” or MMS, according to documents filed in Florida’s southern district.
The Food and Drug Administration has warned people not to ingest the potentially deadly chlorine dioxide solution, which is typically used for industrial water treatment.
Court documents filed in the civil case say that on a podcast released last year, co-host Mark Grenon allegedly referenced the 2nd Amendment and threatened a federal judge over the court order halting the sale of MMS, saying that she was committing “treason.”
“Do they want a Waco?” he allegedly said, referring to the 1993 siege that left 76 people dead.
According to court documents, the family manufactured the solution in a backyard shed in Bradenton, about 45 miles south of Tampa. Through what the documents describe as an “avowedly” non-religious church called Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, the solution was marketed and sold as a cure-all for cancer, autism, diabetes and other disorders and diseases.
The documents say that the family saw a massive jump in revenue — from an average of $32,000 per month to $123,000 — after they began marketing the solution last March as a Covid-19 cure.
The family has sold more than 28,000 bottles, earning more than $1 million, the documents say.
During a raid on the Bradenton property, authorities discovered dozens of chemical drums, 10,000 pounds of sodium nitrate and thousands of bottles of the solution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Florida’s southern district said in a news release.
Two of the sons — Jonathan and Jordan Grenon — were arrested and are scheduled to be arraigned Monday, the release says.
Mark and Joseph Grenon are in Colombia, the release says. It does not provide additional details about their location and a spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It isn’t clear if the family has lawyers. Court records don’t list one and a message sent to Genesis seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
