Four members of a Florida family were convicted Wednesday of selling a toxic industrial bleach as a fake COVID-19 cure through their online church.
A federal jury in Miami found Mark Grenon, 65, and his sons, 37-year-old Jonathan, 35-year-old Joseph and 29-year-old Jordan, guilty of conspiring to defraud the United States and deliver misbranded drugs, according to court records.
That charge carries up to five years in prison. Their sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 6.
The Grenons represented themselves but declined to speak during the two-day trial, the Miami Herald reported. After the jury delivered its verdict, Joseph Grenon said they would be appealing.
Prosecutors called the Grenons “con men” and “snake-oil salesmen” and said the Bradenton family’s Genesis II Church of Health and Healing sold $1 million worth of their so-called Miracle Mineral Solution.
In videos, it was pitched as a cure for 95% of known diseases, including COVID-19, Alzheimer’s, autism, brain cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis, prosecutors said. --->READ MORE HERE
Members of a Florida family who for years touted an industrial bleach mixture as a miracle cure for a variety of health conditions, including COVID-19, were found guilty of federal crimes Wednesday in Miami.
Mark Grenon, 65, and sons Jonathan, 37, Joseph, 35, and Jordan, 29, were convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States and deliver misbranded drugs after their church, the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, sold $1 million worth of their so-called Miracle Mineral Solution, or MMS, according to court records.
The Grenons, who represented themselves and declined to speak or make opening statements during their two-day trial, were hit with the verdict after a jury deliberated for about 30 minutes, the Miami Herald reported.
A Colombian police officer and soldier stand with Mark and Joseph Grenon on Aug. 11, 2020.
According to court documents, the Grenons operated their organization online, calling it “a non-religious church” focused on health and healing. Their website included news and testimonials that claimed the Miracle Mineral Solution could cure everything from Alzheimer’s disease to autism.
The solution is actually chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach often used in industrial water treatment or for stripping textiles and paper, federal authorities said.
The Grenons had created their church with a man named Jim Humble, who claims on his website that he discovered MMS in 1996 during a gold mining expedition in South America. The site describes it as “a simple health formula that cured malaria.” --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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