Miami prosecutors stop firm’s sale of coronavirus ‘cure,’ calling it a fraud scheme
U.S. prosecutors in Miami halted the sale of a potentially dangerous drug that claims to cure the respiratory disease, COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus, in the first federal enforcement action since the pandemic hit South Florida last month.
The temporary injunction, signed by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams Friday, was filed as a complaint accusing Genesis II Church of Health and Healing and its principals of selling and distributing an illegal product called Miracle Mineral Solution that claims it will cure COVID-19 and other diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, autism, brain cancer and AIDS.
The complaint named the Genesis “church” — actually a Florida-based company that sells the MMS product through its web site — as a defendant, along with its its four principals, Mark Grenon, Joseph Grenon, Jordan Grenon, and Jonathan Grenon.
Mark Grenon, who describes himself as a “bishop” on the Genesis web site, could not be reached for comment on the temporary restraining order. A message seeking comment was sent to him via email.
Genesis, which operates out of an address in Bradenton and does business in South Florida, describes itself on its website as “a nonreligious church … focus[ing] on ‘restoring health’ to the world” that “was formed for the purpose of serving mankind and not for the purpose of worship.”
A hearing on the civil complaint seeking a permanent injunction is scheduled for May 1 in Miami federal court.
Prosecutors say Miracle Mineral Solution was sold by Genesis as a chemical product that, when combined with an activator, creates a powerful bleach product that the defendants marketed for oral ingestion. The Food and Drug Administration has previously issued public warnings to consumers that MMS can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration.
“We will zealously pursue perpetrators of fraud schemes seeking to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, who recently set up a coronavirus task force. “Not only are these products potentially harmful, but their distribution and use may prevent those who are sick from receiving the legitimate healthcare they need.”
Prosecutors say the defendants’ disease-related treatment claims are “unsupported by any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation.” Additionally, the complaint asserts that MMS’s labeling is false, misleading and misbranded.
On April 8, the Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission issued a warning letter to Genesis and its four principals notifying them that they are violating federal law by distributing unapproved and misbranded drugs in interstate commerce.
“Despite a previous warning, the Genesis II Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. said in a statement.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 6:31 PM.
