(WHDH) — A man and his three sons are facing criminal charges after they sold more than $1 million worth of toxic industrial bleach that was fraudulently marketed as a cure for COVID-19 and other serious medical conditions, federal prosecutors said.
Mark Grenon, 62, and his three sons, 34-year-old Jonathan Grenon, 26-year-old Jordan Grenon, and 32-year-old Joseph Grenon, all of Bradenton, Florida, were indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges including attempting to avoid government regulation by selling products through a company they deceptively named “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing,” according to the United States Department of Justice.
Prosecutors allege that the Grenons manufactured, promoted, and sold a product that they named Miracle Mineral Solution, a mixture containing sodium chlorite and water which, when ingested orally, became chlorine dioxide — a powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper.
The Grenons allegedly claimed that ingesting the solution could treat and cure COVID-19, despite FDA warning about the mixture’s life-threatening side effects.
The indictment further alleges that before marketing the solution as a cure for COVID-19, the Grenons touted the product as a “miracle cure-all” for dozens of other serious diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson’s, herpes, and HIV/AIDS.
The Grenons sold tens of thousands of bottles of the solution nationwide under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, an entity they are accused of creating to avoid government regulation and shield themselves from prosecution.
During a search of Jonathan Grenon’s home, investigators found dozens of blue chemical drums containing nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, thousands of bottles of the phony solution, and other items used in the manufacture and distribution process, according to prosecutors.
Multiple loaded firearms, including one pump-action shotgun concealed in a custom-made violin case to disguise its appearance, were also reportedly seized.
The indictment charges each of the Grenons with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of criminal contempt.
The family was slated to be arraigned Monday in federal magistrate court in Miami.
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